![Ormeau Road sign, Belfast, May 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Ormeau_Road_sign%2C_Belfast%2C_May_2010.JPG)
Ormeau Road is a road in south
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, the capital of
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 ...
.
Ormeau Park
Ormeau Park is the oldest municipal park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, having been officially opened to the public in 1871. It is owned and run by Belfast City Council and is one of the largest and busiest parks in the city and contains a variet ...
is adjacent to it. It forms part of the
A24
A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City.
A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...
.
History
The road, as currently laid out, dates from the first decades of the 19th century when a bridge was built connecting
Newtownbreda
Newtownbreda is a residential suburb of South Belfast, clustered around a small and now largely invisible 18th century village. The Belfast A55 "Outer Ring" dual carriage-way provides transport links to the city centre, as well as the outskirts o ...
village to Belfast.
This route was known more commonly as the ''New Ballynafeigh Road'' before eventually taking on the name of
Ormeau House, the
Marquess of Donegall
Marquess of Donegall is a title in the Peerage of Ireland held by the head of the Chichester family, originally from Devon, England. Sir John Chichester sat as a Member of Parliament and was High Sheriff of Devon in 1557. One of his sons, Sir ...
's residence, which it passed by (and which in turn took its name from the French word , meaning 'young elm').
Ravenhill Road was the Old Ballynafeigh Road.
''Ballynafeigh'' is the name of the townland through which most of the Ormeau Road runs. It is an anglicisation of the
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
meaning 'townland of the lawn or green'.
Areas of the Ormeau Road
Start of the road
The area at the start of the Ormeau Road is not known by a single name but contains a number of features. Close to the Markets area is the site of the former Belfast Gasworks, originally built in the 19th century and remaining open for its original purpose until 1988. The area has been substantially redeveloped under the
Laganside Corporation
The Laganside Corporation was a non-departmental public body formed by the Laganside Development (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 with the goal of regenerating large sections of land in Belfast, Northern Ireland adjacent to the River Lagan. This ...
and now includes a number of office buildings for companies such as
Halifax The Gasworks is also home to the Radisson Blu Hotel Belfast.
![Donegall Pass belfast 1981](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Donegall_Pass_belfast_1981.jpg)
Donegall Pass faces the Gasworks and, for a short period in the 1970s and 1980s, represented a violent interface with the Markets area. Donegall Pass has a rich social history and has a plethora of Chinese shops and restaurants, Indian wholesalers, local cafe and sandwich bars, a pharmacy, churches, antique dealers and a newly opened auction house.
Other features include the former headquarters of
UTV plc,
Havelock House, which was home to UTV from the station went on air in October 1959 until late 2017. The headquarters of
Belfast CityBeat
Q Radio (formerly known as Citybeat and Belfast CityBeat) is a Northern Irish radio station. It broadcasts to Greater Belfast on 96.7 MHz FM and on DAB Digital Radio across all of Northern Ireland. From 5 April 2007, Citybeat became availa ...
are situated very close to Havelock House, just over the Havelock Bridge (which crosses the main Belfast to Dublin railway line which runs under the Ormeau Road).
The Ormeau Road between Donegall Pass and the
Ormeau Bridge
The Ormeau Bridge is a road bridge in Belfast, roughly 80m long, carrying the A24 Ormeau Road across the River Lagan from Stranmillis Embankment to Ormeau Embankment.
The bridge was opened in 1863 and designed by Charles Lanyon
Sir Charles ...
includes the
Belfast South constituency offices of both
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
and the
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...
(SDLP).
![The Rose and Crown, Belfast - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/The_Rose_and_Crown%2C_Belfast_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1593806.jpg)
This part of the Ormeau Road suffered a number of attacks during
the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
when both Protestant and Catholic residents were killed.
In the mid 1990s the Ormeau Road became associated with political controversy as a result of parades by bands from Ballynafeigh Orange Lodge. Claims were also made that members of the Lodge had demonstrated triumphalism over the
murder of five men in Sean Graham's bookmakers by the
Ulster Defence Association
The Ulster Defence Association (UDA) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in September 1971 as an umbrella group for various loyalist groups and undertook an armed campaign of almost 24 years as one of t ...
.
In 1996, the dispute spilled over into conflict between the Lower Ormeau Residents' Action Group and the
Royal Ulster Constabulary after widespread rioting led the police to effectively seal off the area for two days. The
Parades Commission
The Parades Commission is a quasi-judicial non-departmental public body responsible for placing restrictions on any parades in Northern Ireland it deems contentious or offensive. It is composed of seven members, all of whom are appointed by the S ...
initially supported the marchers in the dispute although since 1999 parades have been banned from the area, even leading to the Orange Order briefly using the Ormeau Park as its meeting place instead of
Edenderry
Edenderry (; ) is a town in east County Offaly, Ireland. It is near the borders with Counties Kildare, Meath and Westmeath. The Grand Canal runs along the south of Edenderry, through the Bog of Allen, and there is a short spur to the town ...
.
