Cullybackey

Cullybackey Main Street

Cullybackey or Cullybacky (from Irish: Coill na Baice meaning "wood of the river bend")^[1] is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies 4 miles north of Ballymena, on the banks of the River Maine, and is within the Borough of Ballymena. It had a population of 2,405 people in the 2001 Census.

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, open to the public.
• 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 is a church with a large congregation.
• Central Arms - voted best bar in Ulster three years running.^{[citation needed]}

The fishy hut, the strongly contested king of the bank fishing contest is held on the banks of the river Maine in the village every year.

Famous Cullybackey people

• Jessica Kurten, Olympic horse rider and representative of Ireland.^{[citation needed]}
• The family of Chester A. Arthur, 21st President of the United States, emigrated in the 19th century. The ancestral home and interpretive centre is Arthur Cottage.^{[citation needed]}
• The ancestral families surnamed Wiseman and Dunlap or Dunlop or Delap who were also present in the nearby Ballywatermoy Townland in the early to middle 19th century, perhaps most prominently at Ballywatermoy with the farmer and landowner Patrick Wiseman, who gave the land on which a Gospel Hall for the local Christian Brethren congregation was built. (See "Sandy's Story", a 1991 pamphlet published by the Ballymena Borough Council.)
• Thomas Given, Ulster Scots poet and local JP. Thomas Given published a book of poetry by himself and two of his deceased brothers, Patrick Given and Samuel-Fee Given. Thomas's contribution to the book was in the Ulster Scots dialect and well known as an example of a this rare form of poetry.

Transport

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 Derry was hurt. See also Cullybackey railway station.^{[citation needed]}

2001 Census

Cullybackey is classified as an intermediate settlement by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e., with population between 2,250 and 4,500 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 2,405 people living in Cullybackey. Of these:

• 19.5% were aged under 16 and 22.3% were aged 60 and over
• 47.1% of the population were male and 52.9% were female
• 1.2% were from a Catholic background and 97.0% were from a Protestant background
• 3.3% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Education

• Cullybackey High School is a secondary school in the village.
• Buick Memorial Primary School is also located on Main Street.

Controversies

In August 2005 the local Catholic church was attacked.^[2] 17 February 2008 a house of a Polish family was attacked.^[3] An upsurge in anti social behaviour and violence has been linked to paramilitary groups in the village.^[4] However after an investigation by the Police Service of Northern Ireland a statement was issued by a local police inspector who denied that paramilitaries were involved.^[5]

References

1. ^ Placenames NI
2. ^ Sectarian onslaught continues in Antrim and North Belfast An Phoblacht
3. ^ Koktajlem Molotowa w Polakow
4. ^ Paramilitary link to street violence The Newsletter
5. ^ No paramilitaries involved in Cullybackey Ballymena Times

External links

• Culture Northern Ireland
• Train accident at Cullybackey
• Inspection report for Cullybackey High School
• Davis signs for Rangers
• Sectarian attacks in and near Ballymena

See also

• List of villages in Northern Ireland
• List of towns in Northern Ireland

Coordinates: 54°53′N 6°21′W / 54.883°N 6.35°W / 54.883; -6.35