Ballymoney was a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

with borough status in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It was headquartered in

Ballymoney Ballymoney ( ga, Baile Monaidh , meaning 'townland of the moor') is a small town and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated i ...

. Other towns in the borough included

Dervock Dervock ( or ''Dairbheog'') is a small village and townland (of 132 acres) in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is about 3.5 miles (6 km) northeast of Ballymoney, on the banks of the River Bush. It is situated in the civil parish of D ...

, Dunloy, Cloughmills and Rasharkin. The borough had a population of 31,224 according to the 2011 census. In May 2015 it was merged with the boroughs of Coleraine and Limavady and the District of Moyle to form the

Causeway Coast and Glens Ulster Scots: ''Causey Coast an Glens'' , settlement_type = Borough , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_shield = , shield_size ...

district.

Creation

Ballymoney was one of twenty-six districts created on 1 October 1973. It took over the areas Ballymoney Urban District Council and most of the surrounding Ballymoney Rural District in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Borough council

The borough was divided into three electoral areas which between them returned 16 members. These were Ballymoney Town (5), Bann Valley (6) and Bushvale (5). Elections were conducted under the

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate ...

system, and elections of the whole council were normally held every four years. The election due to take place in May 2009 was postponed in anticipation of the creation of eleven new councils in 2011. The proposed reforms were abandoned in 2010, and the most recent district council elections took place in 2011 As of February 2012 the political composition of the last council was: 8 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 3

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...

, 2

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...

(UUP), 1

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...

(SDLP), 1

Traditional Unionist Voice The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties, the TUV's political programme has as its sine qua non the preservation of Northern Ireland's place ...

and 1 independent. In 1977 Ballymoney District Council successfully petitioned for a grant of a

charter of incorporation A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

, constituting the district a borough.

Mayor of Ballymoney

The charter also created the office of mayor, who was chosen for a one-year term at the council's annual meeting. Source:

Freedom of Information Freedom of information is freedom of a person or people to publish and consume information. Access to information is the ability for an individual to seek, receive and impart information effectively. This sometimes includes "scientific, Indigeno ...

request to Ballymoney Borough Council

Freedom of the Borough

On 22 February 1997 The Ballymoney Branch of the

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ...

was awarded the Freedom of the Borough. In 2012 the Royal Irish Regiment and 152 (Ulster) Transport Regiment,

The Royal Logistic Corps The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army. History The Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) was formed on 5 April 1993, by the union of five British Army corps: * Royal Engine ...

(Volunteers) were awarded the freedom of Ballymoney by the council. On both occasions the regiments held special marches through the town to celebrate the awards. Previous recipients of the award include the Royal Ulster Constabulary (Both Regular and Reserve Forces), Northern Ireland Fire Brigade,

Joey Dunlop William Joseph "Joey" Dunlop (25 February 1952 – 2 July 2000) was a Northern Irish motorcyclist from Ballymoney. Career He won his third hat trick at the Isle of Man TT in 2000 and set his fastest lap on the course of 123.87 mph in th ...

, his brother

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

and former MP for the area Ian Paisley.

Town twinning

In 2000, Ballymoney Borough Council twinned with the French town of

Vanves Vanves () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe and the tenth in France History On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris ...

. Since 2001, the council has been a sister city of Benbrook in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and building on its motorcycling history, is also linked to the borough of Douglas, Isle of Man.

Parliamentary and assembly representation

Together with the neighbouring districts of Ballymena and Moyle, it forms the North Antrim constituency for elections to the

Westminster Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

and Northern Ireland Assembly. Former Councillors that went on to become MLAs included Philip McGuigan Mervyn Storey and Daithi McKay.

Demographics

The borough has the highest life expectancy of any area in Northern Ireland, with the average male life expectancy at birth being 79.0 years and 82.6 years for females.Life Expectency

References

External links

Ballymoney Borough Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballymoney (Borough) Politics of County Antrim Districts of Northern Ireland, 1972–2015 Boroughs of Northern Ireland

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...