Jump to content

Ballymena

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 178.250.179.196 (talk) at 13:04, 11 October 2013 (→Notable natives). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Ballymena
  • Irish: an Baile Meánach
  • [Bellamaina,[1] Bellamena[2]
    or Seiven Tours[3]] Error: {{Langx}}: text has italic markup (help)
Ballymena town hall
File:Ballymena coa.JPG
Coat of arms
Population28,717 (2001 Census)
Irish grid referenceD1003
• Belfast28 miles (45 km) SE
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBALLYMENA
Postcode districtBT42
BT43
BT44
Dialling code028
PoliceNorthern Ireland
FireNorthern Ireland
AmbulanceNorthern Ireland
UK Parliament
NI Assembly
Websitehttp://www.ballymena.gov.uk
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Antrim
Historical population
YearPop.±%
18212,740—    
18314,067+48.4%
18415,549+36.4%
18516,136+10.6%
18616,769+10.3%
18717,931+17.2%
18818,883+12.0%
18918,655−2.6%
190110,886+25.8%
191111,381+4.5%
192611,873+4.3%
193712,928+8.9%
195114,173+9.6%
196114,734+4.0%
196615,907+8.0%
197123,386+47.0%
198118,166−22.3%
199128,704+58.0%
200128,717+0.0%
[4]

Ballymena (from Irish an Baile Meánach, meaning 'the middle townland')[5] is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council. Ballymena had a population of 28,717 people in the 2001 Census.

The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I in 1626, on the basis that the town hold two annual fairs and a free Saturday market in perpetuity. As of 2012, the Saturday market still runs.

The town used to host Ireland’s largest one-day agricultural show at the Ballymena Showgrounds. There are still many historic buildings in the town. The Town Hall was built in 1924 on the site of the old Market House, and was refurbished in 2007 at a cost of roughly £20 million.

History

Early history

The recorded history of the Ballymena area dates to the Early Christian period from the 5th to the 7th centuries. Ringforts found in the townland of Ballykeel and a site known as Camphill Fort in the townland of Ballee may also have been of this type. There are a number of souterrain sites within a 1+1⁄4 miles (2.0 km) radius of the centre of Ballymena.

Two miles north of Ballymena in the townland of Kirkinriola, the ancient parish church and graveyard possess several indicators of Early Christian settlement including a souterrain. Also in 1868, a gravedigger found a large stone slab on which was carved a cross with the inscription ord do degen. This refers to Bishop Degen, who lived in Ireland during the 7th century. This stone is now in the porch of the Parish Church of St Patrick, in the Parish of Kilconriola, which is found in Castle Street, Ballymena.

At the end of the 5th century, a church was founded in Connor, five miles south of Ballymena. This was followed by a monastery at Templemoyle, Kells. In 831, however, the Norse invaded the Ballymena area, burning the church.

In the 12th century, the Normans conquered much of County Antrim and County Down and created the core of the Earldom of Ulster. During this campaign they built great mounds of earth topped by wooden towers, referred to as mottes, as defensive structures. The Harryville (Ulster-Scots: Herrieville) area's motte-and-bailey is one of the best examples of this type of fortification in Northern Ireland. Some sources[who?], however, credit the Uí Fhloinn with building the mid-Antrim mottes and baileys in imitation of the invaders; the Uí Fhloinn defeated and repelled the Earl of Ulster, John de Courcy, in 1177 and 1178.

In 1315, Edward Bruce (brother of King Robert I of Scotland, known as "Robert Bruce") invaded Ireland. On 10 September 1315, at the Battle of Tawnybrack (five miles south of Ballymena at Kells), Edward conquered the army of, Richard De Burgo, the Norman Earl of Ulster.

Post-medieval

In 1576, Queen Elizabeth I granted land, including the town of Ballymena, to Sir Thomas Smith. The lands had been forfeited to the crown after Shane O'Neill's resistance in the 1560s. Smith brought English settlers to the area. By 1581, Smith's settlement failed and the lands reverted to the crown.

On 10 May 1607, King James I granted the native Irish chief, Ruairí Óg MacQuillan the Ballymena Estate. The estate passed through several owners, eventually passing into the possession of William Adair, a Scottish laird from Kinhilt in southwestern Scotland. The estate was temporarily renamed "Kinhilstown" after the Adair's lands in Scotland. The original castle of Ballymena was built in the early 17th century, situated to take advantage of an ancient ford over the River Braid. In 1626 Charles I confirmed the grant of the Ballymena Estate to William Adair, giving him the right to hold a market at Ballymena on every Saturday.

In 1641, the local Ballymena garrison fought against the rebels but had to retreat to Carrickfergus. Ballymena's first market house (on the site of the present town hall) was built in 1684.

In 1690, the Duke of Württemberg, a Williamite general, used Galgorm Castle as his headquarters. Sir Robert Adair raised a Regiment of Foot for King William III and fought at the Battle of the Boyne.

