Kells, County Antrim

Not to be confused with Kells, County Meath or Kells, County Kilkenny.

Kells (from the Irish: Na Cealla) is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, near Ballymena. The area encompasses Kells and the village of Connor which are very close together and have a joint primary school, library, development association etc. It had a population of 1,745 people in the 2001 Census. It is within the Borough of Ballymena.

An old stone bridge crosses the Kells Water, separating Kells from the adjacent village of Connor.

History

There is much evidence, from written sources and archaeological material, that Connor (Irish: Con Doire: the oak wood of the wolf) was a sizeable, complex settlement in the Early Christian period, probably with monastic and secular elements coexisting. There was no monastic establishment at Connor in the Middle Ages, though there was an Augustinian community at Kells nearby. This Augustinian Abbey in the village was once the cathedral of the old diocese of Connor and Kells. Only one wall remains of the Abbey and this now stands in the middle of a textile factory.

Transport

• Kells was formerly served by the Ballymena and Larne Railway, a narrow gauge railway. The railway station opened on 24 August 1878, closed for passenger traffic on 31 January 1933 and finally closed altogether on 3 June 1940.

2001 Census

Kells/Connor is classified as a Village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,745 people living in Kells/Connor. Of these:

• 25.0% were aged under 16 years and 14.7% were aged 60 and over
• 48.4% of the population were male and 51.6% were female
• 1.3% were from a Catholic background and 94.7% were from a Protestant background
• 2.9% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

References

• Culture Northern ireland

See also

• List of villages in Northern Ireland