Carnlough

Carnlough (derive|Irish|Carnlach|place of cairns) is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a picturesque harbour and on the shores of Carnlough Bay. It is situated on the coast road beside the North Channel and at the foot of Glencloy, the second of the nine Glens of Antrim. It had a population of 1,444 people in the 2001 Census.

History

The harbour was built by the owners of the quarries west of the village. These were connected to the harbour by means of a mineral tramway network, which include a bridge over each of two parallel streets in the village (both of which remain today).

The harbour has recently been renovated and is used by pleasure boats and small fishing boats. The area offers many opportunities for both sea angling and fresh water angling.

The "Londonderry Arms Hotel", formerly owned by Winston Churchill is located in Carnlough. [ [http://www.causewaycoastandglens.com/Details/tabid/211/ProductID/3958/Default.aspx Londonderry Arms Hotel, Carnlough, Ballymena] ] The hotel is known locally as "The Derry".Fact|date=July 2007

Education

There are three main educational institutions in the area. These are: [http://www.johnscarnlough.co.uk/index.php?f=data_curriculum&a=1 St.John's Primary School] , St.MacNissi's College, and Carnlough Integrated Primary School. The latter was known as Carnlough Primary School up until 2004 - but as the non Roman Catholic population began to dwindle numbers fell at the school. A primary school in nearby Glenarm has sinced closed and the two schools have now merged into one integrated school.

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Football

There are two IFA junior football teams based in the village. They are "Carnlough United" and "Glencloy Swifts" .

Carnlough United were founded in 1964 and started off in the now defunct Larne and District Junior League. In 1994 they joined the [http://www.bsmlforums.com/ Ballymena Saturday Morning League.] At the beginning of season 2007-2008, Carnlough United entered the Junior Division 2 section of the [http://www.bpilforum.co.uk/phpBB3/ Ballymena and Provincial Intermediate League.]

Glencloy Swifts were established in 1994 and following one season in the Larne and District League, they entered Division 3 of the [http://www.bsmlforums.com/ Ballymena Saturday Morning League.] They spent several seasons struggling in the lower reaches of Division 3, before finally becoming a force at the turn of the millennium. Glencloy Swifts secured their first trophy in 2003 when they won the Crawford Cup. They are currently playing Division 1 football.

"Carnlough FC" play at under 15 level in the [http://www.east-antrim-youth-league.co.uk/ East Antrim Youth League] . They are not affiliated to any of the Junior Men's Clubs.

"Glencloy Ladies", now defunct, played in the [http://www.niwfa.org/ NIWFA League.]

Carnlough man Brendan Rodgers, a former Northern Ireland schoolboy international, was appointed reserve team manager of Chelsea, in July 2006

Gig rowing

Four oared gig racing has a measure of popularity in Carnlough. Up until recently craft for this sport were the product of local boat builders and during the summer crews may be seen training out on the bay. A highlight of the gig racing calendar is the Annual Regatta which takes place in May and attracts crews from all over the country to take part in the Round the Rock Challenge.

The local rowing club is "Carnlough Rowing Club", who have over 100 members and are part of the [http://www.coastalrowing.net/clubs.php Irish Coastal Rowing Federation] . The club's ladies section competed at the 2007 All Ireland Championships which were held at Union Hall, County Cork. The club was featured on the BBC documentary programme "Coast".

Camogie

Carnlough are represented in the [http://www.aontroimcamogie.com/ Antrim Camogie Association] by the St John's club, where they are represented at U12 and U16 level.

Other Sports

Other popular sports in the village include, darts, clay pigeon shooting, golf, hurling, gaelic football, angling, and walking.

Politics

Carnlough is a mostly nationalist village with Sinn Féin making a small breakthrough in the village in the last few years. Recently there has been strong opposition to controversial Orange Order parades in the village. The twelfth of July celebrations are held in the village every 7 years. The last being in 2007 where a local residents group protested against the parade as well as a Royal Black Perceptory parade

Demographics

Carnlough is classified as a Village by the [http://www.nisra.gov.uk/ NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)] (ie with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,444 people living in Carnlough. Of these:
*25.9% were aged under 16 years and 18.1% were aged 60 and over
*48.1% of the population were male and 51.9% were female
*84.3% were from a Catholic background and 15.1% were from a Protestant background
*5.7% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed

References

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/5189478.stm Brendan Rodgers]
* [http://www.antrim.net/carnlough/see_do.htm Carnlough - Antrim Network]
* [http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/town_Home.aspx?co=16&to=322&ca=0&sca=0&navID=1 Culture Northern Ireland]

External links

* [http://www.altananam.freeserve.co.uk/Glencloy.htm Glencloy and Carnlough]
* [http://www.industrialheritageireland.info/railways/interest/carnlough.htm Photos of harbour and railway bridges]
* [http://www.glensofantrim.com/ Londonderry Arms hotel]

See also

*List of towns in Northern Ireland
*List of villages in Northern Ireland