By 1704, the population of Ballymena had reached 800. In 1707, the first Protestant (Church of Ireland) parish church was built. In 1740, the original Ballymena Castle burned down. The Gracehill Moravian settlement was founded in 1765. During the 1798 rebellion, Ballymena was occupied from 7 to 9 June by a force of around 10,000 United Irishmen, who stormed the Market House (now the Town Hall) killing three of its defenders.

The first modern Roman Catholic Church in Ballymena was consecrated in 1827. By 1834 the population of Ballymena was about 4,000. In 1848 the Belfast and Ballymena Railway was established. In 1865 Robert Alexander Shafto Adair (late Baron Waveney) started building Ballymena Castle, a magnificent family residence, in the Demesne. The castle was not completed until 1887.

In 1870 The People's Park, Ballymena was established, now a mature and beautiful setting, which continues to be a very popular park today.

Twentieth century

In 1900, Ballymena assumed urban status.[6] The Adairs disposed of most of their Ballymena estate to the occupying tenants in 1904, under the provisions of the Irish Land Act of 1903. The “old” town hall building, which also contained the post office and estate office, burned down in 1919. Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) laid the cornerstone to the new town hall on 24 July 1924, and it was officially opened on 20 November 1928. The Urban District Council petitioned for borough status and the Charter was granted in December 1937. The first meeting of councillors as a borough Council was held on 23 May 1939. The population of Ballymena reached 13,000. Ballymena Castle was demolished in the 1950s. In 1973, the Urban and Rural District Councils were merged to create the present Ballymena Borough Council.

During the Second World War, Ballymena was home to a large number of Gibraltarian evacuees.[7]

Like other towns in Northern Ireland, Ballymena was affected by the Troubles. A total of eleven people were killed in or near the town, most of them by various loyalist groups.

During the later half of the 20th century, Ballymena, like many other once prosperous industrial centres in Northern Ireland, experienced economic change with many of its former factories closing. Ballymena is now becoming a centre of information-based, international corporations and major retail outlets. However, unlike other towns it retains a very successful manufacturing industry, with major employers such as Michelin and Gallaher, and the extremely successful local firm Wrightbus.

In the 1950s Saint Patrick's Barracks in Ballymena was the Regimental Training Depot of the Royal Ulster Rifles (83rd & 86th). Many young men who had been conscripted on the United Kingdom mainland, along with others who had volunteered for service in the British Army, embarked upon their period of basic training in the Regimental Depot, prior to being posted to the regular regimental battalions. Many of these young men were to serve in Korea, Cyprus and with the British Army of the Rhine. In 1968 due to a series of government austerity measures the remaining three Irish regiments, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers (27th) Royal Ulster Rifles (83rd & 86th) and the Royal Irish Fusiliers (89th)merged to become the Royal Irish Rangers.

Early in the 1990s the Royal Irish Regiment, whose Regimental Headquarters is at St Patrick's Barracks, was granted the Freedom of the Borough. In March 2000, the actor Liam Neeson, a native of Ballymena, was offered the freedom of the borough by the council, which approved the action by a 12–9 vote. The Democratic Unionist Party objected to the offer and drew attention to his comments from an interview in 1999 with an American political magazine, George.[citation needed] Neeson declined the award, citing tensions, and affirmed he was proud of his connection to the town.[8] Ian Paisley was eventually made a freeman of Ballymena in December 2004 instead.[9]

Ballymena is described by some observers as being at the heart of Northern Ireland's equivalent of the Bible Belt.[10] The Electric Light Orchestra were banned from playing in the township of Ballymena with Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) dominated council reasoning that their appearance would attract "the four Ds Drink, Drugs, Devil and Debauchery".[11] Further the popular romantic drama Brokeback Mountain was banned from scening in the town, as was a performance an impersonator of comic Roy 'Chubby' Brown,.[12] It should be noted that this does not necessarily reflect the overall views of the town's population. The town has a large Protestant majority. The majority of the Catholic population is situated around the Broughshane and Cushendall Road areas of the town. Recently there has now been tension in the Dunclug area of the town which now has a Catholic majority. These tensions have been associated with internment bonfires and the flying of republican flags though attempts have been made to reduce tensions.[13]

Since the DUP's protests against ""the four Ds Drink, Drugs, Devil and Debauchery", drugs have been a major problem in the town, earning the moniker "the drugs capital of the North". However major steps have been taken in recent times to eradicate this.[14][15]

In 2011 it was revealed that Ballymena has the third highest level of legal gun ownership in Northern Ireland.[16]

Ballymena is about 10 km (6 mi) from Slemish Mountain the legendary first known Irish home of Saint Patrick. The mountain rises about 1,500 feet (460 metres) above the surrounding plain, and it is actually the central core of an extinct volcano. According to legend, following his capture and being brought as a slave to Ireland, Patrick worked as a shepherd at Slemish Mountain for about six years, from ages 16 through 22, for a man named Milchu (or Miluic).[17]

It was during this time that Patrick turned to frequent prayer as his only consolation in his loneliness. In a vision he was encouraged to escape and return home. He did, became a priest and returned to Ireland, allegedly to convert his old master. The legend goes that his own real conversion took place while on Slemish out in all weathers, communing with nature and praying continuously. As Patrick was not the first Christian Bishop to visit Ireland, his ministry was confined to the North. Here he established churches and an episcopal system. One such church is thought to have been founded at the nearby site of Skerry Churchyard.

