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Ballymena (/ ˌ b æ l i ˈ m iː n ə / BAL-ee-MEE-nə; [1] from Irish: an Baile Meánach [ənˠ ˌbˠalʲə ˈmʲaːn̪ˠəx] ⓘ, meaning 'the middle townland') [2] is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 31,205 people at the 2021 census, making it the seventh largest town in Northern Ireland by population. [3]
Ballymena is a former local government district with borough status in Northern Ireland. It was one of twenty-six districts created on 1 October 1973 and covered the town of Ballymena and the surrounding area which includes small towns including Broughshane , Cullybackey , Galgorm, Ahoghill and Portglenone .
This is a list of cities, towns, villages and hamlets in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. See the List of places in Northern Ireland for places in other counties. Towns are listed in bold .
Mid and East Antrim Borough Council replaced Ballymena Borough Council, Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council.The first election for the new district council was originally due to take place in May 2009, but in April 2008, Shaun Woodward, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland announced that the scheduled 2009 district council elections were to be postponed until 2011. [4]
"Ballymena is described by some as being at the heart of Northern Ireland's equivalent of the Bible Belt. It is also believed to have the worst per capita heroin problem in Europe . Half of the registered heroin addicts in Northern Ireland are in the town. [4]
The first municipal building in the town was a market hall in Bridge Street which was completed in 1684. [2] It featured a steeple which was 60 feet (18 m) high, [ 3 ] and was later referred to by the local member of parliament , Sir Robert Adair , as one of the "Seven Towers" of Ballymena. [ 4 ]
Ballymena Borough Council was the local authority of Ballymena in Northern Ireland. It merged with Carrickfergus Borough Council and Larne Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Mid and East Antrim Borough Council .
The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) uses the following definitions: Town – population of 4,500 or more Small Town – population between 4,500 and 10,000 [1] [2] Medium Town – population between 10,000 and 18,000 [3] [2] Large Town – population between 18,000 and 75,000 [4] [2]