Helen's Bay is a village on the northern coast of

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 ...

, Northern Ireland. It is within 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 Ballygrot (), between Holywood,

Crawfordsburn Crawfordsburn () is a small village in County Down, Northern Ireland. The village, which is now effectively a commuter town, lies between Holywood and Bangor to the north of the A2 road, about 4 km west of Bangor city centre. Bounded to ...

and Bangor. It is served by a

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 ...

and had a population of 1,390 in the 2011 Census. It is part of the Ards and North Down Borough Council area. Helen's Bay had a population of 1,890 in 2020

History

The village is named after

Helen Blackwood, Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye Helen Selina Blackwood, Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye (''née'' Sheridan, 18 January 1807 – 13 June 1867), later Countess of Gifford, was an Irish songwriter, composer, poet, and author. Admired for her wit and literary talents, she was a w ...

(), who owned

Clandeboye Estate The Clandeboye Estate is a Estate (house), country estate in Bangor, County Down, Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland, outside Belfast. Covering , it contains woodlands, formal and walled gardens, lawns, a lake, and of farmland. Named after ...

and was the mother of

Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava Frederick Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava, (21 June 182612 February 1902), was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian era, Victorian society. In his youth he was a popular figure in the court of Q ...

Places of interest

Crawfordsburn Country Park, on the southern shores of

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough () is a large sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to the Irish ...

, features of coastline and a small beach. The Park also includes Grey Point Fort, a coastal battery and gun emplacement dating from 1904 and updated during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It now houses a military museum. Helen's Bay Golf Club is located within the village and has a 9-hole course. Chef Michael Deane previously owned a restaurant in the village. Helen's Bay Beach is popular for bathing during the Summer months. It has also been awarded the Green Coast Award. Gray Point Fort, constructed in 1907, was the headquarters for the coastal defence of

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 ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The fort was designed to protect

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 ...

from naval attacks but was not that effective during the

Belfast Blitz The Belfast Blitz consisted of four German air raids on strategic targets in the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland, in April and May 1941 during World War II, causing high casualties. The first was on the night of 78 April 1941, a small atta ...

. The fort was decommissioned in 1956.https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/doe/grey-point-fort.pdf

2011 Census

Helen's Bay is classified by the

Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA, ) is an executive agency within the Department of Finance (Northern Ireland), Department of Finance in Northern Ireland. The organisation is responsible for the collection and publicat ...

(NISRA) as being within

Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,362 people living in Helen's Bay. Of these: *20.1% were aged under 17 years and 27.6% were aged 65 and over *47.9% of the population were male and 52.1% were female *65.8% identified as

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 ...

, 22.2% as

non-religious Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, ration ...

and 10.9% as

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

specifically. *1.0% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

People

Brian Faulkner Arthur Brian Deane Faulkner, Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, (18 February 1921 – 3 March 1977), was the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, from March 1971 until his resignation in March 1972. He was also the Chief Executive ...

, (1921–1977), sixth and last

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland (1921–1972), Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the L ...

, was born in Helen's Bay. *Swimmer

Andrew Bree Andrew Patrick Bree (born 16 March 1981) is a breaststroke swimmer from Helen's Bay, County Down, Northern Ireland. He is a two-time Olympian, having swum at the 2000 and 2008 Olympics for Ireland. He also represented Northern Ireland four time ...

is from Helen's Bay. *Local celebrity chef Michael Deane won his 1st Michelin star at Deane's on the Square restaurant. This was only the second Michelin star to be awarded in Northern Ireland.

Climate

Transport

Helen's Bay railway station Helen's Bay railway station serves Helen's Bay as well as the nearby village of Crawfordsburn in the townland of Ballygrot, County Down, Northern Ireland. History The station in the grand Scottish Baronial style, built in 1863, was the creation ...

opened on 1 May 1865 and was closed for goods traffic on 24 April 1950. Helen's Bay is on the Belfast–Bangor railway line with train services provided by

Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR; and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways; UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent company is the Northern Ireland Tr ...

Telephone Exchange

Although small, Helen's Bay still has its own BT Telephone exchange. Local numbers exist in the following formats: * (028) 9185 2XXX * (028) 9185 3XXX * (028) 9185 4XXX

References

{{authority control Villages in County Down Seaside resorts in Northern Ireland Civil parish of Bangor