Maghaberry or Magaberry (pronounced , ) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

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 orig ...

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 west of Lisburn and north of Moira. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 4,716 people. It is one of the biggest villages within the

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with th ...

area.

History

Until the early 20th century, Maghaberry was a rural townland with a crossroads, on the edge of a plateau. The economy of the area was mainly farming, although there were some limestone quarries. Today, the village serves as a commuter settlement, with its population mostly working and shopping elsewhere. It includes a community centre, Maghaberry Primary School, Maghaberry Methodist Church which is now a Covenant Church in partnership with the Church in Ireland. This new covenant arrangement amalgamates the two congregation into one. The new Covenant church is now known as the "Church on the Hill" and is led by two ministers The Reverend Robert Loney Superintendent minister of the Glenavy/Moira Circuit of the Methodist church in Ireland and the Reverend Carlton Baxter a minister of the Church of Ireland, Elim Tabernacle, a village hall and shops.

Places of interest

HMP Maghaberry is a modern high security prison housing adult male long term sentenced and remand prisoners, in both separated and integrated conditions. There are 939 staff and room for 718 prisoners in single cell accommodation.

2011 Census

On Census day in 2011, there were 4,716 people living in Maghaberry in 1,656 households. Of these: *23.2% were aged under 16 years and 11.22% were aged 60 and over. *50.59% of the population were male and 49.41% were female. *11.05% were from a

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 ...

background and 80.96% were from a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

or any other Christian background. *74.81% indicated they had a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

national identity, 7.4% had an

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 ...

national identity and 33.18% had a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

national identity.Respondents could indicate more than one national identity *2.22% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

Notes

References

NI prison Service - Maghaberry
*Draft Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015 {{authority control Villages in County Antrim