Ballymoney Borough
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Boundaries 1973 to 2015 | |
Area | 418 km2 (161 sq mi) Ranked 17th of 26 |
District HQ | Ballymoney |
Catholic | 31.8% |
Protestant | 63.1% |
Country | Northern Ireland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Councillors |
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Website | www |
Ballymoney was a local government district with borough status in Northern Ireland. It was headquartered in Ballymoney. Other towns in the borough included Dervock, Dunloy, Cloughmills and Rasharkin. The borough had a population of 31,224 according to the 2011 census.
In May 2015 it was merged with the boroughs of Coleraine and Limavady and the District of Moyle to form the Causeway Coast and Glens district.
Ballymoney was one of twenty-six districts created on 1 October 1973. It took over the areas Ballymoney Urban District Council and most of the surrounding Ballymoney Rural District in County Antrim. [1]
The borough was divided into three electoral areas which between them returned 16 members. These were Ballymoney Town (5), Bann Valley (6) and Bushvale (5). Elections were conducted under the proportional representation single transferable vote system, and elections of the whole council were normally held every four years. The election due to take place in May 2009 was postponed in anticipation of the creation of eleven new councils in 2011. [2] The proposed reforms were abandoned in 2010, and the most recent district council elections took place in 2011 [3]
As of February 2012 the political composition of the last council was: 8 Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), 3 Sinn Féin, 2 Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), 1 Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), 1 Traditional Unionist Voice and 1 independent. [4]
In 1977 Ballymoney District Council successfully petitioned for a grant of a charter of incorporation, constituting the district a borough. [5]
The charter also created the office of mayor, who was chosen for a one-year term at the council's annual meeting.
Year | Name | Political affiliation | Deputy | Deputy's affiliation | ||
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1977–81 | Mary J. Holmes | Independent | Robert McComb | Independent | ||
1981–84 | Charles Steele | DUP | ||||
1985–86 | Charles Steele | DUP | Joe Gaston | Ulster Unionist | ||
1986–87 | Joe Gaston | Ulster Unionist | James Patterson | DUP | ||
Robert Halliday | DUP | |||||
1988–89 | Cecil Cousley | DUP | William Logan | Ulster Unionist | ||
1990–93 | Joe Gaston | Ulster Unionist | Samuel McConaghie | DUP | ||
Cecil Cousley | DUP | |||||
Malachy McCamphill | SDLP | |||||
1994–95 | Cecil Cousley | DUP | Robert Wilson | DUP | ||
1996–97 | Joe Gaston | Ulster Unionist | Samuel McConaghie | DUP | ||
1997–98 | Frank Campbell | DUP | William Logan | Ulster Unionist | ||
Samuel McConaghie | DUP | |||||
1999–00 | William Logan | Ulster Unionist | Bill Kennedy | DUP | ||
2000–01 | Bill Kennedy | DUP | Samuel McConaghie | DUP | ||
John Finlay | DUP | |||||
2002–03 | Frank Campbell | DUP | Cecil Cousley | DUP | ||
2004–05 | Cecil Cousley | DUP | Ian Stevenson | DUP | ||
2006–07 | John Finlay | DUP | Cecil Cousley | DUP | ||
2007 – 08 [6] | John Finlay | DUP | Harry Connolly | SDLP | ||
2008 – 09 [6] | John Finlay | DUP | Cecil Cousley | DUP | ||
2009 – 10 [7] | Frank Campbell | DUP | Cecil Cousley | DUP | ||
2010 – 11 [4] | Bill Kennedy | Ulster Unionist | Cecil Cousley | DUP | ||
2011 – 12 [4] | Ian Stevenson | DUP | Thomas McKeown | Ulster Unionist | ||
2012 – 13 [4] | Evelyne L Robinson | DUP | Cecil Cousley | DUP | ||
2013 - [4] | John Finlay | DUP | Ian Stevenson | DUP |
Source: Freedom of Information request to Ballymoney Borough Council
On 22 February 1997 The Ballymoney Branch of the Royal British Legion was awarded the Freedom of the Borough. [8] [9] In 2012 the Royal Irish Regiment and 152 (Ulster) Transport Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps (Volunteers) were awarded the freedom of Ballymoney by the council. [10] [11] On both occasions the regiments held special marches through the town to celebrate the awards. Previous recipients include the Royal Ulster Constabulary (Both Regular and Reserve Forces), Northern Ireland Fire Brigade, Joey Dunlop, his brother Robert and the former MP for the area Ian Paisley. [12] [13]
In 2000, Ballymoney Borough Council twinned with the French town of Vanves. Since 2001, the council has been a sister city of Benbrook in Texas and building on its motorcycling history, is also linked to the borough of Douglas, Isle of Man.
