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 th ...

, 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 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 ...

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 and Drumaness areas.

History

Prior to the 17th century, the area around Ballynahinch was controlled by the McCartan clan. During the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bi ...

, 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 Sir William Petty FRS (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to su ...

. 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

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

s 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 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 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 Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

and quickly spread to

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 ...

. The United Irishmen had been founded in 1791 by liberal Protestants in

. 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 The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

(RIC) barracks at Ballynahinch was subject to a bomb attack by the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...

(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 from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...

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 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. 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 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 Irel ...

has a main campus building in Ballynahinch. * Assumption Grammar School *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 (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 ...

(1825–1906) emigrated from Ballynahinch aged 27 and was elected

Mayor of Dunedin The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform ...

, New Zealand, on two occasions * David Howland, professional footballer, was born in Ballynahinch in 1986 * John McMullen (1832–1883), born in Ballynahinch, became a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

Bishop in

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

, United States * William Reddick (1812-1885), American politician, was born in Ballynahinch *Irish international footballer and manager, Frank Thompson (1885–1950), was born in Ballynahinch

Sport

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