Slemish Mountain is open year-round, and on Saint Patrick's Day (17 March) large crowds hike to the top of the mountain as a pilgrimage. The one and a half kilometre round walk to the summit and back takes approximately one hour in good weather. Excellent views can be had of the Antrim and Scottish coasts to the east. Ballymena town, Lough Neagh and the Sperrin Mountains are all normally visible to the west whilst the Bann Valley and the higher summits of the Antrim Hills can be seen to the North. The 180-metre climb is steep and rocky. The path can become very slippery in wet weather so care should be taken.

The Troubles

Main article: The Troubles in Ballymena

Ballymena throughout the course of The Troubles had a reasonably large paramilitary presence in the town; mostly through the presence of the UDA South East Antrim Brigade.

Notable natives

Demography

Ballymena is classified as a Large Town by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)[19] (i.e. with population of between 18,000 and 75,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 28,717 people living in Ballymena. Of these:

  • 72.2% were from a Protestant background, 24.2% were from a Roman Catholic background
  • 21.6% were aged under 16 years and 19.6% were aged 60 and over
  • 47.5% of the population were male and 52.5% were female
  • 3.9% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.
  • 7.7% were born outside Northern Ireland

For more details see: Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service Northern Ireland Neighbourhood Information Service website.

Education

There are a number of educational establishments in the town:

Transport

Sport

Town Twinning

Sister City

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ballymena.

References

  1. ^ NMSC annual report 2002 – Ulster-Scots
  2. ^ [www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/carrickcastleus.pdf Carrick Castle – Ulster-Scots] NI Dept of the Environment.
  3. ^ The Online Scots Dictionary Retrieved 24 August 2012.
  4. ^ http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census and www.histpop.org for post 1821 figures, 1813 estimate from Mason’s Statistical Survey For a discussion on the accuracy of pre-famine census returns see JJ Lee “On the accuracy of the pre-famine Irish censuses Irish Population, Economy and Society edited by JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson (1981) p54, in and also New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850 by Joel Mokyr and Cormac Ó Gráda in The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Nov, 1984), pp. 473-488.
  5. ^ Placenames Database of Ireland
  6. ^ Ballymena Borough Council - History & Heritage
  7. ^ http://www.gibraltarnewsonline.com/2005/08/07/ballymena-finds-its-twin-in-gibraltar/
  8. ^ Film Guardian website.
  9. ^ Ian Paisley's website.
  10. ^ The Guardian website.
  11. ^ "Where drugs cross the religious divide". Irish Independent. 20 February 2000.
  12. ^ http://www.chubbylive.co.uk/latestnewsimages/PNG/chubbylivethesun2009.png
  13. ^ Flags and Tension lowered-Ballymena Times
  14. ^ drugsalcohol.info website, by the Health Promotion Agency for Northern Ireland
  15. ^ The Irish Examiner website.
  16. ^ 7929 legal guns in Ballymena
  17. ^ Heaney, Marie (1994). Over nine waves a book of Irish legends. London: Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-17518-5.
  18. ^ Zara Wilson, Jacqueline. "Kelly, Ellen". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 1 October 2013.
  19. ^ NI Statistics and Research Agency website.
  20. ^ "Ballymena" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 27 August 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Baker, Michael HC (1999). Irish Narrow Gauge Railways. A View from the Past. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2680-7.
  22. ^ "Ballymena Bowls". Bryansbowls.me.uk. 9 April 2000. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  • Ensign Joseph Dyas [1]
  • "Battle Over Ballymena's Heroes." (8 March 2000). Belfast News Letter, p. 1.
  • Judd, Terri. (9 March 2000). "Old hatreds Flare Over Neeson Freedom Award." The Independent (London), p. 7.
  • Watson-Smyth, Kate. (23 March 2000). "Row Over Religion Sours Ballymena's Award to Actor." The Independent (London), p. 12.
  • Ballymena on the Culture Northern Ireland website.
  • Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland, Parishes of County Antrim V111, Vol 23, 1831-5,1837-8. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queens University Belfast. ISBN 0-85389-466-3
EB1911 article name required (help);
select an article title from: Wikisource:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Ballymena&oldid=576716896"