Together with the neighbouring districts of Ballymena and Moyle, it forms the North Antrim constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.
Former Councillors that went on to become MLAs included Philip McGuigan Mervyn Storey and Daithi McKay.
The borough has the highest life expectancy of any area in Northern Ireland, with the average male life expectancy at birth being 79.0 years and 82.6 years for females. [14]
Ballycastle is a small seaside town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is on the northeasternmost coastal tip of Ireland, in the Antrim Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The harbour hosts the ferry to Rathlin Island and a smaller passenger and charter service to Campbeltown and Port Ellen in Scotland, with both Rathlin Island and Scotland's Kintyre peninsula able to be seen from the coast. The Ould Lammas Fair is held each year in Ballycastle on the last Monday and Tuesday of August. Ballycastle is the home of the Corrymeela Community.
Castlereagh was a local government district with the status of borough in Northern Ireland. It merged with Lisburn City Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, with a small amount being transferred to Belfast City Council.
Moyle District Council was a local council in County Antrim in the northeast of Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymoney Borough Council, Coleraine Borough Council and Limavady Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation to become Causeway Coast and Glens District Council.
Newtownabbey Borough Council was a Local Authority in County Antrim in Northern Ireland, on the north shore of Belfast Lough just immediately north of Belfast. The Council merged with Antrim Borough Council in April 2015 under local government reform in Northern Ireland to form Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.
North Antrim is a parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current MP is Ian Paisley Jr of the DUP.
Ballymoney 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. It had a population of 11,048 people at the 2021 Census.
Coleraine Borough Council was a local council mainly in County Londonderry and partly in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymoney Borough Council, Limavady Borough Council and Moyle District Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Causeway Coast and Glens District Council
Larne Borough Council was a Local Council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymena Borough Council and Carrickfergus Borough Council in May 2015 under the reorganisation of local government in Northern Ireland to become Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.
Limavady Borough Council was a local government body in Northern Ireland. In May 2015 it merged with Coleraine Borough Council, Ballymoney Borough Council and Moyle District Council under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Causeway Coast and Glens District Council.
Rasharkin is a small village, townland and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) south of Ballymoney, near Dunloy and Kilrea. It had a population of 1,114 people in the 2011 Census.
Robert Mervyn Storey, usually known as Mervyn Storey, is a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) politician, serving as a Causeway Coast and Glens Councillor for the Ballymoney DEA since 2022. Storey previously served in the Northern Ireland Executive, where he was Minister for Social Development from 2014 to 2016, and then Minister for Finance between January and March 2016. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim from 2003 to 2022.
Robert Coulter was a Northern Irish politician, a member of the Ulster Unionist Party and a prominent proponent of unionism.
Andrew Gardiner Kane, known as Gardiner Kane is a former Northern Irish Unionist politician who was a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for North Antrim from 1998 to 2003.
The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. In common with all other Northern Irish unionist parties, the TUV's political programme has as its sine qua non the preservation of Northern Ireland's place within the United Kingdom. A founding precept of the party is that "nothing which is morally wrong can be politically right".
Joe Gaston was a Unionist politician in Northern Ireland.
Antrim and Newtownabbey is a local government district in Northern Ireland. The district was created on 1 April 2015 by merging the Borough of Antrim with the Borough of Newtownabbey. The local authority is Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council.
Causeway Coast and Glens is a local government district covering most of the northern part of Northern Ireland. It was created on 1 April 2015 by merging the Borough of Ballymoney, the Borough of Coleraine, the Borough of Limavady and the District of Moyle. The local authority is Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
Ballymena Borough Council was the local authority of Ballymena in Northern Ireland. It merged with Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.
Ballymoney Borough Council was the local authority of Ballymoney in Northern Ireland. Originally formed in the 1970s, the council ceased to operate as a separate entity in 2015 when it was combined with other local authorities to form the Causeway Coast and Glens District Council.
Oliver McMullan is an Irish Sinn Féin politician, serving as a Causeway Coast and Glens councillor for The Glens DEA since 2019. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for East Antrim from 2011 to 2017. He was also elected to Larne Borough Council in the 2011 local elections.