Ballygalley
Ballygalley or Ballygally (from Irish: Baile Geithligh, meaning "Geithleach's townland") is a village and holiday resort in County Antrim, Northern Ireland which lies on the Antrim coast, approximately 3 miles north of Larne. It had a population of 714 in the 2001 Census.
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[edit] History
In the 1990s archaeological excavations were carried out in Ballygally and remains of a number of Neolithic houses on low ground about 500m from the shore of Ballygally Bay were discovered. Ballygalley Neolithic site produced a large number of finds, including pottery, worked flints and stone axes and is an important Neolithic site.[1]
[edit] Places of interest
Notable features include a sandy beach and the distinct headland of Ballgally Head.
It is also home to Ballygally Castle, reputed to be the oldest occupied building in Ireland and with a reputation for being haunted. It sits in the middle of the village and is currently used as a 4 star hotel. It was built around 1625 for James Shaw of Greenock and is one of Ireland’s best-preserved Scottish baronial style plantation houses. Ballygally, despite the shop being demolished in 2008 to build flats, now has a brand new two-storey building, funded by the Big Lottery, Larne Borough Council and NER. The building consists of a large Spar shop at ground level and a Community Hall on the first floor. This will be the venue for many social activities in the very near future. Restaurants, pubs and Cairndhu Golf Course are nearby. Ballygally beach is a popular destination during the Summer months. Situated 1–2 miles away is the Carnfunnock Country Park, which offers a cafe, trailer park, a children's park, go-cart racing, clay pigeon shooting, mini-train rides, bungee runs, mini-golf and nature walks.
[edit] Demographics
Ballygally is classified as a small village or hamlet by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with a population between 500 and 1,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 714 people living in Ballygally. Of these:
- 21.6% were aged under 16 and 22.1% were aged 60 and over
- 49.0% of the population were male and 51.0% were female;
- 27.9% were from a Catholic background and 70.5% were from a Protestant background
- 2.3% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
[edit] Biology
Ballygally Head was (in 1983) the only recorded location of Gelidiella calcicola from Northern Ireland.[2]
[edit] Geology
Ballygally Head is a volcanic plug, the ancient cooled remains of the pipe of a volcano.[3]
Wedges of agglomerate have been found around Ballygally Head, showing that there were several stages of eruption, allowing tuff to form before the vent was blown out and once more filled with magma.[3] There are tall columns in places around Ballygally Head, similar to the basalt columns found at the Giant's Causeway, but these are dolerite, a rock similar to basalt but which cooled more slowly, held inside the volcano vent, and so had time to grow larger crystals.[4]
Scawt Hill, another volcanic plug 5 km west north west of Ballygally, is an internationally important site for geology due to the rare minerals found there. It is a protected Area of Special Scientific Interest.
[edit] References
- ^ O'Sullivan, Aidan & Breen, Colin (2007). Maritime Ireland. An Archaeology of Coastal Communities. Stroud: Tempus. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-7524-2509-2.
- ^ Maggs, C.A. and Guiry,M.D. 1987. Gelidiella calcicola sp. nov. (Rhodophyta) from the British Isles and Northern France. Br. phycol. J. 22: 417 - 434. (Ref. Maggs, C.A. and Guiry,M.D. 1987)
- ^ a b Wilson, H E et al (1986) Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, HMSO
- ^ Geography in Action, Dolerite, Northern Ireland
[edit] External links
Coordinates: 54°53′58″N 5°51′39″W / 54.89944°N 5.86083°W
