Ballymoney

Coordinates: 55°04′16″N 6°30′29″W / 55.071°N 6.508°W / 55.071; -6.508

Ballymoney
Irish: Baile Monaidh
Ballymoney town hall
Ballymoney  Ballymoney shown within Northern Ireland
Population	9,021 (2001 Census)
District	Ballymoney
County	County Antrim
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BALLYMONEY
Postcode district	BT53
Dialling code	028
Police	Northern Ireland
Fire	Northern Ireland
Ambulance	Northern Ireland
EU Parliament	Northern Ireland
NI Assembly	North Antrim
Website	www.ballymoney.gov.uk
List of places: UK • Northern Ireland • Antrim

Ballymoney (from the Irish: Baile Monaidh meaning "homestead on the peatland") is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,021 people in the 2001 Census.^{[citation needed]} It is currently served by Ballymoney Borough Council.

The town hosts the Ballymoney Drama Festival, the oldest drama festival in Ireland, which was founded in 1933.

Ballymoney has expanded in recent years and a lot of new houses have been built. This is primarily as a result of high house prices in the Coleraine/Portstewart/Portrush 'Triangle' areas shifting first-time buyers to the less expensive Ballymoney area. Ballymoney is located on the main road between Coleraine and Ballymena, with good road and rail connections to the main cities in Northern Ireland, Belfast and Derry.

The Ballymoney area has the highest life expectancy of any area in Northern Ireland, with the average male life expectancy at birth being 78.0 years and 82.6 years for females.^[1]

The Ballymoney town holds both Protestant and Catholic areas. There is the Glebeside and Carnany which are both predominantly Protestant, and the West Gate area which is predominantly Catholic. The Glebeside is the home of the Glebe Rangers football team.

Contents 1 Politics 2 History 2.1 The Troubles 3 Demographics 4 Buildings of note 5 People 6 Education 6.1 Primary schools 6.2 Secondary schools 7 Sport 8 Transport 9 Industry 10 Town twinning 11 See also 12 References 13 External links

Politics

The Council is dominated by the Democratic Unionist Party. Sinn Féin is the second largest party with the Ulster Unionist Party, SDLP and an independent making up the rest.

History

The Troubles

For more information see The Troubles in Ballymoney, which includes a list of incidents in Ballymoney during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.

Demographics

Ballymoney is classified as a small town by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 4,500 and 10,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 9,021 people living in Ballymoney. Of these:

• 22.6% were aged under 16 years and 19.8% were aged 60 and over
• 47.3% of the population were male and 52.7% were female
• 17.3% were from a Catholic background and 79.8% were from a Protestant background
• 3.9% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

For more details see: Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service^[2]

Buildings of note

Ballymoney is one of the oldest towns in Ireland with many buildings of historic note in the town centre.^[3]

• An old church tower dating from 1637 is the town’s oldest surviving building.
• Another striking feature is the town clock and Masonic hall, built in 1775 by the 6th Earl and 2nd Marquis of Antrim. The hall was used as a market house, courthouse, town hall and school.
• The town hall was erected in 1866.

