Randalstown () is a small

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

, between Antrim and

Toome Toome or Toomebridge () is a small village and townland on the northwest corner of Lough Neagh in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies in the civil parish of Duneane in the former barony of Toome Upper, and is in the Antrim and Newtownabbe ...

. The town, which contains a prominent disused railway viaduct, lies beside

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ; ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake on the island of Ireland and in the British Isles. It has a surface area of and is about long and wide. According to Northern Ireland Water, it supplies 4 ...

and the

Shane's Castle Shane's Castle is a ruined castle near Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, which was mostly destroyed in 1816 by fire. The castle is situated on the north-east shores of Lough Neagh, 2.7 miles from Randalstown. Built ...

estate. Randalstown is bypassed by the M22 motorway with junctions at both the eastern and western ends of the town. It had a population of 5,151 people in the 2021 census.

History

The

of Randalstown was originally known as ''An Dún Mór'' ("the great fort"), anglicised as ''Dunmore''. This refers to a medieval

motte-and-bailey castle A motte-and-bailey castle is a European fortification with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised area of ground called a motte, accompanied by a walled courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade. Relatively easy ...

built by the Irish on the west bank of the river Main just south of the town. A castle known as Edenduffcarrick, later

, was built near Randalstown in the 14th century by the

O'Neills O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. is an Irish sporting goods manufacturer established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland, with production plants located in Dublin and Strabane. O'Neills has a long r ...

Clannaboy Clandeboye or Clannaboy ( Irish ''Clann Aodha Buí'', "family of Hugh the Blond") was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, comprising what is now south County Antrim, north County Down, and the barony of Loughinsholin. The entity was relatively late in ...

. From at least the 1650s the town was known as "Iron Mills" (''Muilinn Iarainn'' in Irish, anglicised "Mullynieren"). In 1667, the town was created a free borough and was officially renamed Randalstown. It was renamed to mark the marriage of Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim to Rose O'Neill of Shane's Castle. The 1798 United Irishmen rebellion began in Antrim following a meeting to prepare for revolt by the Ulster Directory on 1 February 1798, at McClean's Inn, Randalstown. Robert McClean's "Great Inn" had long been an

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...

meeting place. Following his death in 1790, his son Francis became the proprietor. Dunmore Park was used as a training camp for the

Ulster Volunteers The Ulster Volunteers was an Irish unionist, loyalist paramilitary organisation founded in 1912 to block domestic self-government ("Home Rule") for Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom. The Ulster Volunteers were based in the ...

during the

Irish Home Rule The Home Rule movement was a movement that campaigned for self-government (or "home rule") for Ireland within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was the dominant political movement of Irish nationalism from 1870 to the end of ...

crisis. Randalstown has a strong history of

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong and absorbent, and it dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. Lin ...

and

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

industries. A memorial to this history is in the middle of the town and made from the original turbine used to generate mains electricity for the town and items salvaged from the Old Bleach Linen Company founded by James Webb in 1864. An old linen mill chimney from the Old Bleach factory can be seen from most parts of the town. The Dorma Old Bleach factory which operated from a neighbouring site closed down in 2002. On 1 October 1989, a

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA), officially known as the Irish Republican Army (IRA; ) and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland ...

(IRA) car bomb exploded outside the town's police station on New Street causing serious damage to nearby property. On 8 January 2010,

PSNI The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI; ; Ulster-Scots: '), is the police service responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within Northern Ireland. It is the successor to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) after it w ...

Constable Peadar Heffron was seriously injured as a bomb exploded under his car on the Milltown Road near Randalstown.

Dissident republicans Dissident republicans () are Irish republicans who do not support the Northern Ireland peace process. The peace agreements followed a 30-year conflict known as the Troubles, in which over 3,500 people were killed and 47,500 injured, and in which ...

were blamed for the attack.

Demography

2021 census

On census day (21 March 2021) the usually resident population of Randalstown was 5,151. Of these: * 55.39% belong to or were brought up Catholic and 35.14% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and other (non-Catholic) Christian (including Christian related)'. * 36.94% indicated that they had a British national identity, 30.98% had an Irish national identity and 33.76% had a Northern Irish national identity.

2011 census

On census day (27 March 2011) the usually resident population of Randalstown was 5,126 accounting for 0.28% of the NI total. Of these: * 99.02% were from the white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic group * 54.74% belong to or were brought up Catholic and 39.82% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and other (non-Catholic) Christian (including Christian related)' * 46.29% indicated that they had a British national identity, 24.33% had an Irish national identity and 32.91% had a Northern Irish national identity. *10.67% had some knowledge of Irish; 9.30% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots; and 4.72% did not have English as their first language.

