The Malone Road () is a radial road in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

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 ...

, leading from the university quarter southwards to the affluent suburbs of Malone and Upper Malone, each a separate electoral ward. The road runs parallel to the

Lisburn Road Lisburn Road is a main arterial route linking Belfast and Lisburn, Northern Ireland. The Lisburn Road is now an extension of the " Golden Mile" with many shops, boutiques, wine bars, restaurants and coffee houses. The road runs almost parallel t ...

and is linked by over a dozen side streets, while at its northern end, the Stranmillis Road rejoins the Malone Road to form University Road, which in turn joins with the Lisburn Road to become Bradbury Place. Most of the road is in the BT9 postcode district. At the southern end of the Malone Road lies Malone House, a mansion in the late Georgian style. The house is now maintained by

Belfast City Council Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the ...

. The residential streets leading off the Malone Road and Upper Malone Road are known for their high property prices, and the area is therefore a byword in Northern Ireland for affluence.

History

The Troubles

On 25 August 1971 during

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...

Henry Beggs, a 23-year-old Protestant civilian, was killed by an

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

(IRA) bomb placed at the Northern Ireland Electricity Service office on Malone Road. In June 1979 Private Alexander Gore of the

Ulster Defence Regiment The Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army established in 1970, with a comparatively short existence ending in 1992. Raised through public appeal, newspaper and television advertisements,Potter p25 their offi ...

(UDR), also 23, was killed in an IRA gun attack at the Malone Road army barracks. The Malone Road army base was closed and sold to private developers in 2003.

Education

The district contains two of Belfast's best known

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

s. At the northern end of the road, number 1 Malone Road is

Methodist College Belfast God with us , established = 1865 , type = Voluntary grammar , religion = Interdenominational , principal = Jenny Lendrum , chair_label = Chairwoman , chair = Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth , founder ...

, while further south lies Victoria College, Belfast. The district also hosts Queen's Elms Village, the main halls of residence for students from Queen's University Belfast, housing over 1,000 students. Inchmarlo, the preparatory department of the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

, is also located in the area.

Sports

The Malone Road is home to St Brigid's Gaelic Athletic Club founded in 1998 within the St Brigids Parish. St Brigids GAC the biggest club in South Belfast having won numerous County Titles in both codes of Gaelic Football and Hurling from junior age groups up to Senior Level. Aquinas Football Club were also founded in the area. Off the Malone Road are many private sports clubs, the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), Georg ...

grounds at Bladon,

Belfast Harlequins Belfast Harlequins is a multi-sports club located off the Malone Road in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. The club name provides the overall umbrella for rugby union, men's and ladies' hockey, and squash. The club is associated on and off the f ...

and Methody sports ground at Deramore Park, the

playing fields at Osborne Park and Bladon and the Queen's University Belfast playing fields at Upper Malone.

Churches

There are four churches in Malone, including St Brigid's

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Fisherwick

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church, St John's Church Malone Anglican Church and McCracken Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Flora and fauna

The wild plants, "weeds", are listed and discussed in the "Urban Flora" by Beesley and Wilde. They noted that the residents keep their gardens relatively weed-free. In the area ' (Common Figwort), ' (Foxglove) and ' (Red Campion) were noted in an old lane off the Malone Park. ' (Broad-leaved Hellborine), an

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

, was spreading up New Forge Lane and ' (Three-cornered Garlic) was recorded from Cranmore.

Notable residents

The Malone Road area of Belfast has been home to many notable and historical people. From

Moyses Hill Sir Moyses Hill (often written as Sir Moses Hill) was an English army officer who served in Ireland and later settled in Ireland. He was the governor of Olderfleet Castle, mareschal of Carrickfergus, provost mareschal of Ulster, and represented Cou ...

, who received a 61-year lease in 1606Lamour, P. (1991). ''The Architectural Heritage of Malone and Stranmillis.'' UAHS. John Eccles was the first known resident o
Cranmore House
, later

John Templeton Sir John Marks Templeton (29 November 1912 – 8 July 2008) was an American-born British investor, banker, Asset management, fund manager, and philanthropist. In 1954, he entered the Mutual fund, mutual fund market and created the Franklin Temp ...

lived on the road. Malone Road is also the home of restaurateur and chef

Paul Rankin Paul Rankin (born 1 October 1959 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a celebrity chef from Ballywalter, County Down, Northern Ireland. Rankin's parents moved back to Ballywalter, where he grew up, some time after he was born. This was stated when he was t ...

and television presenters Rose Neill, Donna Traynor, Jim Fitzpatrick and Paul Clarke. It was satirised in two novels by Gareth Russell, later adapted into a trilogy of plays, and by comedian Paddy Rafferty in his television show and successful stand-up act.

References

External links

Malone House
{{coord , 54.5740, -5.9462, dim:4000, display=title Roads in Northern Ireland Streets in Belfast