Randalstown
| Randalstown | |
|---|---|
 The formerNorthern Counties Committeerailway viaduct atRandalstown railway station. | |
  Randalstown Location withinNorthern Ireland | |
| Population | 5,151 (2021 census) |
| •Belfast | 19 mi (31 km) |
| District | |
| County | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ANTRIM |
| Postcode district | BT41 |
| Dialling code | 028 |
| Police | Northern Ireland |
| Fire | Northern Ireland |
| Ambulance | Northern Ireland |
| UK Parliament | |
Randalstown(Irish:Baile Raghnaill[3]) is atownlandand smalltowninCounty Antrim,Northern Ireland,betweenAntrimandToome.It has a very prominent disused railway viaduct and lies besideLough Neaghand theShane's Castleestate. The town is bypassed by theM22 motorwaywith junctions at both the eastern and western ends of the town. It had a population of 5,151 people in the2021 census.[4]
History
[edit]Thetownlandof Randalstown was originally known asAn Dún Mór( "the great fort" ), anglicised asDunmore.This refers to a medievalmotte-and-bailey castlebuilt by the Irish on the west bank of the river Main just south of the town.[5]A castle known as Edenduffcarrick, laterShane's Castle,was built near Randalstown in the 14th century by theO'NeillsofClannaboy.
From at least the 1650s the town was known as "Iron Mills" (Muilinn Iarainnin Irish, anglicised "Mullynieren" ).[5]In 1667, the town was created afree boroughand was officially renamed Randalstown.[5]It was renamed to mark the marriage ofRandal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrimto Rose O'Neill of Shane's Castle.[5]
The1798 United Irishmen rebellionbegan in Antrim following a meeting to prepare for revolt by the Ulster Directory on 1 February 1798, at McClean's Inn, Randalstown. Robert McClean's "Great Inn" had long been anIrish Volunteersmeeting place. Following his death in 1790, his son Francis became the proprietor.[6]
Dunmore Park was used as a training camp for theUlster Volunteersduring theIrish Home Rulecrisis.
Randalstown has a strong history oflinenandironindustries. A memorial to this history is in the middle of the town and made from the original turbine used to generate mains electricity for the town and items salvaged from the Old Bleach Linen Company founded by James Webb in 1864. An old linen mill chimney from the Old Bleach factory can be seen from most parts of the town. The Dorma Old Bleach factory which operated from a neighbouring site closed down in 2002.
The town used to have an activerailway stationwhich opened in 1848 by theBelfast and Ballymena Railway.The station connected the town to theNorthern Counties Committeeline. The station was closed in 1950 and has been disused ever since.[citation needed]
On 1 October 1989, aProvisional Irish Republican Army(IRA) car bomb exploded outside the town's police station on New Street causing serious damage to nearby property.[citation needed]
On 8 January 2010,PSNIConstable Peadar Heffron was seriously injured as a bomb exploded under his car on the Milltown Road near Randalstown.Dissident republicanswere blamed for the attack.[7][8]
Demography
[edit]2021 census
[edit]On census day (21 March 2021) the usually resident population of Randalstown was 5,151.[4]Of these:
- 55.39% belong to or were brought up Catholic and 35.14% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and other (non-Catholic) Christian (including Christian related)'.[9]
- 36.94% indicated that they had a British national identity,[10]30.98% had an Irish national identity[11]and 33.76% had a Northern Irish national identity.[12]
2011 census
[edit]On census day (27 March 2011) the usually resident population of Randalstown was 5,126 accounting for 0.28% of the NI total.[13][14]Of these:
- 99.02% were from the white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic group
- 54.74% belong to or were brought up Catholic and 39.82% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and other (non-Catholic) Christian (including Christian related)'
- 46.29% indicated that they had a British national identity, 24.33% had an Irish national identity and 32.91% had a Northern Irish national identity.
- 10.67% had some knowledge of Irish; 9.30% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots; and 4.72% did not have English as their first language.
Places of interest
[edit]
- The Tudor style gateway to theShane's Castleestate is in the town.
- Randalstown OC Presbyterian Church, a fine example of Irish Gothic.