Transport

Randalstown is served by the A6, B52 and B93 roads and the M22 motorway.

Ulsterbus Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink (Northern Ireland), Translink, the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transpor ...

has a number of bus routes that operate through Randalstown. These include the 110/c/d/e/f/210a (

Cookstown Cookstown (, ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the fourth-largest town in the county and had a population of 12,546 in the 2021 census. It, along with Magherafelt and Dungannon, is one of the main towns in the Mid-Ulster ...

- Antrim bus and railway station), and 122 ( Ballymena bus and railway station). The town used to have an active

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

which opened in 1848 by the Belfast and Ballymena Railway. The station connected the town to

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Antrim,

Magherafelt Magherafelt ( ; , ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,071 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county an ...

and

. The line was closed to passengers in 1950 and then completely in 1959 and has been disused ever since. The viaduct has since become a

linear park A linear park is a type of park that is significantly longer than it is wide. These linear parks are strips of public land running along canals, rivers, streams, defensive walls, electrical lines, or highways and Esplanade, shorelines. Examples o ...

Places of interest

* The Tudor style gateway to the

estate is in the town. * Randalstown OC Presbyterian Church is an example of Irish Gothic church architecture. * Around the corner from the gateway is the seven-piered, viaduct built in 1855 to carry the railway line over the

River Main The Main () is the longest tributary of the Rhine, one of the major European rivers. It rises as the White Main in the Fichtel Mountains of northeastern Bavaria and flows west through central Germany for to meet the Rhine below Rüsselsheim, ...

. This has had a new bridge installed and a walk path created as part of the local healthy walking areas. * Craigmore Fishery, a

fly fishing Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is in ...

facility, is located on the outskirts of town. * "World of Owls", Northern Ireland's only owl, bird of prey and exotic animal conservation centre is located next to Randalstown Forest. *Caddy, a hamlet 3 miles north of the Randalstown centre, was site of a new school in 1908. and also a centre of beekeeping in the 1950s.

Notable residents

John Bodkin Adams John Bodkin Adams (21 January 18994 July 1983) was a British general practitioner, convicted fraudster, and suspected serial killer. Between 1946 and 1956, 163 of his patients died while in comas, which was deemed to be worthy of investigation ...

, a doctor and suspected

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

, was born to a Plymouth Brethren family in Randalstown on 21 January 1899 and lived here until 1901. He was charged in 1957 with the murder of two patients but was acquitted. He was, however, suspected of causing the death of 163 other patients. *

Lady Moyra Campbell Lady Moyra Kathleen Campbell-Grove (''née'' Hamilton; 22 July 1930 – 8 November 2020) was a British aristocrat and courtier who served as a maid of honour at the coronation of Elizabeth II. Early life and family Lady Moyra Hamilton was born ...

maid of honour A maid of honour is a junior attendant of a queen in royal households. The position was and is junior to the lady-in-waiting. The equivalent title and office has historically been used in most European royal courts. Tudors and Stuarts Traditi ...

at the

coronation of Elizabeth II The Coronation of the British monarch, coronation of Elizabeth II as queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. Elizabeth acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon th ...

* Alan Jones, Professor of Architecture at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

, past president of the

Royal Society of Ulster Architects The Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) is the professional body for registered architects in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1901. Chartered Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) members in Northern Ireland are automatically m ...

and was elected the 77th President of the

Royal Institute of British Architects The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional body for architects primarily in the United Kingdom, but also internationally, founded for the advancement of architecture under its royal charter granted in 1837, three suppl ...

for 1 September 2019 – 2021. * Gladys Maccabe (1918–2018), artist, journalist and founder of The Ulster Society of Women Artists * Molly McKenna, trampoline gymnast * Laurence McKeown, author, playwright, screenwriter, and former member of the IRA who took part in the

1981 Irish hunger strike The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during the Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976 when the British government withdrew Special Categ ...

, striking for 70 days. In 1995 he co-founded the

Belfast Film Festival The Belfast Film Festival (BFF) is an annual film festival in Northern Ireland with an attendance over 25,000. In 2022, it launched its International Competition program. BFF includes the Docs Ireland international documentary festival, as well ...

Education

Primary schools in the area include Mount St. Michael's Primary School, Maine Integrated Primary School and Randalstown Central Primary School. The latter is a mixed

non-denominational A non-denominational person or organization is one that does not follow (or is not restricted to) any particular or specific religious denomination. The term has been used in the context of various faiths, including Jainism, Baháʼí Faith, Zoro ...

primary school within the North Eastern Education and Library Board area. St. Benedict's College is a secondary school in Randalstown.

References

{{authority control Towns in County Antrim Townlands of County Antrim