Crumlin, Belfast

Crumlin is an electoral ward of North Belfast. Not to be confused with Crumlin, County Antrim. The ward was created in 1973, being carved out of the former Clifton ward. Originally it included the areas between the Cliftonville and Crumlin roads. The Troubles resulted in a massive population decline. On the 1971 census figures Crumlin was the most populous of all Belfast wards, however by 1981 it was ranked 44th out of 51, as the population had slumped from 12,400 to 3,700 in the space of a decade due to residential redevelopment and flight caused by the inter-communal violence. The percentage of Roman Catholics in the 1981 census was 43%.

In 1985 the ward was radically redrawn, with the Catholic areas transferred to neighbouring wards such as Ardoyne, New Lodge and the new Waterworks ward. The new Crumlin ward was largely based on the former Shankill ward which had existed between 1973 and 1985. The result was that the population of Catholics fell to 1.4% in the 1991 census. In the 2001 census [http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/Census/Census2001Output/standard_tables_lgd.html] the percentage of those of a Roman Catholic background was 3.4% : the third lowest figure in Belfast. The ward also had the lowest percentage of owner occupiers in that census at 18.0%. The ward was further expanded in 1993, taking in parts of the Shankill ward. However, the current review of local government in Northern Ireland has recommended its abolition, with the ward to be divided between Waterworks, Shankill and Woodvale wards. [http://www.lgbc-ni.org/index/provisional_recommendations.htm]