Aghagallon () is a small

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It is about northwest of Moira,

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 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, and had a population of 824 in the 2001 census. Aghagallon has mainly developed along Aghalee Road in a linear fashion with development to the southeast along Colane Road. St Patrick's Church and the adjacent primary school are in the middle of the village. Although the village is named after the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

of Aghagallon, it lies almost wholly within neighbouring Derrynaseer townland.

Education

The village has two primary schools, St Patrick's Primary School (Aghagallon) and St Mary's Primary School, Gawley's Gate (Derrymore).

2001 Census

Aghagallon 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 824 people living in Aghagallon village. Of these: *32.3% were aged under 16 and 11.7% were aged 60 and over *50.2% of the population were male and 49.8% were female *96.6% were from a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

background and 3.0% were from a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

background; *3.2% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed. In the 2001 census the resident population of Aghagallon Ward was 3,806 (including the village), of whom: *29.3% were under 16 years old and 13.6% were aged 60 and over; *50.5% of the population were male and 49.5% were female; *85.5% were from a Catholic community background and 12.6% were from a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' community background; *30.3% of persons aged 16 and over were single (never married); *32.5 years was the average age of the population; and *the population density was 0.4 persons per hectare. The population for the

of Aghagallon in 2010 was estimated at 4,586, of which 25.4% were children, 32.1% were young working age adults, 29.9% were older working age adults and 12.6% were older people. Young working age adults are defined as 16- to 39-year-olds, and older working age adults as males 40–64 and females 40–59 years. This represents an increase of 20.1% (768 individuals) from the estimated mid-year ward population in 2001. The Farm Census 2010 recorded 89 farms registered to addresses in Aghagallon, and the total agricultural labour force was 170 persons.

Sport

Aghagallon has one

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

(GAA) club, Naomh Mhuire, which serves the areas of Aghagallon village, Gawley's Gate and Ballinderry, County Antrim after clubs in these areas folded over the years. They currently play in Division 2 of the Antrim All-County League and have a recently constructed playing field located on the Colane Road. Although the club is part of

Antrim GAA The Antrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association () or Antrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The county board is also responsible for t ...

, it has links to

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

and fields some teams in the North Armagh leagues. Aghagallon competes in the Antrim Intermediate Football Championship, having won promotion from the Junior ranks in 2002. After a few seasons in the Senior Championship, the club will again compete in the IFC, against opposition such as Moneyglass, Rossa and St Enda's. The Senior Gaelic team is sponsored by Hannon Transport. The local

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

team, Aghagallon Magners, are current holders of the winter league cup and are sponsored by the Derryhirk Inn.

Notable people

* Breandán Mac Cionnaith, Irish republican activist * Mollie McGeown (1923–2004), nephrologist and biochemist * Marc Wilson (born 1987), former professional footballer

Townlands of Aghagallon Parish

The parish of Aghagallon consists of 13 townlands; Aghadrumglasny, Aghagallon, Ballycairn, Ballykeel, Ballymacilrany, Derryclone, Derryhirk, Derrymore, Derrynaseer, Drumaleet, Montiaghs, Tamnyvane, and Tiscallen.

References