Kirkop

Ħal Kirkop Il-Kunsill Lokali ta' Ħal Kirkop
—  Local council  —
Ħal Kirkop
Coat of arms
Motto: Parva non Iners
Coordinates: 35°50′31″N 14°29′6″E
Country	Malta
Island	Malta
District
Borders	Luqa, Mqabba, Safi, Żurrieq
Government
• Mayor	Mario Salerno (MLP)
Area
• Total	1.1 km2 (0.4 sq mi)
Population (Dec 2008)
• Total	2,186
• Density	2,000/km2 (5,100/sq mi)
Demonym	Koppi (m), Koppija (f), Koppin (pl)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code
Dialing code	356
Patron saint	St. Leonard; St. Joseph
Day of festa	3rd Sunday of September; 2nd Sunday of July
Website	Official website

Ħal Kirkop is a small village in the south of Malta. It is found near the Malta International Airport and this settlement has a rich history, that of even Punic times. The parish church is dedicated to St. Leonard. Apart from the feast of St. Leonard, a secondary big feast of St. Joseph is celebrated in summer. Kirkop United is the village football team currently playing in Division 2 (promoted on 1 May 2011 from Division 3) of the Malta Football Association Competitions.

In 1969 the anthropologist Jeremy Boissevain published his research on the social fabric of this village in his book Hal Farrug: a village in Malta. The book was republished in 1980 and re-issued under a new title, Ħal Kirkop: A village in Malta, in 2006. In his book, Boissevain identified Ħal Kirkop people whose families had lived in the area for centuries as having the most striking traces of the ancient Phoenician bloodline. The Phoenicians were ancient marauders who had occupied the Maltese islands around 700 B.C. Punic remains of catacombs are dotted all around the village, and most of them remain undiscovered, but plans state that they will be explored in the future. Kirkop was part of a larger community called 'Bir Miftuh' in Middle Ages when on the 29th May, 1592 it was declared a parish on its own right

It is home of the STMicroelectronics plant, whose production accounts for 60% of the exports in Malta.

History and Population growth

The name of the village is derived from an ancient family name that had roots within the area. The village name was known as 'Casal Prokopju' and this name is found in old registers of the militia that existed prior to the coming of the Knights of Malta. It is traditionally known that the name described the place where this family lived. After a while the official name became 'Kirkop' by the local people. Kirkop has been a village before the 1000s and a parish before the 1600s. Punic remains of catacombs are dotted all around the village, and most of them remain undiscovered, but plans state that they will be explored in the future. It has a population of 2,186 people (Dec 2008) but it is expanding rapidly to reach 3000 by year 2010.

Places of Interest

The Medieval Church of the Annunciation.

In Kirkop, one finds the Menhira monolith that has become the symbol of the village, Paleo-Christian Catacombs, the medieval Church of the Annunciation, the Parish Church dedicated to St. Leonard, two band Clubs, St Joseph Band Club, St.Leonard Band Club and the cemetery inside which there is a Chapel dedicated to St. Nicholas.

A cross placed on column is found in Kirkop Square and it is called 'Is-Salib tad-Dejma' in Maltese. There is also a quite interesting collection of niches scattered around the village.

Ħal Kirkop main roads

• Triq Ħal Safi (Safi Road)
• Triq il-Belt Valletta (Valletta Road)
• Triq il-Lewżiet (Almonds Street)
• Triq ir-Ramlija (Sandy Street)
• Triq It-Tielet Waqgha (Third Fall Road)
• Triq l-Industrija (Industry Street)
• Triq San Benedittu (St Benedict Street)
• Triq l-Gharaq tad-Demm (Bloody Sweat Street)
• Triq San Ġwann (St John Street)
• Triq San Nikola (St. Nicholas Street)
• Triq Santu Rokku (St Rocco Street)
• Triq Taż-Żebbiegħ (Taz-Zebbiegh Road)

Band clubs

• St Leonard's Band Club (L-Għaqda Mużikali San Leonardu)

• St Joseph Band Club (L-Għaqda Mużikali San Ġużepp) St.Joseph Band Club, Ħal Kirkop

Zones in Ħal Kirkop

• Bonu ż-Żgħir
• Il-Għadir (The Lake)
• Menħir Estate (Menhir Estate)
• Tal-Aħfar
• Tal-Ibliq
• Tal-Fieres
• Tar-Robba
• Tas-Sienja

Twin village

• The village is twinned with Rousset in France.

External links

• Ħal Kirkop Local Council
• St.Joseph Band Club, Ħal Kirkop

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