Ballyclare, NIR - Postcode - BT39 9JS

Description of Ballyclare

Ballyclare, Northern Ireland, is a tiny town in County Antrim. Its name, derived from the Irish Bealach Cláir, means "pass of the plain." It is part of the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area, and its population in 2011 was 9,953.

It fronts the Six Mile Water River. The presence of a small Norman motte on the south bank of the river, now part of the War Memorial Park, attests to the strategic importance of the area that would later become the town. The wide, 17th-century main drag is a historical relic. The Town Hall and the Market Square can be found in the geographic center of the community. Due to the arrival of the railroad in the 19th century, the town expanded, becoming an important industrial center that was home to both a sizable paper mill in the town's southwestern section and a sizable Linen Bleach Green. The Mill Road and the Green Road both got their names because they led to factories that no longer exist. It's become an important local service hub and dormitory for people living in and around Belfast. It serves as the hub for the surrounding rural community's retail, academic, and leisure needs. Craig Hill, once a wooded backdrop to the area but now covered with modern housing, can be seen to the north. The basalt on which Craig Hill was built has been mined for much of its history.

History of Ballyclare

The town of Ballyclare has been inhabited by humans for at least 6,000 years. There was a trove of flint arrowheads discovered in November 1968, when houses were being built north of the river, which is the earliest evidence of human habitation in the area. Near the river crossing, archaeologists uncovered 39 flints, some perfectly finished and others blank, suggesting the presence of a "industry" and trading over 4,000 years ago.

The Normans established a defensive line along the river after they constructed the castle in Carrickfergus, which they dubbed the "Ollar" (River of the Rushes). In time, the Ollar became known as the Six Mile Water because that was how far it was from Carrickfergus to Antrim when soldiers began to reach it. Located in Ballyclare's War Memorial Park, one of these mottes overlooks the water. Doagh and Antrim are on different banks of the river and both have one. The village grew after the Plantation of Ulster and was granted permission by King George II in 1756 to hold two fairs each year making it an important market centre. At the same time as the Pilgrim Fathers landed in what is now the United States, Ballyclare was settled by Scots planters. Jonathan Swift preached in Ballyclare and it was from the town that the families of Mark Twain, Sam Houston and General Alexander Macomb left for America. The people of Ballyclare and the surrounding villages played a part in the Irish Rebellion of 1798, and fought in the Battle of Antrim. At the beginning of the 20th century Ballyclare was a growing industrial town with an urban district council and became the largest paper producer in Ireland. and became the largest paper producer in Ireland.