Maze is an

electoral ward A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes. In some countries, wards are usually named after neighbourhoods, thoroughfares, parishes, landmarks, geographical features and in some cases historical figures connected t ...

(and a

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 ...

) in 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 t ...

(formerly

Lisburn City Council Lisburn City Council was the local authority for an area partly in County Antrim and partly in County Down in Northern Ireland. As of May 2015 it was merged with Castlereagh Borough Council as part of the reform of local government in Northern ...

) area 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 ...

. It predominantly lies in

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 ...

although its northwestern corner lies in

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 ...

, the division being the

River Lagan The River Lagan (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ''Lagan Wattèr'') is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The ...

. The Maze electoral ward consists of the settlements of

Mazetown Mazetown or Maze (possibly , otherwise known as ''an Mhaigh'' meaning "the plain") is a small village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It was named after the townland of Maze. The village and townland sit on the southern bank of the River Lagan ...

, Long Kesh, Culcavy, Aghnatrisk, Halftown and Ravernet. In 2001, there were 3393 residents in the electoral ward.NI neighbourhood Information Service
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Mazetown and Long Kesh

Mazetown is a small settlement just off the main A3

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 ...

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 ...

road, some 3 miles west of

Lisburn 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 t ...

. Long Kesh is most famous for the

Maze Prison HM Prison Maze (previously Long Kesh Detention Centre, and known colloquially as the Maze or H-Blocks) was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from August 1971 to September 2000. On 15 ...

(closed in 2000), which was sited on an aircraft field known as 'Long Kesh'. The prison entrance was on the Culcavy Road in Halftown. Long Kesh is also known for

Down Royal Racecourse Down Royal Racecourse is a horse racing venue near Lisburn in Northern Ireland. The most valuable race run there is the Ladbrokes Champion Chase, run at the Northern Ireland Festival of racing in November. The most valuable flat race to be run ...

, which is the main attraction in the area, as well as the adjoining nine-hole and eighteen-hole Down Royal Golf Course. The area had 351 residents in the 2001 Census.

Transport and Communications

The main A1

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

dual-carriageway splits the ward as it ascends from the Sprucefield Roundabout (M1 junctions 7/8) to the Hillsborough roundabout, on a section commonly known as Carnbane Hill, named after the townland it passes through. For almost eighty years, the area was served by trains at Maze station, which was originally opened by the

Great Northern Railway (Ireland) The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I), GNRI or simply GNR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway (INW), Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. Th ...

in 1895. The station finally closed in 1974. {{cite web , title=Irish Railways , last=Ayres, first=Bob, publisher=Railscot, url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf , accessdate=2007-09-13 As with the rest of the province, the telephone dialing code is '028'. However, the electoral ward covers three local exchange areas (all of which lie within the Lisburn telephone area). The western side is covered by the 'Maze' exchange (9262xxxx), the centre-north area by the

central exchange (926xxxxx) and the eastern and southern areas by the ' Hillsborough' exchange (9268xxxx).

Sport

Lower Maze F.C. play in the

Mid-Ulster Football League The Daily Mirror Mid-Ulster Football League, or simply referred to as the Mid-Ulster League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 9 divisions. These comprise two intermediate sections: the Intermediate A and Intermed ...

Demographics

This data covers the whole electoral ward, not just the traditional Maze settlement. On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 3353 people living in the Maze electoral ward. Of these: *22.9% were aged under 16 years and 15.6% were aged 60 and over *50.8% were female and 49.2% were male *89.1% 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 and 6.2% 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 *1.9% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed

References

External links

Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland Map
Wards of Northern Ireland Civil parish of Blaris