Armoy, County Antrim

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"Armoy" redirects here. For other uses, see Armoy (disambiguation).
Armoy
Irish: Oirthear Maí
240px
St Patrick's Church and the round tower
Armoy is located in Northern Ireland
Armoy
Armoy
 Armoy shown within Northern Ireland
Population 1,122 (2013 Estimate)
Irish grid reference D067328
   – Belfast 49 mi (79 km)  
District Moyle
County County Antrim
Country Northern Ireland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town BALLYMONEY
Postcode district BT53
Dialling code 028, +44 28
EU Parliament Northern Ireland
UK Parliament North Antrim
NI Assembly North Antrim
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Antrim

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Armoy (from Irish: Oirthear Maí)[1] is a small village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 5.5 miles (9 km) southwest of Ballycastle and 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Ballymoney. According to an estimate in 2013 by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency it had a population of 1,122.[2] The village is on the River Bush between two of the nine Glens of Antrim; Glenshesk and Glentaisie. The Armoy area also includes half of Knocklayd mountain which lies to the northeast of the village.

It is one of the bigger villages in the Moyle area and has two primary schools, shops, a post office, public houses and other community facilities. The village was dominated by public sector housing for many years, but in the late 1980s and early 1990s, a new housing development was built. Many more new developments have been built since then.

The River Bush once flowed directly north to the sea at Ballycastle, however, after the last glacial event in Northern Ireland deposited the Armoy Moraine (on which the church and round tower sit) the river was deflected to the west and it now reaches the sea through Bushmills and Portballantrae.

History

A monastic settlement which was founded by Saint Patrick in the 5th Century formerly sat to the northeast of the present day village, in the area of what is now St. Patrick's Parish Church. The site was excavated recently and archaeologists uncovered artifacts which date the location to the 6th century. The actual centre of the monastic settlement has yet to be determined, though many scholars believe it may be higher up the slope behind the graveyard on unexcavated ground.

The monastic settlement is said to be built on land given to Patrick by Fergus Mor MacEarca who would succeed his father to become the first Christian king in Ireland. Saint Olcán was a follower of Patrick who came from the area, and was baptised at Dunseverick by Patrick and later became Bishop of Armoy. One of the local primary schools still carries his name.[3]

It is suggested that the original site of the village was built around the monastery and the round tower. However, during the Norman period the village moved to its present day location on the banks of the River Bush to accommodate the Norman operated mills which demanded large volumes of water. Therefore, a location by the riverbank was much more suitable.

The area surrounding the present day church is of special significance as it has several oval shaped tunnels which have been dug under the rock all the way down to a cave at the Lagge crossroads below the church. This tunnel from the tower to the crossroads was used as an escape route as it leads down to the River Bush. The word Lagge is of significance as it translates as hollow and legend has it that a giant lifted an ‘L’- shaped section of the ground at Lagge Cross and threw it into the sea creating Rathlin Island.[4]

Places of interest

  • A picturesque Presbyterian Church sits near to the edge of the River Bush and not to far from the centre on the village. The church’s striking spire, with a Viking ship weathervane on top, has been described as ’a miniature replica of the Eiffel Tower’.
File:Armoy Presbyterian Church - geograph.org.uk - 1748842.jpg
Armoy Presbyterian Church
  • There are the remains of an Irish round tower on the edge of the village. An early monastery was founded about AD 460 by Saint Olcán, a disciple of Saint Patrick. The only trace of an early monastery is the stump of the round tower, which stands in the grounds of St Patrick's Parish Church. The tower is about 11 m high and has three storeys. At one time, Armoy was the main religious settlement in the Irish part of the kingdom of Dál Riata.
  • The village also has a small park beside the river in which many references can be found to its connection with motorbikes and road racing. This includes a monument dedicated to the "Armoy Armada" who were a famous group of road racers from Armoy which included Joey Dunlop, Mervyn Robinson, Frank Kennedy and Jim Dunlop.[5] The park also has paths laid out in the shape of the circuits of both the North West 200 and the legendary Isle of Man TT.

Events

File:Robbos Corner - Race of Legends.jpg
Armoy Road Race, Robbos Corner

In recent years Armoy has played host to what has become one of the stand out events in the Irish Road Racing callender, The Armoy Road Race, also known as "The Race of Legends".[6]

The event takes place at the end of July/start of August every year and takes place on Armoy's 3 mile long circuit. The grid for the races is set up in a grand prix style with up to 27 riders starting each race. The start/finish line is located along the A44 Hillside Road just to the north of the village on the main road to Ballycastle.[7]

Community development

The commercial and community life of the village has been greatly enhanced by a community regeneration project at the junction of Main Street and Drones Road. The Tilley Molloy Project, implemented under the International Fund for Ireland’s Community Regeneration and Improvement Special Programme (CRISP), was undertaken by Armoy Community Development Association and completed in 2000. This redevelopment of a key derelict site at the entrance to the village provided four shop units, four apartments, community care facilities and public toilets. The physical environment of the village has been further enhanced by a new Riverside Park developed by the District Council, and an environmental improvement scheme on Main Street carried out as part of the CRISP project.

Transport

Armoy railway station opened on 18 October 1880 and was shut on 3 July 1950.[8] It was on the Ballycastle Railway, a narrow gauge railway which ran for 17 miles linking Ballycastle to Ballymoney, on the Belfast and Northern Counties Railway (BNCR), later Northern Counties Committee (NCC), main line to Londonderry.[9]

The Troubles

On 15 April 1978 RUC officer John Moore was killed by an IRA booby trap bomb attached to his car.[10]

People

  • John Armoy Knox, journalist, was born on 10 August 1851 at Armoy, the son of Thomas and Jane McBride Knox. His father and his uncle owned the Armoy Flax and Grain Mills. He emigrated to the United States in 1871 and settled in Austin, Texas working as a journalist, before editing newspapers in New York and Atlanta. He was also a playwright and author. He died suddenly in New York on 18 December 1906.
  • Olcan McFetridge was a famous County Antrim hurler. He received an all-star award in 1989 and won a Sports Council Merit and Sunday Life Award in August 2005.
  • Joey Dunlop OBE was a resident of Armoy and was a member of The Armoy Armada. He was a world champion motorcyclist.
  • Steve & Charlie McCooke, Legendary cross country runners and Olympians. Stephen trained in his spare time while working on a farm and went on to compete in the 1948 Olympic Games in London. He was also a leading light of East Antrim Harriers cycling club. Hundreds of mourners, including sports officials from all over Ireland, gathered at 2nd Broughshane Presbyterian Church to say their farewells to Stephen Hunter McCooke, who with his brother Charlie captured virtually every track and field record in Ireland.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Placenames Database of Ireland
  2. ↑ http://www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/AreaProfileReportViewer.aspx?FromAPAddressMulipleRecords=Armoy@Exact%20match%20of%20location%20name:%20@Exact%20Match%20Of%20Location%20Name:%20%20Armoy@4?
  3. ↑ http://www.causewaycoastalroute.com/armoy.html
  4. ↑ http://www.armoy.net/index.php/about/about
  5. ↑ http://www.amrrc.com/armoy-armada
  6. ↑ http://www.amrrc.com/index
  7. ↑ http://www.amrrc.com/track-facts
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ [1]

External links

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