Ballynahinch () is a town in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 5,703 people in the 2011 Census. Ballynahinch was traditionally a market town, although the market still takes place in the square every Thursday. The town lies on the main A24 road from Belfast to Clough, near Newcastle. Facilities in the town include a leisure centre. In recent years a regeneration committee has been formed for the development of the town and the surrounding

Spa A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...

and Drumaness areas.

History

Prior to the 17th century, the area around Ballynahinch was controlled by the

McCartan McCartan is a surname of Irish origin. It is the anglicized form of ''Mac cArtáin'' of Irish origins. The surname denotes the son of Artán, diminutive of the personal name Art, an old Irish word for "bear". They are the Lords of Kinelarty, a ba ...

clan. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, Catholic military officer Patrick McCartan captured a Parliamentarian-controlled castle in Downpatrick. After he was captured, McCartan was executed in 1653 and his lands were confiscated by the Parliamentarian authorities and sold to Sir George Rawdon, an associate of Sir William Petty. Prior to his death in 1678, Petty leased his interest in the former McCartan lands purchased by Rawdon, leaving the latter in sole possession of the estate; Rawdon subsequently ordered the construction of two gristmills on the estate and established the town of Ballynahinch, which was founded with a

market square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.King Charles II granted a royal patent to Ballynahinch allowing it the right to open the market square on Thursdays and hold two

fair A fair (archaic: faire or fayre) is a gathering of people for a variety of entertainment or commercial activities. Fairs are typically temporary with scheduled times lasting from an afternoon to several weeks. Types Variations of fairs incl ...

s every 1 February and 29 June. Settlers from lowland Scotland increased the population and Ballynahinch grew as a market town with the sale of livestock, corn, potatoes and increasingly,

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

was being cultivated. Sir John Rawdon, descendant of Sir George and now the Earl of Moira took up residence in Montalto house in Ballynahinch. He made significant improvements to the estate and to the town by promoting the linen market and causing

Ballynahinch Market House Ballynahinch Market House, formerly known as Ballynahinch Court House and as Ballynahinch Town Hall, is a municipal structure in the Market Square, Ballynahinch, County Down, Northern Ireland. The structure, which is used as a community events v ...

to be built. By the end of the eighteenth century sales in the market were grossing around £300 per week and the town was prospering. The

Society of United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...

launched a rebellion in 1798. It began in Leinster and quickly spread to Ulster. The United Irishmen had been founded in 1791 by liberal Protestants in Belfast. Its goal was to unite Catholics and Protestants and make Ireland an independent republic. Although its membership was mainly Catholic, many of its leaders and members in northeast Ulster were Protestant. The

Battle of Ballynahinch The battle of Ballynahinch was a military engagement of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 between a force of roughly 4,000 United Irishmen rebels led by Henry Munro and approximately 2,000 government troops under the command of George Nugent. After ...

began on 12 June 1798, when about 4,000 United Irishmen stationed at Ballynahinch were attacked by a government force led by George Nugent. Nugent's forces bombarded the town with cannon for a full day until the United Irishmen retreated. Following this, the victorious troops burnt sixty-three houses in Ballynahinch and its hinterland. The commander of the United Irishmen, Henry Munro, was betrayed, captured and executed shortly after. Montalto and Ballynahinch was sold in 1802 to David Ker Esq. who took advantage of the rising fashion for 'taking the waters' amongst tourists with money and developed the medicinal spa wells just over two miles outside the town. The village continued to expand thereafter. In mid-1920, the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) barracks at Ballynahinch was subject to a bomb attack by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). On 16 October 1986 Terence Mullan age 31 and Kathleen Mullan age 79, both Catholic civilians, were shot dead by the Ulster Freedom Fighters at their home, Dromore Road, Ballynahinch. Then British Prime Minister

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

visited Ballynahinch in December 1996. Ballynahinch is the site of Montalto Estate, Montalto House and The Carriage Rooms. The latter of which was the setting for Disney's The Lodge.

Demography

Ballynahinch is classified as a Small Town by th
NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)
(i.e. with population between 4,500 and 10,000). On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 5,703 people living in Ballynahinch (2,326 households), accounting for 0.31% of the Northern Ireland total and representing an increase of 6.3% on the Census 2001 figure of 5,363. Of these: * 21.01% were aged under 16 years and 16.48% were aged 65 and over; * 52.27% of the usually resident population were female and 47.73% were male; * 57.99% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion and 34.61% belong to or were brought up in the Christian Catholic faith; * 62.41% indicated that they had a British national identity, 30.46% had a Northern Irish national identity and 14.29% had an Irish national identity (respondents could indicate more than one national identity); * 37 years was the average (median) age of the population; * 6.95% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots and 4.52% had some knowledge of Irish (Gaelic). * 4.94% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

Buildings of note

* The town's market house was built in 1795 and is currently used as a community centre * An old

mill and corn mill stand on the outskirts of the town. They are currently a proposed site for development. *Ballynahinch Orange Hall

Transport

Traffic congestion

The town is well known for its heavy congestion. A

bypass Bypass may refer to: * Bypass (road), a road that avoids a built-up area (not to be confused with passing lane) * Flood bypass of a river Science and technology Medicine * Bypass surgery, a class of surgeries including for example: ** Heart bypas ...

is proposed for the town. Geological surveys were conducted over twenty years ago to determine the route of the bypass but money has never been allocated by the Department of the Environment. In the 1990s various traffic control measures were introduced including the present one way system, however all have failed to cope with the sheer volume of traffic which passes through the town daily, particularly evenings. In January 2012 The Minister for Regional Development made the following announcement:

" Roads Service approved the stage 2 preferred options report for the scheme, including the recommendation for a preferred line for the A24 Ballynahinch bypass scheme around the eastern outskirts and adjacent to the development limit of the town. That line will run from the junction of the A24 Belfast Road and the A21 Saintfield Road, which is north of the town, to the junction of the A24 Drumaness Road and the B2 Downpatrick Road, which is south of the town, at a distance of approximately 3.1 km. The scheme will involve substantial earthworks to traverse the drumlin topography and ground conditions along the route, which includes the flood plain of the
Ballynahinch River Ballynahinch River is a river in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is one of the two component watercourses which form the Annacloy River, also known as the Quoile River. Course The Ballynahinch River, flowing east through Ballynahinch, and the ...
. Three substantial structures will be required where the route crosses Moss Road, Crossgar Road and the Ballynahinch river."

