Rasharkin () is a small village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is south of Ballymoney, near Dunloy and Kilrea. It had a population of 1,114 people in the 2011 census.
Rasharkin features in Buile Shuibhne an old Irish tale about the Suibhne mac Colmain, king of the Dál nAraidi, driven insane by St. Ronan's curse. The tale is the final installment of a three-text cycle in medieval Irish literature, continuing on from Fled Dúin na nGéd (The Feast of Dun na nGéd) and Cath Maige Rátha (The Battle of Mag Rath).
King Sweeney's homeplace in the tale was Glenbuck that lies just outside Rasharkin. Seamus Heaney published an English version of the tale entitled Sweeney Astray
Craigs Dolmen, situated three miles north of Rasharkin, is a megalithic passage tomb featuring a big capstone on seven upright stones.
Historically Rasharkin, also spelt as 'Rosharkin' and 'Rosarkin', lay within the barony of Kilconway. This barony was controlled by the MacDonnell family in the 17th century.
In the period Irish Rebellion of 1798, a number of guns were reportedly robbed from a house in Rasharkin by a local member of the United Irishmen. Presbyterians and Catholics in the area were reputedly active in the United Irishmen and an account of a member of the Rasharkin yeomanry in 1865 states that "at a meeting of sixty five persons held for the formation of a rebel club in Rasharkin". A resolution moved and passed at one such meeting was that:
Three people were killed in the village of Rasharkin during the period of The Troubles (1960sâÂÂ1998). John McFadden, a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), and Robert Irvine, a member of the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR), were killed by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) in separate incidents in 1983 and 1992. Gerard Casey, a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), was killed by the Ulster Freedom Fighters (UFF) in 1989.
There are four churches in the village, including Presbyterian, Church of Ireland, Roman Catholic and Free Presbyterian churches.
The oldest remaining building is in the churchyard of St. Andrew's Church of Ireland. Built c.1650 on the site of a medieval church, this structure is now in ruins.
The Free Presbyterian Church in Rasharkin was one of the first congregations of the new Free Presbyterian Church in 1951 after a split with the local Presbyterian church.
The local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club is St Mary's GAC Rasharkin. Based in Dreen, the club fields hurling, camogie and Gaelic football teams.
A local association football (soccer) club, Rasharkin United F.C., competed in the Ballymena & Provincial League until their disbandment in 2012.
Rasharkin had a population of 1,114 people (394 households) in the 2011 census. On census day in 2011:
Rasharkin is classified as a small village or hamlet by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 500 and 1,000 people). On census day in 2001 (29 April 2001), there were 864 people living in Rasharkin. Of these: