Ballynahinch, County Down

Coordinates: 54°23′42″N 5°53′10″W / 54.395°N 5.886°W / 54.395; -5.886

Ballynahinch
Irish: Baile na hInse
The Market House (middle) and Credit Union (left)
Ballynahinch shown within Northern Ireland
Population	5,364 (2001 Census)
District	Down District
County	County Down
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BALLYNAHINCH
Postcode district	BT24
Dialling code	028
Police	Northern Ireland
Fire	Northern Ireland
Ambulance	Northern Ireland
EU Parliament	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	South Down
NI Assembly	South Down
List of places: UK • Northern Ireland • Down

Ballynahinch (from Irish: Baile na hInse, meaning "town of the holm")^[1] is a market town in County Down, Northern Ireland. Along with Newcastle and Downpatrick, it is one of the three largest towns of the Down District Council area. It had a population of 5,364 people in the 2001 Census.

The towns' function has been known for many years as a market town and a market still takes place in the square every Thursday. The town lies on the main A24 Belfast to Newcastle road 15 miles south of Belfast. Facilities in the town include a leisure centre. In recent years a regeneration committee has been formed for the development of the town and the surrounding Spa and Drumaness areas. The town is twinned with Lamorlaye, France.

History

Ballynahinch was founded by Sir George Rawdon in the 1600s and remained in the family's hands until 1798.

The Society of United Irishmen launched a rebellion in 1798. It began in Leinster and quickly spread to Ulster. The United Irishmen had been founded in 1791 by liberal Protestants in Belfast. Its goal was to unite Catholics and Protestants and make Ireland an independent republic. Although its membership was mainly Catholic, many of its leaders and members in northeast Ulster were Protestant. The Battle of Ballynahinch began on 12 June 1798, when about 4000 United Irishmen camped at Ballynahinch were besieged by the British Army. The British bombarded the town with cannon for a full day until the United Irishmen retreated. Following this, the British allegedly burnt sixty-three houses in Ballynahinch and its hinterland. The commander of the United Irishmen, Henry Munro, was betrayed, captured and executed shortly after.

Former British Prime Minister John Major visited Ballynahinch in December 1996.

The Market House

The Credit Union

Ballynahinch Free Presbyterian Church

Demographics

Ballynahinch is classified as a Small Town by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 4,500 and 10,000). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 5,364 people living in Ballynahinch. Of these:

• 22.4% were aged under 16 years and 17.0% were aged 60 and over,
• 48.3% of the population were male and 51.7% were female,
• 31.3% were from a Catholic background and 65.4% were from a Protestant background,
• 3.7% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Buildings of note

• The town’s market house was built in 1795 and is currently used as a community centre
• An old flax mill and corn mill stand on the outskirts of the town.

Transport

Traffic congestion

The town is well known for its heavy congestion. A long-running campaign to provide a bypass for the town is undergoing talks and one is expected eventually. Geological surveys were conducted over twenty years ago to determine the route of the bypass but money has never been allocated by the Department of the Environment. In the 1990s various traffic control measures were introduced including the present one way system, however all have failed to cope with the sheer volume of traffic which passes through the town daily, particularly evenings. The establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998 led to reports that a bypass may commence sooner than the 6 to 15 year projection of the DoE, supposing that a coalition of County Down MLAs could push the executive to approve the project faster than the British Northern Ireland Office ministers would. However the stop-start status of devolution has made such a move impossible and the NIO's Parliamentary Under Secretary of State has continued to be responsible for infrastructure decisions. The route that was considered for the bypass has many objections as it is cutting straight though the most drumlin area in the whole of the world and farmland. The planned route is over half a mile away from the town and therefore cuts though rural land. The Newcastle end of the bypass would also be passing a housing estate.The delivery of a bypass is the key to Ballynahinch's economic survival.

Rail

• Ballynahinch railway station and Ballynahinch Junction railway station on the Belfast and County Down Railway, both opened on 10 September 1858, and both finally closed on 16 January 1950.^[2]

Education

• The South Eastern Regional College has a main campus building in Ballynahinch.
• Assumption Grammar School
• The High School Ballynahinch
• St. Colman's Secondary School
• Ballynahinch Primary School
• Saint Patrick's Primary School

Religion

• Edengrove Presbyterian Church, Dromore Road. Original church built in 1774, present church built in 1841.^[3]

People

• Irish international cricketer, Joseph Coskery (1895–1965), was from Ballynahinch
• Hugh Gourley (1825–1906) emigrated from Ballynahinch aged 27 and was elected Mayor of Dunedin, New Zealand, on two occasions^[4]
• David Howland, professional footballer, was born in Ballynahinch in 1986
• John McMullen (1832-1883), born in Ballynahinch, became a Roman Catholic Bishop in Iowa, USA
• Irish international footballer and manager, Frank Thompson (1885–1950), was born in Ballynahinch

Groups

Ballynahinch holds a loyalist flute band called 'Ballynahinch Protestant Boys' (BPB) which march at different locations across Northern Ireland.

Sport

• Ballynahinch Rugby Football Club founded 1954, home ground Ballymacarn Park, plays in AIB Division One
• Ballynahinch Olympic have a senior side in the Newcastle league and junior sides in DYFL.
• Ballynahinch United have a senior side also, they play the northern amateur football league 1B, and play at millbridge on the out-skirts of the town.
• Ballynahinch Rabbitohs rugby league football club are current Ulster Rugby league champions and have now won three consecutive titles from 2009-2011. They also field a second team in the Ulster second division.
• Ballynahinch Hockey club have 4 sides (2 men and women 1st, and 2 mens and women's 2nds) that compete in the ulster hockey leagues, the mens 1st's play in division 2 in the ONE1918 senior 2 league and the mens 2nds play in the corporate coaching men junior league 4, the women's 1sts play in the ONE1918 women's senior league 4, and the 2nds play in the corporate coaching junior league 9.

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See also

• List of towns in Northern Ireland
• List of villages in Northern Ireland
• Market Houses in Northern Ireland
• Ballynahinch, County Galway, in the Republic of Ireland
• The Troubles in Ballynahinch (Down)

References

• Culture Northern Ireland

External links

• Ballynahinch Market House
• Old Ballynahinch

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