There will also be a junction with the B7 Crossgar Road. However this just shows the advanced nature of the planning rather than imminent construction; The official position is still that construction will take place between 2014 and 2019.

Rail

* Ballynahinch railway station and

Ballynahinch Junction railway station Ballynahinch Junction railway station was on the Belfast and County Down Railway which ran from Belfast to Newcastle, County Down in Northern Ireland. History The station was opened by the Belfast and County Down Railway on 10 September 1858. ...

on the Belfast and County Down Railway, both opened on 10 September 1858, and both finally closed on 16 January 1950.

Education

*The

South Eastern Regional College South Eastern Regional College (SERC) is a further and higher education college in the south-east of Northern Ireland. SERC was created following the merger of three institutes of further and higher education in the south-east of Northern Irela ...

has a main campus building in Ballynahinch. *

Assumption Grammar School Assumption Grammar School (also known as 'The Assumption', 'Assumption Grammar' or 'AGS’) is a Catholic girls' grammar school in Ballynahinch, County Down, Northern Ireland with over 900 students. History The school was founded by the Missio ...

*The High School Ballynahinch * St Colman's High and Sixth Form College *Drumlins Integrated Primary School *Ballynahinch Primary School *Saint Patrick's Primary School *Spa Primary School

Churches

* First Presbyterian Church, Windmill Street. First Presbyterian Church has its roots back to the middle of the 17th century with Presbyterians being present in the town from the 1630s. It is believed there was a Presbyterian minister here from 1655. The church building was built in 1751, some 50 years after the first known minister, the Rev William Reid, who was ordained and installed on 14 July 1696. The church is still the largest and oldest ecclesiastical building in the town. *Edengrove Presbyterian Church, Dromore Road. Original church built in 1774, present church built in 1841. *St Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, 24 Church Street, Ballynahinch. Main church completed in 1812, tower and transepts added in the 1860s. *Ballynahinch Free Presbyterian Church, established in 1978.

Notable people

*Irish international cricketer,

Joseph Coskery Joseph Whiteside Coskery (22 July 1895 in County Down – 24 September 1965 in County Down) was an Irish cricketer. A left-handed batsman, he played twice for the Ireland cricket team, against Scotland national cricket team, Scotland and the Mar ...

(1895–1965), was from Ballynahinch *

Hugh Gourley Hugh Gourley (1825 – 16 December 1906) was a New Zealand politician born in Ireland. He was Mayor of Dunedin on two occasions and then appointed to the New Zealand Legislative Council for one seven-year term. Early life Gourley was born in B ...

(1825–1906) emigrated from Ballynahinch aged 27 and was elected Mayor of Dunedin, New Zealand, on two occasions *

David Howland David Howland (born 17 September 1986) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He scored 17 goals in 171 league and cup appearances in an eleven-year career in professional and semi-professional football in ...

, professional footballer, was born in Ballynahinch in 1986 * John McMullen (1832–1883), born in Ballynahinch, became a Roman Catholic Bishop in Iowa, United States * William Reddick (1812-1885), American politician, was born in Ballynahinch *Irish international footballer and manager,

Frank Thompson Frank Thompson Jr. (July 26, 1918 – July 22, 1989) was an American politician. He represented in the United States House of Representatives as a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat from 1955 to 1980, and was chairman of the United State ...

(1885–1950), was born in Ballynahinch

Sport

* Ballynahinch Rugby Football Club founded 1954, home ground Ballymacarn Park, plays in

AIL Division One The All-Ireland League (AIL), known for sponsorship reasons as the Energia All-Ireland League, is the national league system for the 50 senior rugby union clubs in Ireland, covering both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The lea ...

* Ballynahinch United F.C. play in the Northern Amateur Football League, and play at millbridge on the outskirts of the town. * Ballynahinch Olympic FC founded in 1973 have a Senior side in Division 2A of th
Northern Amateur Football League
and a Senior side in Division 1 of the Newcastle League with Junior sides in DYFL. Ballynahinch Olympic Senior Side are Current Division 2A Champions, (Season 2011/2012). Both Senior Sides currently Play at Cedar Playing Fields, Crossgar. * Temple Rangers Football Club have two teams playing in the northern amateur football league. They play their home games at the pitches in the Langley Road estate. * Ballynahinch Rabbitohs rugby league football club are current Ulster Rugby league champions and have now won three consecutive titles from 2009–2011. They also field a second team in the Ulster second division. * Ballynahinch Hockey club have 4 sides (2 men and women 1st, and 2 men's and women's 2nds) that compete in the ulster hockey leagues, the men's 1st's play in division 2 in the ONE1918 senior 2 league and the men's 2nds play in the corporate coaching men junior league 4, the women's 1sts play in the ONE1918 women's senior league 4, and the 2nds play in the corporate coaching junior league 9.

References

Culture Northern Ireland

External links

{{authority control Towns in County Down Civil parish of Magheradrool Townlands of County Down