Galgorm is a

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

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 ...

, about 1 km west of

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 United Kingdom census, making it the List of localities in Northern Ireland by population, seven ...

. It is part of the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Ahoghill. Administratively, it is in the Borough of Ballymena. The townland encompasses the village of Galgorm and much of the area between Ballymena and Galgorm itself. It is bordered by the townlands of Artibrannan to the north, Lisnafillon and Fenaghy to the west and Ballykennedy to the south. It is on the River Main. The village itself sits predominantly where the Galgorm Road, Sand Road and Fenaghy Roads meet and it has a small number of independent businesses and shops On the outskirts of Galgorm and just prior to the old Moravian settlement of Gracehill sits the old Gallahers/JTI plant, which when vacated became an extension of Wrightbus, a major employer in the Ballymena Area. Wrightbus was taken over by JCB in early 2020 and remains a large employer in the area The majority of the townland is 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 and for the best part is a residential extension of Ballymena, a central Northern Ireland shopping town. The townland has two separate Orange Order lodges, Galgorm Loyal Orange Lodge and Galgorm Parks Loyal Orange Lodge

The boundaries for the townland are the previous estate boundaries of Galgorm Castle which was constructed in 1618 by Sir Faithful Fortescue and is recognised as one of the finest examples of early Jacobean architecture in Ireland. Fortescue sold it in 1645 to Dr. Alexander Colville, from whom it passed to his son Sir Robert Colville, and later by descent to Earl Mount Cashell. The grounds and castle have been used for filming and TV projects, including '' The Frankenstein Chronicles'' featuring Sean Bean. The castle itself is now on the site of Galgorm Castle Golf Club, home to the Northern Ireland Open. In September 2020, the course hosted the Irish Open after the event was rescheduled and moved from Mount Juliet Golf & Spa Hotel during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic.

References

{{coord, 54.860495, -6.329561, display=t Townlands of County Antrim Irish Open (golf) venues