Ballymena

Ballymena (Irish: An Baile Meánach, "middle town") is a town in County Antrim, in Northern Ireland and the seat of Ballymena Borough Council.

20th century

In 1900, Ballymena assumed urban status. The Adairs disposed of most of their Ballymena estate to the occupying tenants in 1904, under the provisions of the Irish Land Act of 1903. The “old” town hall building, which also contained the post office and estate office, burned down in 1919. Prince Albert, Duke of York (later King George VI) laid the cornerstone to the new town hall on July 24, 1924, and it was officially opened on November 20, 1928. The Urban District Council petitioned for borough status and the Charter was granted in December 1937. The first meeting of councillors as a borough Council was held on May 23, 1939. The population of Ballymena reached 13,000. Ballymena Castle was demolished in the 1950s. In 1973, the Urban and Rural District Councils were merged to create the present Ballymena Borough Council.

Related Topics:
1900 - 1904 - Irish Land Act - 1903 - 1919 - Prince Albert - Duke of York - July 24 - 1924 - November 20 - 1928 - 1937 - May 23 - 1939 - 1950s - 1973 - Ballymena Borough Council

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In March 2000, the actor Liam Neeson, a Catholic native of Ballymena, was offered the freedom of the borough by the council, which approved the action by a 12-9 vote. The Democratic Unionist Party objected to the offer and drew attention to his comments from a 1999 interview with the American political magazine George, in which Neeson complained that while growing up he felt Catholics were "second-class citizens" and described the Battle of the Boyne as "some bloody obscure war." The DUP preferred that the award should honor their leader Ian Paisley, who was eventually made a freeman of Ballymena in December 2004. http://www.ianpaisley.org/article.asp?printerFriendly=true&ArtKey=ballymena Neeson declined the award, citing tensions, and affirmed he was proud of his connection to the town. http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,6737,1410198,00.html

Related Topics:
March 2000 - Liam Neeson - Freedom of the borough - Democratic Unionist Party - 1999 - George - Battle of the Boyne - Ian Paisley - December 2004

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A Protestant stronghold, Ballymena is described by some observers as being at the heart of Northern Ireland's equivalent of the Bible Belt. http://www.guardian.co.uk/drugs/Story/0,2763,439125,00.html It is also severely afflicted with heroin addiction; half of the registered heroin addicts in Northern Ireland are in the town, with approximately one person out of 60 in the town a heroin user.http://www.drugsalcohol.info/drugs/default.asp?s=H&d=H6 Some evidence suggests that this is due to the pervasive influence in the town of loyalist paramilitaries who raise funds through the heroin trade.http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2001/10/22/story15343.asp

Related Topics:
Northern Ireland - Bible Belt - Heroin - Loyalist - Paramilitaries

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