Ballymoney

This article is about the town in County Antrim. For other uses, see Ballymoney (disambiguation).

Ballymoney
Ballymoney is located in Northern Ireland
Ballymoney
Ballymoney
Location within Northern Ireland
Population11,048 (2021 census)
• Belfast48 mi (77 km)
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBALLYMONEY
Postcode districtBT55
Dialling code028
PoliceNorthern Ireland
FireNorthern Ireland
AmbulanceNorthern Ireland
UK Parliament
NI Assembly
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Antrim
55°04′16″N 6°30′29″W / 55.071°N 6.508°W / 55.071; -6.508

Ballymoney (Irish: Baile Monaidhⓘ [ˌbˠalʲə ˈmˠɔnˠə], meaning 'townland of the moor')[3] is a town and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. The civil parish of Ballymoney is situated in the historic baronies of Dunluce Upper and Kilconway in County Antrim, as well as the barony of North East Liberties of Coleraine in County Londonderry.[4] It had a population of 11,048 people at the 2021 census.[5]

Ballymoney is located on the main road between Coleraine and Ballymena, with good road and rail connections to the main cities in Northern Ireland, Belfast and Derry.

The Ballymoney area has the highest life expectancy of any area in Northern Ireland, with the average male life expectancy at birth being 79.9 years and 83.8 years for females in years between 2010 and 2012.[6] Conversely, it was revealed in 2013 that Ballymoney residents are more likely to die from heart disease than anywhere else in Northern Ireland.[7]

The town hosts the Ballymoney Drama Festival, the oldest drama festival in Ireland, which was founded in 1933. The town also hosts the Ballymoney Show, which is one of the oldest agricultural shows in Northern Ireland and was founded in 1902.[8]

  1. ^ Placenames Database of Ireland
  2. ^ Know_as=Peters_Back_yard Bellymoney daes Burns proud – Ullans Speakers Association Archived 13 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Ballymoney, County Antrim". Northern Ireland Place-Name Project. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Ballymoney". IreAtlas Townlands Database. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2021 pop was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file). Archived 12 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Ballymoney 'worst place in NI' for heart disease" BBC News
  8. ^ "Ballymoney Show". Ballymoney Show. Retrieved 10 November 2015.