Cullybackey
| Cullybackey | |
| County Antrim | |
|---|---|
 Cullybackey Main Street | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | D056058 |
| Location: | 54°53’19"N, 6°21’19"W |
| Data | |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Mid & East Antrim |
Cullybackey or Cullybacky is a village in County Antrim, three miles north-west of Ballymena, on the banks of the River Main. It is an overwhelmingly Protestant village, which had a population of 2,569 people in the 2011 Census.
The name of the village is from the Irish language; Coill na Baice, meaning "Wood of the river bend".[1]
History
Cullybackey was part of the ancient kingdom of Dál nAraidi. Evidence of ancient dwellers in the area have been found throughout the years, including the remains of Crannogs and Souterrains.[2]
Christian Missionary Mackevet erected a monastery in the area. It is said that when Mackevet first approached the Irish Chieftain MacAfee about this matter the two began to argue over it and Mackevet, who was a large man raised his fist into the chieftain's face and said "I'm a man of peace, but smell that MacAfee". This won him the argument and the monastery was built, supplying the area with a place of learning for many centuries afterwards.[3]
In 1778 a corps was raised by John Dickey of Cullybackey House, They named themselves 'The Cullybackey Volunteers'.[4] In 1847, the village contained 235 residents and contained about 50 houses.[4]
Places of interest
- Arthur Cottage, the ancestral home of Chester A. Arthur, 21st President of the United States, from 1881 to 1885, is close to the village, on the B62 road from Ballymena. It is a restored 18th-century farmhouse with open flax-straw thatched roof. Usually open to the public through the spring and summer months but currently closed until further notice due to extensive damage caused by fire in 2011.
- The old Methodist church on the banks of the river was opened in 1839 as the Original Secession Church. It later became the United Free Church of Scotland. When the United Free clergy withdrew from Ireland in 1923, the congregation became Methodists.
- The Cunningham Memorial Presbyterian Church
- Craigs Church of Ireland, which was designed by celebrated 19th-century architect Sir Charles Lanyon and built in 1840. Attached to the church is a very old graveyard which contains 'The Strangers Plot', where the poor of the parish where buried, including those who lost their lives in the parish during the Great Famine (Ireland)
- Cullybackey Millennium Riverwalk [5]
- Galgorm Resort and Spa
- Craigdun Castle, a 19th-century Scots Baronial castle that is set a mile outside the village. Believed to have been designed by Charles Lanyon, it was left to the NHS as a home for multiple sclerosis sufferers in the 1950s and continued in this role until the 1990s, when it was sold by the NHS. The current owners have extensively renovated the property and gardens, and in 2011 the house was a finalist in the BBC Northern Ireland House of the Year programme.
Transport
The first sod on the Belfast railway line was turned in 1845 and the line from Ballymena to Portrush was completed in 1855 [6]
The railway line is still well used by the population of Cullybackey today with trains stopping at the station almost hourly throughout the day. On 24 March 2000, a woman died after a collision involving a passenger train and her car at a level crossing at Station Road, Cullybackey. None of the 88 passengers on board the train travelling from Belfast to Londonderry were hurt. [7]
Big Society
- Scouting:
- 1st Cullybackey Scout Group (established in 1936); meet weekly in The Cunningham Memorial Church Hall
- 1st Cullybackey Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and Senior Section; meet weekly in The Cunningham Memorial Church Hall
- Boys' Brigade and Girls' Brigade:
- Cullybackey Girls Brigade (established in 1958;[8] meet in the Cullybackey Methodist Church Hall
- Cullybackey Boys Brigade; meet weekly in Cullybackey Methodist Church Hall
- Cadets: Cullybackey Detachment, Army Cadet Force; meet weekly in Cullybackey College
- Cullybackey and District Historical Society
- Bands:
- Cullybackey Pipe Band
- Cullybackey LOL 696 Flute Band, established in 2014
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Cullybackey) |
References
- ↑ Placenames NI: Cullybackey
- ↑ W. J., Knowles (April 1905). "Souterrains at Cullybackey, in the County of Antrim". Ulster Journal of Archaeology. Second 11: 51–54.
- ↑ Shaw, William: 'Cullybackey and District' (Ballymena Borough Council, 1912) page 4
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lewis, Samuel: 'A topographical dictionary of Ireland' S. Lewis, 1837) page 443
- ↑ Maine Riverside - Walk NI
- ↑ Cullybackey and District by William Shaw
- ↑ 'Crash victim's name released' - BBC News
- ↑ Cullybackey Girls Brigade makes the big five-oh! Ballymena Times