Ahoghill ( or ; ) is a large village and

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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

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 ...

, Northern Ireland, four miles from

Ballymena Ballymena ( ; from ga, an Baile Meánach , meaning 'the middle townland') is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is part of the Borough of Mid and East Antrim. The town is built on land given to the Adair family by King Charles I i ...

. It is located in 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 Larne Borough Council was a Local Council in County ...

area. It had a population of 3,417 people at the 2011 Census. In early documents, Ahoghill is referred to as ''Magherahoghill'' meaning "the plain of the yew forest."

Demography

Ahoghill had a population of 3,417 people (1,327 households) at the 2011 Census, an increase of 11.8% on the 2001 Census population of 3,055. On Census day in 2011: *22.2% were aged under 16 and 12.6% were aged 65 and over *48.8% of the population were male and 51.2% were female *3.8% were from a

Catholic 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 ...

background and 90.8% were from a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

or other Christian background *3.5% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed

History

Religious revival

The 1859 Revival which swept through

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

has strong connections with Ahoghill. Thousands of ordinary folk had their lives changed at this time. Especially notable is the reports of men and women weeping in the streets of Ahoghill. On Monday 14 March 1859 a thanksgiving service took place in the new First Ahoghill Presbyterian Meetinghouse at which some of the converts from Connor spoke. It was estimated that 3,000 people attended and the commotion was such that the minister ordered the building to be emptied out of fear of the crowded gallery giving way. The crowd spent upwards of three hours in the rain continuing in prayer and praise. The gallery of First Ahoghill still bears the effects of this event; it is visibly sunken to one side. Today Ahoghill has three Presbyterian churches, First Ahoghill on Straid Road, Brookside on Brook Street and Trinity on Church Street. There is also St Colmanell's Church of Ireland on Church Street, a Gospel Hall on Glenhugh Road and a Roman Catholic Chapel on Ballynafie road.

The Troubles

On 19 April 1977 William Strathearn (39), a

shop owner was shot and killed by the

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campaign ...

(UVF) while at his home in Ahoghill. The murder was carried out by Billy McCaughey who was a UVF member despite also being a former police officer."Hatred in Harryville", Henry McDonald, ''Sunday Times'', 9 February 1997 The village has seen frequent sectarian attacks, particularly in 2005 when several Catholic families left after attacks on their homes,UTV
and is considered a staunchly

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...

area. See also

UDA South East Antrim Brigade The UDA South East Antrim Brigade was previously one of the six brigades of the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) and are heavily involved in the drug trade. It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in south-east Antrim, ...

Sport

*Ahoghill Thistle F.C, an association football team *Ahoghill Rovers F.C, an association football team * St. Mary's GAC and

Clooney Gaels GAC Clooney Gaels are a Gaelic Athletic Association hurling club based in Clooney (Cloney) outside Ahoghill, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. This team's catchment area is Ahoghill, Clooney, Portglenone and Moneyglass. "The Gaels" did well in t ...

Gaelic sports Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, ...

clubs.

References

Culture Northern Ireland
{{authority control Villages in County Antrim Civil parishes of County Antrim