Until 1999, the
North of Ireland Cricket and Football Club's home stadium, the
Ormeau Cricket Ground
Ormeau Cricket Ground was a cricket ground in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The first recorded match on the ground was in 1867, when North of Ireland played an All-England Eleven in a non first-class match. In 1926, the ground hosted its first ...
– one of the earliest international rugby venues in Ireland – was in the area, although, following a series of perceived sectarian arson attacks, the club's merger into the
Belfast Harlequins
Belfast Harlequins is a multi-sports club located off the Malone Road in south Belfast, Northern Ireland. The club name provides the overall umbrella for rugby union, men's and ladies' hockey, and squash. The club is associated on and off the f ...
has seen the demolition of the stadium, which has been redeveloped as housing, known as Lavinia Square and Mews.
The
Holyland, an area mainly inhabited by university students faces this area on the western side of the road.
The "Lower Ormeau Road" is the part of the road north of the bridge.
South of the bridge
![Ormeau Bridge, Belfast, May 2010 (02)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Ormeau_Bridge%2C_Belfast%2C_May_2010_%2802%29.JPG)
A number of local buildings and services, such the Community Development Association, the Post Office and the Orange Hall, use the name Ballynafeigh, although the wider (and older) townland of Ballynafeigh also includes much of the lower Ormeau and Holyland.
The Ormeau Bridge is a significant part of the architecture and history of the wider area. Work began on the bridge in 1809 and was opened within a year or so.
This bridge was demolished as unusable however and was not fully rebuilt until 1863.
The Lagan forms the boundary between
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 ...
, encompassing the inner-city districts, and
County Down, lying to the south-east.
Ormeau Park is the city's oldest municipal park, dating back to 1871 and stretches from the Ormeau Road to the
Ravenhill Road. It is also the home of Ormeau Golf Club. Outside the Park a
cycle path
A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...
has been added to the road. The park was considered as an alternative venue for a new multi-purpose sports stadium, although
First Minister
A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...
Ian Paisley vetoed the plans.
Ormeau Park originally extended beyond its present Southern border taking in, what is now, Park Road, North Parade and South Parade. The original stone wall still exists and runs along the rear entry of the houses on the south side of the houses of South Parade. The wall can be seen where the entry opens out onto the Ormeau Road.
Ormeau Park has, from the start of the twentieth century, been used for all sorts of social and communal gatherings. It was the scene of the first meeting of the
Ulster Vanguard
The Vanguard Unionist Progressive Party (VUPP), informally known as Ulster Vanguard, was a unionist political party which existed in Northern Ireland between 1972 and 1978. Led by William Craig, the party emerged from a split in the Ulster Unio ...
on 18 March 1972 when
William Craig called on his followers to attend following his decision to leave the
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...
. Joined by an estimated 100,000 followers Craig made a controversial speech in which he stated that "we must build up a dossier of the men and women who are a menace to this country because if and when the politicians fail us, it may be our job to liquidate the enemy".
![OrmeauBakery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/OrmeauBakery.jpg)
Ormeau Bakery was the home of Ormo bread, formerly the largest independent bakery in Ireland. Robert Wilson set up the Ormeau Bakery in 1875, revolutionising the way that bread was made and distributed. The Bakery buildings were opened by Robert Wilson in 1890 and thrived under three generations of the Wilson family, the exterior of the building changing little over the years. The company celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2002 but was then bought out by
Mother's Pride
Mother's Pride is a brand name for a variety of breads produced by British Bakeries, a division of Premier Foods. The company also bakes Nimble (reduced calorie) and Hovis branded loaves as well as supermarket 'own brand' ranges.
British Bake ...
, leading to a closing of the site. The bakery has been redeveloped as upmarket, luxury apartments with roof gardens and other decorative touches according to designs by
Diarmuid Gavin
Diarmuid Gavin (born 10 May 1964) is an Irish garden designer and television personality. He has presented gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show on nine occasions from 1995 to 2016, winning a number of medals, including gold in 2011. He has als ...
.
Cooke Centenary Church, a
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
place of worship that faces the Bakery, is unique on the road as having no number in its postal address being simply Ormeau Park, Belfast.
The church was named to mark the centenary of the birth of
Henry Cooke.
Ballynafeigh Orange Lodge is situated on the Ormeau Road and is the main centre for
Orangeism
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 Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...
in the area. The Lodge was formed in 1887 according to the plaque above the door. An
Apprentice Boys of Derry
The Apprentice Boys of Derry is a Protestant fraternal society with a worldwide membership of over 10,000, founded in 1814 and based in the city of Derry, Northern Ireland. There are branches in Ulster and elsewhere in Ireland, Scotland, Engla ...
flute band is affiliated to the Lodge.
Holy Rosary Church, and the accompanying detached parochial house, was opened in October 1898 to meet the needs of the growing Catholic population of this part of Belfast. It remained in use until September 1980 when all worship moved across the Ormeau Road to the much larger former convent chapel belonging to the
Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd
The Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, also known as the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, is a Catholic religious order that was founded in 1835 by Mary Euphrasia Pelletier in Angers, France. The religious sisters belong to a ...
