Annahilt

Annahilt / Anahilt is a village and civil parish in north County Down, Northern Ireland. It is 7.5 miles (12 kilometres) south of Lisburn, and about 14 miles south-west of Belfast, on the main road between Ballynahinch and Hillsborough. In the 2001 Census the village had a population of 1,148. Annahilt has a distinctive drumlin setting, with a small wooded estate on a ridge to the west, and panoramic views on the approaches to the village.

Annahilt's has a primary school, shop(a mace, hair dressers and part-time post office), a Scout Hall, an Orange Hall, a residential care home and a park. There is a business park to the north, on the Glebe Road. Annahilt also has a three-star caravan site, known as the 'Lakeside View Caravan Park', on the Magheraconluce Road.

History
Maps of the early 19th century show little development at Annahilt beyond a schoolhouse and a small number of dwellings near the main crossroads. The settlement grew much in the second half of the 20th century. The primary school was founded in 1801.

A church was founded on the site of the current Annahilt Church of Ireland (Church of the Ascension) in the 8th century by Saint Molibba and called Enaceilte. It was rebuilt in 1422 and again in 1741. Only the ruined tower of the medieval church remains in the graveyard. The present church was built in 1856.

Transport
Translink (Ulsterbus) operate bus services linking the village with Lisburn, Belfast, Dromara and Newcastle.

Demography
Annahilt is classified as a village by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1148 people living in Annahilt. Of these:
 * 27.2% were aged under 16 years and 13.3% were aged 60 and over
 * 48.3% of the population were male and 51.7% were female
 * 5.1% were from a Catholic background and 91.3% were from a Protestant background
 * 2.6% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed

Civil parish of Annahilt
The civil parish is mainly in the historic barony of Iveagh Lower, Lower Half, with one townland in the barony of Kinelarty.

Townlands
The civil parish contains the following townlands:


 * Aghnaleck
 * Ballycrune
 * Ballykeel Lougherne
 * Ballylintagh
 * Ballymurphy
 * Cargacreevy
 * Cargygray
 * Carricknadarriff
 * Cluntagh
 * Glebe
 * Magheraconluce