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

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 to ...

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 origi ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

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 south of

Ballymoney Ballymoney ( ga, Baile Monaidh , meaning 'townland of the moor') is a small town and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated in ...

, near

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 ...

and

Kilrea Kilrea ( , ) is a village, townland and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It gets its name from the ancient church that was located near to where the current Church of Ireland is located on Church Street looking over the tow ...

. It had a population of 1,114 people in the 2011 Census.

Folklore

Rasharkin features in

Buile Shuibhne ''Buile Shuibhne'' or ''Buile Suibne'' (, ''The Madness of Suibhne'' or ''Suibhne's Frenzy'') is a medieval Irish tale about Suibhne mac Colmáin, king of the Dál nAraidi, who was driven insane by the curse of Saint Rónán Finn. The insanity ma ...

an old Irish tale about the Suibhne mac Colmain, king of the Dál nAraidi, driven insane by St. Ronan's curse. The tale is the final installment of a three-text cycle in medieval Irish literature, continuing on from Fled Dúin na nGéd (The Feast of Dun na nGéd) and Cath Maige Rátha (The Battle of Mag Rath). King Sweeney's homeplace in the tale was Glenbuck that lies just outside Rasharkin. Seamus Heaney published an English version of the tale entitled Sweeney Astray

History

Historically Rasharkin was also spelt as ''Rosharkin'' and ''Rosarkin''. It lay within the barony of Kilconway that belonged to the MacDonnells in the 17th Century. Rasharkin also has a rich history and features in Ballymoney's involvement in the

Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influence ...

. Presbyterians and Catholics in the area were active in the

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, ...

. An account of a member of the Rasharkin

yeomanry Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Army Reserve, descended from volunteer British Cavalry, cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of ...

in 1865 states that "at a meeting of sixty five persons held for the formation of a rebel club in Rasharkin, the first resolution moved and passed on the occasion commenced as follows : ''"Seeing that the prophecies of Peyden and Rhymer and all the old prophecies are now fulfilling and that the days of tyranny are numbered in accordance therewith and that the time for independence and equality in Ireland is now arrived we do hereby unite."''

The Troubles

A total of 3 people were killed in the village of Rasharkin during the period known as

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 "i ...

. John McFadden, a member of 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 ...

(RUC), and Robert Irvine, a member of the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR), were killed 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 tha ...

(IRA) on separate occasions. Gerard Casey was a member of the

(IRA), and was killed by the

Ulster Freedom Fighters 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 ...

(UFF).

Places of interest

* Craigs Dolmen is situated three miles north of Rasharkin and is a

passage tomb A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or with stone, and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age, and are found largely in Wester ...

featuring a big capstone on seven upright stones.

People

Chris Baird Christopher Patrick Baird (born 25 February 1982) is a Northern Irish former professional footballer who last played for Derby County and represented the Northern Ireland national football team from 2003 to 2016. His preferred position was righ ...

, a football player for both

Fulham F.C. Fulham Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, London, which compete in the . They have played home games at Craven Cottage since 1896, other than a two-year period spent at Loftus Road whilst Craven Cottage unde ...

and the Northern Ireland team is from the village. * Gerard Casey, IRA member killed by

loyalists Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

in 1989. *

Karla Quinn Karla Quinn (born 15 September 1988 in Rasharkin, County Antrim, Northern Ireland) is a British single skating, figure skater. She has been crowned as British Junior Ice Skating Champion 2008 British Figure Skating Championships, British junior ...

a figure skater. She was crowned as British Junior Ice Skating Champion 2008, British junior silver medallist and the 2006 British junior bronze medalist. She is the first ever female Northern Irish skater to take three British titles at Novice, Primary and Junior levels. *

Paddy McConnell Patrick McConnell (5 February 1900 – 14 November 1971) was an Irish footballer who played as an inside forward for Bradford City, Doncaster Rovers, Southport, Shelbourne, Boston United, Spalding United, Grantham Town, Hibernian and Irela ...

, a footballer born in 1900, played for the all-island Irish National Football Team as well as a number of clubs including

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

and Shelbourne. * Daithi McKay, Former

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 Gri ...

Assembly Member for North Antrim (2007-2016). He secured the introduction of a carrier bag levy & rate relief for Amateur Sport Clubs during his tenure and later was
spokesperson
for the campaign to secure Northern Ireland's first Climate Change Act. *

Tom Ekin The Lord Mayor of Belfast is the leader and chairperson of Belfast City Council, elected annually from and by the City's 60 councillors. The Lord Mayor also serves as the representative of the city of Belfast, welcoming guests from across the Un ...

former Alliance Mayor of Belfast was raised in Rasharkin and went to school in the nearby townland of Ballymaconnelly.

Sport

*The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

Club in Rasharkin is Naomh Mhuire (St. Mary's), and consists of

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

and

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

teams. * Rasharkin United F.C. competed in the

Ballymena & Provincial League 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 ...

until their disbandment in 2012 and were crowned league champions in 2005. The club was run by Mr. Peter Baird (chairman) and Chris Peacock (manager).

Demography

2011 Census

It had a population of 1,114 people (394 households) in the 2011 Census. On Census day in 2011: *75.6% 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 20.8% were from a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

background

2001 Census

Rasharkin is classified as a small village or hamlet by th
NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)
(i.e. with population between 500 and 1,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 864 people living in Rasharkin. Of these: *24.9% were aged under 16 years and 15.7% were aged 60 and over *48.4% of the population were male and 51.6% were female *73.5% were from a

background and 26.0% were from a

background *6.0% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed. For more details see
NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Churches

There are 4 churches in the village ; Presbyterian, Church of Ireland, Roman Catholic and Free Presbyterian. The oldest remaining building is in the churchyard of St. Andrew's Church of Ireland. Built c.1650 on the site of a medieval church, it is now in ruins. The Free Presbyterian Church in Rasharkin was one of the first congregations of the new Free Presbyterian Church in 1951 after a damaging split in the Presbyterian Church locally with many opposed to the Minister there Rev Stronge.

References

External links

Culture Northern Ireland
{{authority control Villages in County Antrim Civil parishes of County Antrim