Ballymoney was a local government district with

borough status Borough status is granted by royal charter to local government districts in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The status is purely honorary, and does not give any additional powers to the council or inhabitants of the district. In Scotland, s ...

in Northern Ireland. It was headquartered in Ballymoney. Other towns in the borough included Dervock,

Dunloy Dunloy () is a village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located north of Ballymena and north-west is Ballymoney. It is located in the civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Finvoy, in the former Barony (Ireland), baro ...

, Cloughmills and

Rasharkin Rasharkin (),Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records) is a small village, townla ...

. The borough had a population of 31,224 according to the 2011 census. In May 2015 it was merged with the boroughs of

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

and

Limavady Limavady (; ) is a market town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, with Binevenagh as a backdrop. Lying east of Derry and southwest of Coleraine, Limavady had a population of 12,032 people at the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 Census ...

and the District of Moyle to form the Causeway Coast and Glens district.

Creation

Ballymoney was one of twenty-six districts created on 1 October 1973. It took over the areas Ballymoney Urban District Council and most of the surrounding Ballymoney Rural District in County Antrim.

Borough council

The borough was divided into three electoral areas which between them returned 16 members. These were Ballymoney Town (5), Bann Valley (6) and Bushvale (5). Elections were conducted under the proportional representation single transferable vote system, and elections of the whole council were normally held every four years. The election due to take place in May 2009 was postponed in anticipation of the creation of eleven new councils in 2011. The proposed reforms were abandoned in 2010, and the most recent district council elections took place in 2011 As of February 2012 the political composition of the last council was: 8

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...

(DUP), 3 Sinn Féin, 2 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 1 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), 1 Traditional Unionist Voice and 1 independent. In 1977 Ballymoney District Council successfully petitioned for a grant of a charter of incorporation, constituting the district a borough.

Mayor of Ballymoney

The charter also created the office of mayor, who was chosen for a one-year term at the council's annual meeting. Source: Freedom of Information request to Ballymoney Borough Council

Freedom of the Borough

On 22 February 1997 The Ballymoney Branch of the Royal British Legion was awarded the Freedom of the Borough. In 2012 the Royal Irish Regiment and 152 (Ulster) Transport Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps (Volunteers) were awarded the freedom of Ballymoney by the council. On both occasions the regiments held special marches through the town to celebrate the awards. Previous recipients of the award include 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 ...

(Both Regular and Reserve Forces),

Northern Ireland Fire Brigade The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS; ga, Sheirbhís Dóiteáin & Tarrthála Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: '; formerly Northern Ireland Fire Brigade) is the statutory fire and rescue service for Northern Ireland. The NIFRS ...

, Joey Dunlop, his brother Robert and former MP for the area

Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a Northern Irish loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and First ...

Town twinning

In 2000, Ballymoney Borough Council twinned with the French town of Vanves. Since 2001, the council has been a sister city of

Benbrook Benbrook is a town located in the southwestern corner of Tarrant County, Texas, and a suburb of Fort Worth. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 21,234, reflecting an increase of 1,026 from the 20,208 counted in the 2000 Ce ...

in Texas and building on its motorcycling history, is also linked to the borough of

Douglas, Isle of Man Douglas ( gv, Doolish, ) is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,677 (2021). It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and on a sweeping bay of . The River Douglas forms part of the town's harbour ...

Parliamentary and assembly representation

Together with the neighbouring districts 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 Moyle, it forms the North Antrim constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral , hou ...

. Former Councillors that went on to become MLAs included

Philip McGuigan Philip McGuigan (born 1973) is a Northern Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim since 2016, having previously served from 2003 to 2007. He is a former member of Ballymoney ...

Mervyn Storey and Daithi McKay.

Demographics

The borough has the highest life expectancy of any area in Northern Ireland, with the average male life expectancy at birth being 79.0 years and 82.6 years for females.Life Expectency

References

External links

Ballymoney Borough Council
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballymoney (Borough) Politics of County Antrim Districts of Northern Ireland, 1972–2015 Boroughs of Northern Ireland borough