Randalstown


Randalstown is a small town and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, between Antrim and Toome. The town, which contains a prominent disused railway viaduct, lies beside Lough Neagh and the Shane's Castle estate. Randalstown is bypassed by the M22 motorway with junctions at both the eastern and western ends of the town. It had a population of 5,151 people in the 2021 census.

History

The townland of Randalstown was originally known as An Dún Mór, anglicised as Dunmore. This refers to a medieval motte-and-bailey castle built by the Irish on the west bank of the river Main just south of the town. A castle known as Edenduffcarrick, later Shane's Castle, was built near Randalstown in the 14th century by the O'Neills of Clannaboy.
From at least the 1650s the town was known as "Iron Mills". In 1667, the town was created a free borough and was officially renamed Randalstown. It was renamed to mark the marriage of Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim to Rose O'Neill of Shane's Castle.
The 1798 United Irishmen rebellion began in Antrim following a meeting to prepare for revolt by the Ulster Directory on 1 February 1798, at McClean's Inn, Randalstown. Robert McClean's "Great Inn" had long been an Irish Volunteers meeting place. Following his death in 1790, his son Francis became the proprietor.
Dunmore Park was used as a training camp for the Ulster Volunteers during the Irish Home Rule crisis.
Randalstown has a strong history of linen and iron industries. A memorial to this history is in the middle of the town and made from the original turbine used to generate mains electricity for the town and items salvaged from the Old Bleach Linen Company founded by James Webb in 1864. An old linen mill chimney from the Old Bleach factory can be seen from most parts of the town. The Dorma Old Bleach factory which operated from a neighbouring site closed down in 2002.
On 1 October 1989, a Provisional Irish Republican Army car bomb exploded outside the town's police station on New Street causing serious damage to nearby property.
On 8 January 2010, PSNI Constable Peadar Heffron was seriously injured as a bomb exploded under his car on the Milltown Road near Randalstown. Dissident republicans were blamed for the attack.

Demography

2021 census

On census day the usually resident population of Randalstown was 5,151. Of these:
On census day the usually resident population of Randalstown was 5,126 accounting for 0.28% of the NI total. Of these:
  • 99.02% were from the white ethnic group
  • 54.74% belong to or were brought up Catholic and 39.82% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and other Christian '
  • 46.29% indicated that they had a British national identity, 24.33% had an Irish national identity and 32.91% had a Northern Irish national identity.
  • 10.67% had some knowledge of Irish; 9.30% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots; and 4.72% did not have English as their first language.

    Transport

Randalstown is served by the A6, B52 and B93 roads and the M22 motorway.
Ulsterbus has a number of bus routes that operate through Randalstown. These include the 110/c/d/e/f/210a, and 122.
The town used to have an active railway station which opened in 1848 by the Belfast and Ballymena Railway. The station connected the town to Belfast, Antrim, Magherafelt and Cookstown. The line was closed to passengers in 1950 and then completely in 1959 and has been disused ever since. The viaduct has since become a linear park.

Places of interest

Primary schools in the area include Mount St. Michael's Primary School, Maine Integrated Primary School and Randalstown Central Primary School. The latter is a mixed non-denominational primary school within the North Eastern Education and Library Board area.
St. Benedict's College is a secondary school in Randalstown.