Newtownabbey

Coordinates: 54°40′24″N 05°54′49″W / 54.67333°N 5.91361°W / 54.67333; -5.91361
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For the ruined monastery in County Meath, Ireland, see Newtown Abbey.

Newtownabbey
  • Irish: Baile na Mainistreach
Overlooking the Rathcoole area of Newtownabbey from Cavehill
Newtownabbey is located in Northern Ireland
Newtownabbey
Location within Northern Ireland
Population67,599 (2021 Census)
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNEWTOWNABBEY
Postcode districtBT36, BT37
Dialling code028
PoliceNorthern Ireland
FireNorthern Ireland
AmbulanceNorthern Ireland
UK Parliament
NI Assembly
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Antrim
54°40′24″N 05°54′49″W / 54.67333°N 5.91361°W / 54.67333; -5.91361

Newtownabbey (Irish: Baile na Mainistreach [ˈbˠalʲə n̪ˠə ˈmˠanʲəʃtʲɾʲəx]) is a large settlement north of Belfast city centre in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is separated from the rest of the city by Cavehill and Fortwilliam golf course, but it still forms part of the Belfast metropolitan area. It surrounds Carnmoney Hill, and was formed from the merging of several small villages including Whiteabbey, Glengormley and Carnmoney. At the 2021 census, Metropolitan Newtownabbey Settlement had a population of 67,599,[1] making it the third largest settlement in Northern Ireland and seventh on the Island of Ireland. It is part of Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.

History[edit]

Founding[edit]

Newtownabbey Urban District was founded on 1 April 1958 to cover seven villages north of Belfast: Carnmoney, Glengormley, Jordanstown, Monkstown, Whiteabbey, Whitehouse and Whitewell.[2] Before this, the area fell under the jurisdiction of Belfast Rural District.

Newtownabbey Urban District Council was succeeded by Newtownabbey District Council (1973–1977), Newtownabbey Borough Council (1977–2015), and Antrim and Newtownabbey District Council (2015 onwards).

The Troubles[edit]

Main article: The Troubles in Newtownabbey

During The Troubles, there were a number of incidents in Newtownabbey, including several gun attacks involving the UFF and UVF.[3][4]

Geography[edit]

The Glengormley area of Newtownabbey from Cavehill

Newtownabbey is a large dispersed urban area north of Belfast, surrounding Carnmoney Hill. To its east is Belfast Lough, and to its south and west is Cavehill. There are two wooded river glens running through it: the Three Mile Water and the Glas-na-Bradan.

Townlands[edit]

Below is a list of townlands that are within Newtownabbey's urban area, alongside their likely etymologies.

  • Ballybought (from Irish Baile Bocht, meaning "poor townland")*
  • Ballyduff (from Baile Mhic Giolla Dhuibh, "MacElduff's townland")*
  • Ballygolan (from Baile an Ghabhláin, "townland of the fork")*
  • Ballyhenry (from Baile Éinrí, "Henry's townland")*
  • Ballyvesey (possibly from Baile an Mheasa, "townland of the mast)*
  • Ballywonard (from Baile an Mhuine Aird, "townland of the high thicket")*
  • Carnmoney
  • Collinward (possibly from Baile Gorán Bhaird, "townland of the bard's grove")*
  • Cloughfern (possibly from Currach Fearnaí, "marsh of the place of alders")*
  • Drumnadrough (from Droim na gCruach, "the ridge of the stacks")*, site of Merville Garden Village
  • Dunanney (from Dún Áine, "Áine's fort")*
  • Glengormley
  • Jordanstown
  • Mallusk
  • Monkstown
  • Whiteabbey
  • Whitehouse (named after a 16th-century fortified house built by an English adventurer; formerly Ballyrintollard)

Other districts include:

  • Mossley (named after Mossley in England; in Ballyhenry townland)
  • Rathcoole
  • Whitewell (named after a former spring; in Ballygolan townland)

* citation for derivations[5]

Demography[edit]

National Identity of Newtownabbey residents (2021)[6][7][8]
Nationality Per cent
British
 
 55.9%
Northern Irish
 
 35.6%
Irish
 
 21.5%

2021 Census[edit]

On census day (2021) there were 67,599 people living in Newtownabbey. Of these:

  • 54.45% (36,806) were from a Protestant or other Christian backgrounds, 30.77% (20,801) were from a Catholic background, 1.73% (1,171) were from other religious backgrounds, and 13.05% (8,821) had no religious background[9]
  • 7.57% had some knowledge of the Irish language and 9.21% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots.[10][11]
  • 41.37% (27,966) had a British only identity, 17.25% (11,662) had an Irish only identity, and 20.61% (13,934) had a Northern Irish only identity.[12]

2011 Census[edit]

On census day (27 March 2011) there were 65,646 people living in Newtownabbey.[13] Of these:

  • 20.26% were aged under 16 years and 15.51% were aged 60 and over
  • 48.02% of the population were male and 51.98% were female
  • 62.21% were from a Protestant or other Christian backgrounds, and 27.69% were from a Catholic background
  • 6.40% had some knowledge of the Irish language and 6.98% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots.

