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Back to Current Family Ballymena is located in County Antrim in Northern Ireland, northwest of Belfast. It has had a long association with the linen trade.
Antrim is a maritime county of northeast Northern Ireland in Ulster Province, including Lough Neagh and Beg in the south and southwest. It is 57 miles long at its extreme length and 28 miles wide at its broadest, and includes 90 miles of seacoast. Its area is 1192 miles. Off the north coast lie Rathlin Island and the Skerries, and off the east coast the Maiden Rocks. Between Ballycastle and the mouth of the Bann is the Giant's Causeway, one of the finest examples of columnar basalt in the world. There are many peat bogs, but more than three quarters of the area of the county is under cultivation. There are salt mines at Duncrue and Carrickfergus, and small coal fields. Several large distilleries are situated in the county. The principal towns are Belfast, Lisburn, Carrickfergus, Ballymena Ireland, Larne, Ballymoney, Portrush, and Antrim.
Northern Ireland, sometimes referred to as "Ulster Province," since it largely consists of that ancient province, has six counties: County Londonderry, Armagh, County Antrim, Down, County Fermanagh, and Tyrone. The majority of its population is Protestant, and favors the continued political union with the United Kingdom. Catholics, although a majority in Ireland as a whole, are a minority in Northern Ireland. This had led to prolonged conflict. Between 1800 and 1920, all of Ireland was officially included in the United Kingdom. The Irish struggle for independence led to the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland) in 1921. The counties that refused to join it at that time became Northern Ireland.
One of the ancient provinces of Ireland, most of Ulster constitutes Northern Ireland. In fact, Northern Ireland is often referred to as Ulster. However, the province actually includes the counties of County Cavan, County Donegal and County Monaghan that are part of the Irish Republic.
Monaghan is a county in Ireland in Ulster Province, bounded on the north by Tyrone and Armagh, on the east by County Louth, on the south by County Meath and County Cavan, and on the west by County Fermanagh. Its area is 500 square miles. The northern part of the county is part of the Irish central plain. The south is hilly and broken. On the Tyrone border rises Slievebeagh at 1254 feet. The principal rivers are the Blackwater and Finn. The Ulster Canal provides water transportation across the region. The capital is Monaghan. At Clones and inishkeen are round towers. There are also a number of Danish forts in the county, as well as a 6th century abbey at Clones. Back to Current Family Page |
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