People

• One of Ballymoney's most famous residents was Joey Dunlop, known as the "King of the Road". Joey Dunlop, MBE, OBE was five time World Motorcycle Champion with twenty-four Ulster Grand Prix wins, thirteen North West 200 wins and twenty-six Isle of Man TT wins. Joey was tragically killed while racing in Estonia during 2000. A statue in memory of Dunlop stands in the town.
• Robert Dunlop, Joey Dunlop's Brother & Record holder for the most North West 200's - he won 15. He died on Thursday 15 May 2008 at the North West 200 2nd Practice.
• William McKinley, 25th President of the United States, was born in Ohio, the descendant of a farmer from Conagher, near Ballymoney. He was proud of his ancestry and addressed one of the national Scots-Irish Congresses held in the late 19th century. His second term as President was cut short by an assassin's bullet.
• Thomas McKean, son of an emigrant from Ballymoney. Signer of the American Declaration of Independence, Revolutionary War officer, drafter of original Delaware state constitution, "President" (later called Governor) of Delaware, Governor of Pennsylvania, Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
• Bridget McKeever, a field hockey player of the Irish National Women's Team, was born in Ballymoney.
• John Pinkerton, Home Ruler and Irish Parliamentary Party MP.
• Jim Platt, former Middlesbrough and Northern Ireland goalkeeper. (Born 1952)
• Jimmy Young, a successful comedian, was born in Ballymoney.
• Kenneth McArthur, 1912 Olympic Gold Medalist, men's marathon.
• Samuel Robinson (1865-1958), emigrated to USA and became a multi-millionaire by founding Acme Market.
• George Shiels (1881-1949), Popular playwright of early 20th century.
• George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney (1737-1806) of Lissanoure. First British Ambassador to China in 1772.
• Rev. Dr. Peter B. Thompson- Served as an American pastor at the First Presbyterian Church in 1997.
• Stephen Carson- Northern Ireland International, Former Northern Ireland Under-21 international Footballer, who plays for Coleraine in the IFA Premiership

Education

Primary schools

• Ballymoney Primary School

Ballymoney Primary School, also known as Ballymoney Model, is situated at the top of the North Road and holds approximately 360 pupils each year. The school is within the Northern Eastern Education Library Board area.

The school is one of the largest within Ballymoney, housing eleven classrooms running from P1 to P7. It also has a large dinner hall, assembly hall, and a computer room. The school has a library and a classroom for special needs children.

Historically, Ballymoney Primary has been a predominately protestant school, but is scheduled to be integrated in September 2009 following a very narrow vote in favor of the idea.

Ballymoney Primary's principal is Mr. G. McVeigh, while the vice principal is Mrs. Herron.

• Garryduff Primary School
• Landhead Primary School

Landhead Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 5 to 11 years, located on the Kilraughts Road, close to Ballymoney Rugby Club.

In 2004 the Sunday Mirror reported on the school's cat "Tigger". The cat has since featured on local news and radio programmes.^[4]

• Leaney Primary School
• Lislagan Primary School

Lislagan Primary School is located about three miles from Ballymoney, in a rural location. It is a controlled school for girls and boys aged from 3 to 11. Enrollment has risen steadily over the last five years and currently stands at 94.^[5] It is within the North Eastern Education and Library Board area.

• St. Brigid's Primary School

Secondary schools

• Ballymoney High School
• Dalriada School
• Our Lady of Lourdes High School

Sport

• Ballymoney United F.C.
• Glebe Rangers F.C.
• Setanta's GAC

Transport

• Ballymoney railway station opened on 4 December 1855, and was closed to goods traffic on 4 January 1965.^[6] The refurbished railway station was opened in May 1990. It was one terminus of the Ballycastle Railway, a narrow gauge railway which ran 17 miles connecting Ballycastle to Ballymoney, on the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (BNCR), later Northern Counties Committee (NCC), main line to Derry, and closed in July 1950.^[7]

Industry

• Maine Soft Drinks Ltd

Town twinning

• Benbrook, Texas
• Vanves, France
• Douglas, Isle of Man^[8]

See also

• List of towns in Northern Ireland
• List of villages in Northern Ireland
• Market Houses in Northern Ireland

References

1. ^ Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file).
2. ^ Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service website.
3. ^ "Work ethic brings long life in Co Antrim’s Tír na nÓg" , Irish News, 13 August 2008
4. ^ Sunday Mirror
5. ^ School Inspection Report, January 2006
6. ^ "Ballymoney" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-08-27. 
7. ^ Baker, Michael HC (1999). Irish Narrow Gauge Railways. A View from the Past. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2680-7. 
8. ^ Douglas Borough Council

• Culture Northern Ireland website.
• Ballymoney Borough Council website.

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Ballymoney.

• Ballymoney Borough Council.
• Ballymoney Ancestry.
• Visit Ballymoney.