Education[edit]

Higher-level education
Secondary-level education
Primary-level education

Sport[edit]

There are several association football clubs in Newtownabbey, including several amateur clubs which field teams in the Northern Amateur Football League: 18th Newtownabbey Old Boys F.C., Mossley F.C., Nortel F.C., Rathfern Rangers F.C., and Ulster University at Jordanstown F.C.[14] Rathcoole F.C. plays in the Ballymena & Provincial Football League.[15] As of 2020, Belfast Deaf United Football Club played in the Down Area Winter Football League.[16]

Local Gaelic games clubs include St Enda's GAC (based near Glengormley) and Greencastle Wolfe Tones GAC (based at Greencastle). Both participate in competitions organised by the Antrim County Board.[17]

Hockey teams based in Newtownabbey include East Antrim Hockey Club, Mossley Hockey Club, and Owls Hockey Club. There are also a number of rugby clubs, an amateur boxing club (Glengormley Amateur Boxing Club), and several cricket teams. These include the Academy and Cliftonville Cricket Clubs (the latter participating in the NCU Senior League).[18]

Outdoor bowling clubs in Newtownabbey include Mossley Bowling Club, Glengormley Bowling Club, Nortel Bowling Club and Ulster Transport Bowling Club.

Transport[edit]

Rail[edit]

Northern Ireland Railways runs trains serving three railway stations: Mossley West railway station on the Belfast–Derry railway line and Jordanstown railway station and Whiteabbey railway station on the Belfast–Larne railway line.

Road[edit]

Newtownabbey is linked to the M2 motorway (which passes through it) and the M5 motorway (which begins at its southeastern edge).

Bus services are provided by Translink’s Belfast bus service, Metro and Ulster bus .[19]

Notable people[edit]

See also: Category:People from Newtownabbey

Twin towns[edit]

Newtownabbey is twinned with:

Newtownabbey has one sister city, as designated by Sister Cities International:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Metropolitan Newtownabbey – Flexible Table Builder". 2021 Census. Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Newtownabbey". Place Names NI.
  3. ^ "Sutton Index of Deaths, 1974". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Retrieved 2 September 2006.
  4. ^ "Sutton Index of Deaths, 1994". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Retrieved 2 September 2006.
  5. ^ "Place Names NI".
  6. ^ "National Identity (British)". NISRA. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  7. ^ "National Identity (Northern Irish)". NISRA. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  8. ^ "National Identity (Irish)". NISRA. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Religion or religion brought up in". NISRA. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  10. ^ "Knowledge of Irish". NISRA. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Knowledge of Ulster-Scots". NISRA. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  12. ^ "National identity (person based) - basic detail (classification 1)". NISRA. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  13. ^ "Census 2011 Population Statistics for Metropolitan Newtownabbey Settlement". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  14. ^ "Ulster University at Jordanstown F.C." Northern Amateur Football League. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  15. ^ "Ballymena & Provincial League round-up October 19". The Belfast Telegraph. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Football". dsni.co.uk. Disability Sport Northern Ireland. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Belfast Deaf United [..] play in the Premier Section of the Down Area Winter League
  17. ^ "Wolfe Tones GAC Greencastle – Antrim GAA". antrim.gaa.ie. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  18. ^ "Robinson Services Premier League – 2022". Northern Cricket Union. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  19. ^ "Translink Metro". Bus Times. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  20. ^ "Stephen Boyd: The Busker Who Became a Screen Idol". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 8 January 2011.
  21. ^ O'Hearn, Denis (2006). Nothing but an unfinished song : Bobby Sands, the Irish hunger striker who ignited a generation. New York: Nation Books. ISBN 9781560258421. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  22. ^ "Me and my health: Jim 'The King' Brown – The hip-swivelling I do on stage as Elvis gives me sore joints". Belfast Telegraph. 23 January 2018.
  23. ^ "Six things you didn't know about Ronan Bennett, the NI writer behind Netflix's Top Boy". belfasttelegraph.co.uk. Belfast Telegraph. 30 September 2019.
  24. ^ "Northern Ireland presenter takes top Radio One music slot". BBC News. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  25. ^ Carson, Helen (23 January 2018). "Me and my health: Jim 'The King' Brown – The hip-swivelling I do on stage as Elvis gives me sore joints". Belfast Telegraph.
  26. ^ "Newtownabbey Girl to Sing on BBC 1 Show The Voice". belfastdaily.co.uk. 11 April 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  27. ^ "Rybnik Official Website – Twin Towns". 2008 Urząd Miasta Rybnika. Retrieved 1 November 2008.
  28. ^ "List of Twin Towns in the Ruhr District" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2009. Retrieved 28 October 2009.

External links[edit]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Newtownabbey.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Newtownabbey.
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