- Around the corner from the gateway is the seven-piered, viaduct built in 1855 to carry the railway line over theRiver Main.This has had a new bridge installed and a walk path created as part of the local healthy walking areas.[15]
- Craigmore Fishery, aFly Fishingfacility is located on the outskirts of town.
- World of Owls,Northern Ireland's only owl, bird of prey and exotic animal conservation centre is located next to Randalstown Forest.
- Caddy, a hamlet 3 miles north of the Randalstown centre, was site of a new school in 1908.[16]and also a centre of beekeeping in the 1950s.[17]
Notable residents
[edit]- John Bodkin Adams,a suspectedserial killer,was born to a Plymouth Brethren family in Randalstown on 21 January 1899 and lived here until 1901. He became ageneral practitionerand worked inEastbournefrom 1922. He was charged in 1957 with the murder of two patients but was acquitted. He was, however, suspected of causing the death of 163 other patients.[18]
- Alan Jones,Professor of Architecture atQueen's University Belfast,past president of theRoyal Society of Ulster Architectsand was elected the 77th President of theRoyal Institute of British Architectsfor 1 September 2019 – 2021.
- Molly McKenna,trampoline gymnast
- Laurence McKeown,author, playwright, screenwriter, and former member of the IRA who took part in the1981 Irish hunger strike,striking for 70 days. In 1995 he co-founded theBelfast Film Festival.
- Lady Moyra Campbell,maid of honourat thecoronation of Elizabeth II
Sport
[edit]Education
[edit]- Mount St. Michael's Primary School
- Maine Integrated Primary School
- St. Benedict's High School
- Randalstown Central Primary Schoolis a mixednon-denominationalprimary school within theNorth Eastern Education and Library Boardarea.
See also
[edit]- List of localities in Northern Ireland by population
- List of towns and villages in Northern Ireland
- List of townlands of County Antrim
- Market houses in Northern Ireland
References
[edit]- ^"Baile Raghnaill/Randalstown".Logainm.ie.
- ^Ireland, Culture Northern (8 February 2006)."Ulster's Hiddlin Swaatch".culturenorthernireland.org.Archived fromthe originalon 22 June 2018.Retrieved1 August2011.
- ^"Baile Raghnaill/Randalstown".logainm.ie.Retrieved27 March2023.
- ^ab"Settlement 2015".NISRA.Retrieved18 August2023.
- ^abcd"Place Names NI – Home".placenamesni.org.
- ^Ulster in '98: episodes and anecdotes. Robert Magill Young 1893 Marcus Ward Belfast
- ^"Car bomb officer Peadar Heffron's leg amputated".BBC NI News (13 January 2010). 13 January 2010.Retrieved25 January2010.
- ^"Robinson and McGuinness condemn attack on policeman in Randalstown".NI Executive – OFMDFM Press Release (8 January 2010).Retrieved25 January2010.
- ^"Religion or religion brought up in".NISRA.Retrieved18 August2023.
- ^"National Identity (British)".NISRA.Retrieved18 August2023.
- ^"National Identity (Irish)".NISRA.Retrieved18 August2023.
- ^"National Identity (Northern Irish)".NISRA.Retrieved18 August2023.
- ^"Census 2011 Population Statistics for Randalstown Settlement".NISRA.Retrieved18 February2022.
- ^"Census 2011 Population Statistics for Randalstown Settlement".Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency(NISRA).Retrieved30 July2019.
- ^"ARCHES begins consultation on how to bring more funding and projects…".Archived fromthe originalon 23 July 2012.
- ^THE PARALIAMENTARY DEBATES – Page cccxlix 1908 Erection of New School at Caddy, Randalstown. Mr. SLOAN (Belfast, S.): To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, if plans and specifications have been prepared for the erection of a new school at Caddy, Randalstown...
- ^British Bee Journal – Volume 102 – Page 259 1974... spirit level in setting the hive, and I have a vivid memory of a beautiful comb of eggs from a valuable breeder queen in Belfast being wrapped up for transport to Caddy, Randalstown, where nineteen virgin queens developed from it in 1953.
- ^Cullen, Pamela V., "A Stranger in Blood: The Case Files on Dr John Bodkin Adams", London, Elliott & Thompson, 2006,ISBN1-904027-19-9
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