Ballyronan

For the townland in County Wicklow, seeBallyronan, County Wicklow.

Ballyronan Irish:Baile Uí Rónáin
The village centre
Ballyronan Location withinNorthern Ireland
Population	250 – 600(2001 Census)
Irish grid reference	H9485
•Belfast	38 miles
District	Mid-Ulster
County	County Londonderry
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MAGHERAFELT
Postcode district	BT45
Dialling code	028
Police	Northern Ireland
Fire	Northern Ireland
Ambulance	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	Mid Ulster
NI Assembly	Mid Ulster

The local marina and harbour, on the shores ofLough Neagh

Ballyronan(fromIrishBaile Uí Rónáin'Ó Rónáin's townland')is avillageandtownlandinCounty Londonderry,Northern Ireland,on the north western shore ofLough Neagh.The village is 5 miles (8 km) fromMagherafeltand 12 miles (19 km) fromCookstown.It is situated withinMid-Ulster District.

History

The village was founded by Daniel Gaussen in 1788. He built a forge on the shore ofLough Neaghfor manufacturing spades and soon afterwards erected stores. This led to the building of quays and the formation of a port, which greatly benefited the surrounding countryside. A large distillery was erected in 1824, and a brewery in 1830, by Messrs. Gaussen and Sons. Vessels of about 50 tons burden plied regularly between the village andBelfast,exporting wheat, fruit, spirits, ale, and freestone, and bringing back barley, timber, slate, iron, wine and groceries.

The village was well situated for trade as besides being onLough Neagh,several roads diverge from it. The village was situated on the estate of the Salters Company of London. Near it are the ruins of Salterstown Castle.

In May 1922, during theIrish War of Independence,aRoyal Irish Constabularysergeant, Frederick Frizelle and twoSpecial Constables,Edward Hegarty and Thomas Hunter were returning from patrol in Ballyronan when they were ambushed and killed by theIrish Republican Army.In retaliation, a week later, Special Constables shot three Catholic brothers at their home in Ballyronan, killing one, James McKeown.

The Troubles

More recently, Eugene Martin, a Catholic civilian was murdered by theUlster Volunteer Force(UVF) on 2 February 1993.

Winston Finlay, a Protestant, was shot in front of his wife by the IRA as he arrived at his home in Ballyronan. The gunmen opened fire as he got out of the car to open the garage door to allow his wife to drive in. He had previously been a full-time UDR soldier serving in the Intelligence Cell inMagherafelt,County Londonderry and had also served in the RAF for 14 years. He was a member of the Ballyronan Orange Lodge and was a serving member of the RUCR when he was murdered.

Governance

Ballyronan constitutes part of the Ballinderryward(named after the Ballinderry River) ofMid-Ulster District Council.This ward elects six councillors to the 16-person council. At the 2005 election, there were twoSocial Democratic and Labour Partyand twoSinn Féinmembers chosen to represent this ward, as well as oneUlster Unionistand oneDemocratic Unionist.Notably, this ward did not see an election, as the number of candidates standing for office was the same as the number of seats available.Ballyronan is within the Mid UlsterNorthern Ireland Assembly constituencyandUK Parliament constituency.

Geography

The village is a cluster settlement, built around the junction of four roads which pass through the village. These roads go toCoagh,The Loup,MagherafeltandToome.

Demography

On Census Day 27 March 2011, in Ballyronan Settlement, considering the resident population:

98.59% were from the white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic group;

83.98% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 13.73% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion; and

16.37% indicated that they had a British national identity, 43.84% had an Irish national identity and 41.02% had a Northern Irish national identity*.

Amenities

The small village centre contains a mini-supermarket,fish and chip shop,pubs,and two wine sellers. The business units at the Quay contain a beauty parlor, Chinese take-away, chip shop, architects and development association for Lough Neagh.

On the shore just off the main street lies the Marina Complex containing the local community centre, a bar, boat berthing yard, boat slipways and a harbour with 72berths,a play park, picnic areas, caravan/camping site, and small forest.

Sport

Soccer

Arthur David Ash Gaussen was the first and so far only internationally capped person from the village. Playing for Moyola Park on the grounds of Lord Spencer Chichester's estate inCastledawsonwhen first called into the Irish squad. Lord Chichester was the inaugural president of theIrish FA,andMoyola Parkthe first-ever winners of theIrish Cup. Arthur Gaussen won his first two caps while with Moyola Park, and the remaining four later in the decade while playing for Magherafelt F.C. Gaussen would later become a Justice of the Peace and Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry. Gaussen Villas in Ballyronan is named in recognition to his family. Representative Honours: Ireland: 6 Full Caps (1884–1889).

Gaelic Football

Gaelic Footballis a popular sport in the area, withThe Loupbeing the localGaelic Athletic Associationclub. Ballyronan has remained void of any Gaelic football team but for those who were born and reared in the village, they usually choose to play for theLoupGaelic Football team.

The other residents of the village who have an interest in Gaelic football will play football for other teams in the neighbouring hamlets of;

• ArdboeforArdboe O'Donovan Rossa GAC
• BallymaguiganforBallymaguigan GAC
• BallinderryforBallinderry Shamrocks

Watersports As the village is situated at the Northern tip of Lough Neagh, this provides the perfect base to host watersports events and since 2001 the village has hosted the Lough Neagh Triathlon each summer. The event has also doubled as the Irish Triathlon Championships.Fishing and sailing are also popular in and around Ballyronan.

See also

• List of villages in Northern Ireland
• Traad Point