Ahoghill

Ahoghill
Irish: *Achadh Eochaille*
Scots: *Ahauchill*
Ahoghill Irish: Achadh Eochaille; Scots: Ahauchill;
	Main Street
	Location within Northern Ireland
Population	3,417 (Census 2011)
County	County Antrim;
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Northern Ireland
Fire	Northern Ireland
Ambulance	Northern Ireland
	List of places UK Northern Ireland Antrim 54°51′04″N 6°21′58″W / 54.851°N 6.366°W

Ahoghill^[1]^[2] (/əˈhɒhɪl/ or /əˈhɒxɪl/; from Irish Achadh Eochaille 'field of the yew forest')^[3] is a large village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, four miles from Ballymena. It is located in the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area. It had a population of 3,417 people at the 2011 Census.^[4]

In early documents, Ahoghill is referred to as Magherahoghill meaning "the plain of the yew forest."^{[citation needed]}

Demography

Ahoghill had a population of 3,417 people (1,327 households) at the 2011 Census,^[4] an increase of 11.8% on the 2001 Census population of 3,055.^[5]

On Census day in 2011:^[4]

22.2% were aged under 16 and 12.6% were aged 65 and over
48.8% of the population were male and 51.2% were female
3.8% were from a
Protestant
or other Christian background
3.5% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed

History

Religious revival

The

Connor spoke. It was estimated that 3,000 people attended and the commotion was such that the minister ordered the building to be emptied out of fear of the crowded gallery giving way. The crowd spent upwards of three hours in the rain continuing in prayer and praise. The gallery of First Ahoghill^[6]

still bears the effects of this event; it is visibly sunken to one side.

Today Ahoghill has three Presbyterian churches, First Ahoghill on Straid Road, Brookside [7] on Brook Street and Trinity on Church Street. There is also St Colmanell's Church of Ireland on Church Street, a Gospel Hall on Glenhugh Road and a Roman Catholic Chapel on Ballynafie road.

The Troubles

On 19 April 1977 William Strathearn (39), a

Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) while at his home in Ahoghill. The murder was carried out by Billy McCaughey who was a UVF member despite also being a former police officer.^[8]

The village has seen frequent sectarian attacks, particularly in 2005 when several Catholic families left after attacks on their homes,

loyalist

area.

Sport

Ahoghill Thistle F.C, an association football team
Ahoghill Rovers F.C, an association football team
Gaelic sports
clubs.

Notable people

References

^ "Minister pays visit to Belfast as fears rise over loyalist violence". Irish Independent. 11 September 2005.
^ Creggan Camogie Club^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Placenames Database of Ireland
^ ^a ^b ^c "Census 2011 Population Statistics for Ahoghill Settlement". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Retrieved 23 July 2019.
^ "Census 2001 Usually Resident Population: KS01 (Settlements) - Table view". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). p. 1. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
^ First Ahoghill
^ Brookside Presbyterian Ahoghill
^ "Hatred in Harryville", Henry McDonald, Sunday Times, 9 February 1997
^ Guardian
^ BBC
^ UTV Archived 2009-11-20 at the Wayback Machine

Culture Northern Ireland

[1] "Minister pays visit to Belfast as fears rise over loyalist violence". Irish Independent. 11 September 2005.

[2] Creggan Camogie Club^{[permanent dead link]}

[3] Placenames Database of Ireland

[Census2011-4] "Census 2011 Population Statistics for Ahoghill Settlement". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Retrieved 23 July 2019.

[Census2001-5] "Census 2001 Usually Resident Population: KS01 (Settlements) - Table view". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). p. 1. Retrieved 23 July 2019.

[6] First Ahoghill

[7] Brookside Presbyterian Ahoghill

[ReferenceA-8] "Hatred in Harryville", Henry McDonald, Sunday Times, 9 February 1997

[9] Guardian

[10] BBC

[11] UTV Archived 2009-11-20 at the Wayback Machine

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