Ballymoney

Ballymoney is a small town and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,021 people in the 2001 Census. It is currently served by Ballymoney Borough Council. The civil parish of Ballymoney covers areas of County Antrim as well as County Londonderry.

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 79.6 years and 82.0 years for females.

The Ballymoney town holds both Protestant and Catholic areas. There is the Glebeside and Carnany Estates which are both predominantly Protestant, and the West Gate area which is predominantly Catholic.

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.

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) (i.e. 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 17.8% 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

Buildings of note
Ballymoney is one of the oldest towns in Ireland with many buildings of historic note in the town centre.
 * 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

 * Adrian Archibald (1969-), motor cycle racer.
 * J.B. Armour (1841–1928), cleric, educationalist and Home Rule activist.
 * Christopher Beckett (1990-), Champion University Kayaker
 * Patrick Boyle (1905–1982), novelist.
 * Stephen Carson (1980-), former Northern Ireland Under-21 international footballer, who plays for Coleraine in the IFA Premiership.
 * Peter Chambers (1990-), rower; Silver medal in the men's lightweight four at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
 * Karen Corr (1969-), pool and snooker player.
 * Joey Dunlop (1952-2000), known as the "King of the Road", was five times World Motorcycle Champion with 24 Ulster Grand Prix wins, 13North West 200 wins and 26 Isle of Man TT wins. He was killed while racing in Estonia in 2000. A statue of Dunlop stands in the town.
 * Robert Dunlop (1960-2008), motor cycle racer, Joey Dunlop's brother; record holder for the most North West 200 wins (15).
 * James Hopkins (1901-1943), professional footballer.
 * George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney (1737–1806) of Lissanoure, first British Ambassador to China in 1772.
 * Ken McArthur (1881-1960), 1912 Olympic Gold Medalist, men's marathon.
 * William McKinley (1843-1901), 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.
 * Thomas McKean (1734-1817), a prominent figure in the American Revolution, was the son of an emigrant from Ballymoney.
 * Bridget McKeever (1983-), a field hockey player on the Irish national women's team.
 * Sir William Moore (1864-1944), Unionist politician and judge.
 * John Pinkerton (1845-1908), Home Ruler and Irish Parliamentary Party MP.
 * Jim Platt (1952-), former Middlesbrough and Northern Ireland goalkeeper.
 * Damien Quinn (1980-), captain of the Antrim senior hurling team.
 * John Robb, surgeon and former member of Seanad Éireann.
 * Samuel Robinson (1865–1958), founder of Acme Market.
 * William Robinson (1823-1912), Conservative Ontario politician.
 * George Shiels (1881–1949), Popular playwright of early 20th century.
 * Chris Turner (1987-), former Northern Ireland Under-21 international footballer, currently plays for Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland.
 * Davy Tweed (1959-), rugby player, Unionist politician and convicted paedophile.
 * Jimmy Young (1918-1974), a successful comedian, was born in Ballymoney.

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 is for pupils aged 4–11, it is located on the Garryduff road approximately 3 miles out of Ballymoney it has got a new extension with a new multi-purpose hall and a new classroom. The current principal is Mrs I.Mckenzie
 * 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.


 * 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. 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, Ballymoney

Sport

 * Ballymoney United F.C.
 * Glebe Rangers F.C.
 * Setanta's GAC
 * Ballymoney Blaze Volleyball Club

Transport

 * Ballymoney railway station opened on 4 December 1855, and was closed to goods traffic on 4 January 1965. 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.

Industry

 * Maine Soft Drinks Ltd

Town twinning

 * 🇺🇸 Benbrook, Texas
 * 🇫🇷 Vanves, France
 * 🇮🇲 Douglas, Isle of Man