Ballycarry
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Ballycarry () is a
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
in
County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. It is midway between
Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland.
is a to ...
and
Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...
, overlooking
Islandmagee Islandmagee () is a peninsula and civil parish on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located between the towns of Larne and Whitehead. It is part of the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area and is a sparsely populated rur ...
, and is part of the
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Ballymena Borough Council, Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council. History On 2 December 2021, the councils chief exec ...
area. In the 2001 census it had a population of 981.


History

Neolithic artefacts found in the village suggest ancient settlement, while the Lislaynan ecclesiastical settlement looks back to a thousand years of Christian witness. There was also a Norman settlement in the area, at Redhall, and at Brackenberg, now the centre of modern Ballycarry. An early Christian stone coffin lid which was uncovered at Redhall in the 18th century, was reinstated in the Templecorran cemetery and displays an early Christian cross engraved within an arc.


Community

The town is home to Ballycarry
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
Church. Founded in 1613, Ballycarry is the oldest congregation in the Presbyterian Church in
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. The present church building dates from 1830. The Old Presbyterian (Non-Subscribing) Presbyterian Congregation also traces its roots back to 1613, and this congregation remained strongest in 1829 when the Presbyterian Church was split over the "subscription controversy", the non-subscribers leaving open the issue of subscription to the Westminster Confession of Faith. The Old Presbyterian Church is located on the main street in the village. The most imposing church building is that of St. John's Parish Church, the Church of Ireland congregation, built in the 19th century by the Ker family of Redhall. Ballycarry Community Association organises the Broadisland Gathering community festival held each year on the first Saturday in September and associated dates. The gathering highlights the Ulster Scots heritage of the community and includes dancing, music, pipe bands, discussions, re-enactment, exhibitions and the Aul Kinntra Fair, revived from the 1930s but dating back to the 17th century. Ballycarry's community association attracted funding for a modern community centre in the village in 2001. The association includes representatives from several local groups, including the three local churches, sports clubs, fraternities and social groups. In 2009, a number of events were held in Ballycarry to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the community being established in 1609.


Transport

Ballycarry railway station was opened on 1 October 1862. The railway station is located about a mile from the village.


Demographics

As of the 2001 census, Ballycarry was classified as a small village or hamlet by the
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA, ) is an executive agency within the Department of Finance (Northern Ireland), Department of Finance in Northern Ireland. The organisation is responsible for the collection and publicat ...
(NISRA) (i.e. with population between 500 and 1,000 people). On census day 2001, 29 April 2001, there were 981 people living in Ballycarry. Of these: *23.1% were aged under 16 years and 15.1% were aged 60 and over *50.2% of the population were male and 49.9% were female *2.9% were from a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
background and 92.3% were from a
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
background *3.8% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed


Notable people

* James Orr, known as the Bard of Ballycarry, was the foremost of the Ulster Weaver Poets, and was writing contemporaneously with
Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
. He was one of many Ulster Presbyterians who fled to America after taking part in the ill-fated United Irish Rising in 1798. He returned to Ballycarry under an amnesty and died in the village in 1816. An imposing monument to Orr, erected by local Freemasons in 1831, is sited in the adjacent Templecorran cemetery. In 2011 a tourist trail, the Weaver's Trail, was officially launched in Orr's honour by the Mayor of Larne, Cllr. Bobby McKee MBE, and was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.Ballycarry - Co Antrim - Home of Poet James Orr http://www.weavers-trail.co.uk/poems-of-orr-passengers *Rev. Edward Brice, the first Presbyterian minister in Ireland, came to Ballycarry in 1613 and ministered in the Templecorran Church, now in ruins. He was originally from Stirlingshire in Scotland and was brought to the village by William Edmondstone, who settled there in 1609. Brice was one of several Scottish clergymen who were forbidden to preach by the Established Church authorities in the 1630s. *
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
Sir James Steele, who was born in Ballycarry, was the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
officer who signed the mobilisation order to take the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
to war with
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
in 1939. He later played a part in the
Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...
in 1940 and the
Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and ...
in 1944. A memorial on the village green highlights his military achievements, his connection with the
Royal Ulster Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an light infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal ...
and his love of Ballycarry. * Robbie Millar, a
Michelin Star The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few restaurants in certain geographic ...
chef, was from Ballycarry.


References


External links


Ballycarry Community AssociationThe Story of the Broadisland Gathering
{{authority control Villages in County Antrim