Dunloy () is a village and

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

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 ...

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 is located north of

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 ...

and north-west is Ballymoney. It is located in 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 below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

Finvoy Finvoy is a hamlet and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Kilconway. The hamlet had a population of 187 people (52 households) in the 2011 Census. The name derives from the Irish: ''An Fhion ...

, in the former

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Kilconway. The village had a population of 1,194 people in the 2011 Census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th
Open Government Licence v3.0
© Crown copyright.

History

Dunloy lies in the ancient Irish

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of "Killimorrie", which is now known as Killymurris.O'Laverty; ''An Historical Account of the Diocese of Down and Connor, Ancient and Modern'', volume 4. Killymurris is claimed as being derived from the Irish ''Coill Ui Mhuireadhaigh'' meaning "the wood of Murry". An alternate origin given for Killymurris is that it derives from ''Choill Mhuiris'' meaning "the wood of Morris".Place Names NI
- Killymurris Just south of Dunloy village, in the townland of Ballymacaldrack is "

Dooey's Cairn Dooey's Cairn, or Ballymacaldrack Court Tomb, is a prehistoric site of the Neolithic period, situated near Dunloy, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is named after Andrew Dooey, who owned the land; the monument was granted to the state in 19 ...

". This open

court tomb The court cairn or court tomb is a megalithic type of chambered cairn or gallery grave. During the period, 3900–3500 BCE, more than 390 court cairns were built in Ireland and over 100 in southwest Scotland. The Neolithic (New Stone Age ...

, named after the landowner, is located on the slopes of Long Mountain and overlooks the valley of the

River Main The Main () is the longest tributary of the Rhine. It rises as the White Main in the Fichtel Mountains of northeastern Bavaria and flows west through central Germany for to meet the Rhine below Rüsselsheim, Hesse. The cities of Mainz and Wies ...

. The earliest known activity within the tomb is estimated at around 4000BC. Also on Long Mountain is another court Tomb, known as Broadstone. See:

List of megalithic monuments in Ireland This is a list of megalithic monument on the island of Ireland. Megalithic monuments are found throughout Ireland, and include burial sites (such as megalithic tombs) and ceremonial sites (such as stone circles). See also * Irish megalithic t ...

In the same townland lies the ancient graveyard of Caldernagh. Dooey'sCairn(PaulO'Brien)Jun2008

Railways

Dunloy railway station Dunloy railway station served the village of Dunloy in County Antrim, 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 o ...

is currently closed on the Belfast-Derry railway line run by Northern Ireland Railways.

Recent history

Since 1996 residents have shown opposition to Loyal Order parades in Dunloy. Parades are currently prohibited from entering the centre of the village. Loyalists in nearby Ballymena counter-protested by holding weekly protests at a Catholic church situated in the predominantly loyalist Harryville area of Ballymena. These protests have since ended. There have been many attacks on the local

Orange Hall Orange Hall may refer to: ;in Ireland * Orange Institution The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protes ...

. On 12 July 2005, locals blocked the road in an attempt to stop the Orange Order from marching through the village.

The Troubles

On 11 July 1978, John Boyle, a 16-year-old civilian, was shot dead by

SAS SAS or Sas may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers * ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series * Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...

soldiers in a graveyard in the village. The previous day he had discovered an IRA arms cache under a fallen tombstone when he was visiting a family grave and reported the weapons to his father. His father then contacted the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

who, rather than removing the weapons, passed the information to the British Army, who placed SAS operatives at the site. The next day, Boyle returned to the graveyard (presumably out of curiosity to see if the weapons were still there). He was then shot dead by the British soldiers, who alleged he picked up a rifle and aimed it towards them; however a leaked RUC document confirmed that Boyle was shot in the back and his fingerprints were not on any of the recovered weapons. Two soldiers were put on trial for the killing, but both were acquitted and the Boyle family never received any form of apology from the security forces. On 21 February 1984, 26-year-old Sergeant Paul Oram, a member of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

(

14 Intelligence Company The Special Reconnaissance Unit, also known as the 14 Field Security and Intelligence Company (internally "The Det") was a part of the British Army Intelligence Corps involved in plainclothes operations in Northern Ireland from the 1970s onwa ...

, parent regiment

9th/12th Royal Lancers The 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1960 by the amalgamation of the 9th Queen's Royal Lancers and the 12th Royal Lancers. In the later years of its existence, the regiment served as ...

), along with 18-year-old Declan Martin and 21-year-old Henry Hogan, both

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 ...

members of the

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...

, were killed in a gun battle between undercover British Army members and Provisional Irish Republican Army members in Dunloy.

Demography

2011 Census

Dunloy had a population of 1,194 people (381 households) in the 2011 Census. On Census day in 2011: * 98.91% were from the white (including Irish traveller)ethnic group; * 94.47% were from a Catholic community background and 4.19% were from a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' community background; * 10.89% indicated that they had a British national identity, 59.13% indicated an Irish national identity and 29.82% indicated a Northern Irish identity.

References

*Draft Northern Area Plan 2016
Culture Northern Ireland

External links

Village standoff ends after talks
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BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

News article {{authority control Villages in County Antrim Civil parish of Finvoy