. This larger church sits adjacent to the roundabout at the junction of the Ormeau and Ravenhill Rds.
The convent's former gate lodge, a historic building within the grounds of the Good Shepherd Church was restored in 2009 and was initially home to the
Belfast Buildings Preservation Trust.
South of the roundabout
Encompassing the areas of Rosetta and Galwally, this part of the Ormeau is a largely middle class area. It is served by local schools including Holy Rosary Primary School, St. Michael's Primary School, Rosetta Primary School, Wellington College, Aquinas Grammar School and St Joseph's College (the latter having been formed in September 1992 by the amalgamation of St Monica's girls' school and St Augustine's boys' school).
The area is also home to the Rosario Youth Club, whose senior soccer team
Rosario YC F.C. play in Division 1A of the
Northern Amateur Football League
The Northern Amateur Football League, also known as the Northern Amateur League and often simply as the Amateur League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 13 divisions. These comprise four intermediate sections: ...
. The club's teams, which compete in a number of age groups, are based at the Ulidia playing fields, opposite Ballynafeigh Orange Hall.
Bredagh GAC
Bredagh GAC is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in County Down, Northern Ireland. It fields teams at all levels from U8 to Senior in Men's and Ladies Gaelic football, Hurling and Camogie. It had its previous pitch, Bredagh Park, taken off them i ...
, a local
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...
club, play in the nearby Cherryvale Playing Fields on the Ravenhill Road.
In 2019, Ormeau Road Celtic F.C was formed. They won the BSPL cup in their first year and in 2020 joined the Belfast District Football League, Division 1 were they gained promotion to the premier division and won the coveted Nelson Cup. An historic achievement as being the first club outside of the Premier division to do so. "An Bothar" as they are popularly known have quickly become favourites with the local community and their members/fans can be regularly seen enjoying wins in local establishments.
Geography
The Ormeau Road begins with the merger of Cromac Street and Ormeau Avenue. The road continues to Church Road where it merges into the Saintfield Road.
Politics
Ormeau Road is part of the
Belfast South constituency and, at the
2019 United Kingdom general election the constituency returned
Claire Hanna
Claire Aisling Hanna (born 19 June 1980) is an Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician from Northern Ireland. In December 2019, she was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Belfast South in the House of Commons. Previous ...
of the
SDLP
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Irela ...
as Member of Parliament.
The area is represented in the Northern Ireland Assembly by
Matthew O'Toole
Matthew John O'Toole MLA (born 18 May 1983) is an Irish Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) politician, former civil servant, and journalist who has served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for the Belfast South constituency ...
,
Paula Bradshaw,
Kate Nicholl,
Deirdre Hargey and
Edwin Poots
Edwin Poots (born 27 April 1965) is a British politician in Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from May to June 2021. He was first elected as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) in 1998, and was ...
.
Within
Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the ...
, the area was formerly part of the
Laganbank District Electoral Area which had existed since 1985. It became part of the
Botanic DEA for the first time in the
2014 local elections and in 2019 Emmet McDonough-Brown (
Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI), or simply Alliance, is a liberal and centrist political party in Northern Ireland. As of the 2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election, it is the third-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembl ...
; son of
Jimmy Brown), Deirde Hargley (
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
), Tracy Kelly (
Democratic Unionist Party), Aine Groogan (
Green Party in Northern Ireland
The Green Party Northern Ireland (sometimes abbreviated as Green Party NI) is a political party in Northern Ireland. Like many green political parties around the world, its origins lie in the anti-nuclear, labour and peace movements of the 197 ...
) and Gary McKeown (
SDLP
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Irela ...
) were elected to
Belfast City Council
Belfast City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhéal Feirste) is the local authority with responsibility for part of the city of Belfast, the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland. The Council serves an estimated population of (), the ...
.
The area formerly lent its name to the
Belfast Ormeau Parliament constituency which was represented by
Thomas Moles
Thomas Moles (13 November 1871 – 3 February 1937) was a journalist and Ulster Unionist politician.
Life
Born in Belfast in 1871, Moles was the son of Edward Moles and Margaret née Carson and was educated at the Collegiate School, Ballymena ...
from 1918 to 1922.
See also
*
Belfast South (Assembly constituency)
Belfast South (, Ulster Scots: ''Bilfawst Sooth'') is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973. It usually shares boundaries with the ...
*
Belfast South (Northern Ireland Parliament constituency)
*
Belfast South (UK Parliament constituency)
Belfast South is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Claire Hanna of the SDLP.
Boundaries
1885–1918: In the Borough of Belfast, that part of Cromac ward not in the constituency of Belf ...
*
Havelock House, Belfast
*
Ormeau Park
Ormeau Park is the oldest municipal park in Belfast, Northern Ireland, having been officially opened to the public in 1871. It is owned and run by Belfast City Council and is one of the largest and busiest parks in the city and contains a variet ...
*
Rosario Youth Club F.C.
References
{{Northern Ireland roads
Streets in Belfast
Roads in Northern Ireland