Monkstown, County Antrim

Monkstown (Irish: Baile na Manach)^[1] is a townland^[2] (of 811 acres)^[3] and electoral ward in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the urban area of Newtownabbey and the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. The townland was previously called Ballynamanagh (from Irish Baile na Manach 'townland of the monks')^[2][4][5][6] It is also situated in the civil parish of Carnmoney and the historic barony of Belfast Lower.^[3]

Monkstown, County Antrim
electoral ward and townland
Coordinates: 54.68478°N 5.89505°W / 54.68478; -5.89505

Monkstown is said to be the burial place of Fergus Mor Mac Eirc, king of Dal Riata.^[7] which suggests a religious house was established in the 5th century CE. It possibly became a grange- a farm that was managed by a monastery, and was possibly associated with the monastery at Woodburn in Carrickfergus.^[8]

Railways

Monkstown railway station is currently closed on the Belfast-Derry railway line run by Northern Ireland Railways.

Education

Schools and colleges which serve the area include Abbey Community College, Hollybank Primary School and University of Ulster.^{[citation needed]}

Sport

The local association football clubs, 18th Newtownabbey Old Boys F.C. and Nortel F.C., play in the Northern Amateur Football League.^{[citation needed]}

Notable people

• Alec Mackie (1903–1984), footballer
• Jim Hagan (born 1956), former professional footballer and football club manager
• Michael Smith, professional footballer

References

1. "Baile na Manach/Monkstown". logainm.ie. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
2. Placenames Database of Ireland
3. "Monkstown". IreAtlas Townlands Database. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
4. Reeves, William (September 2009). Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dromore, Consisting of a taxation of these Dioceses. BiblioBazaar, LLC. p. 69. ISBN 978-1-113-69516-1. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
5. Hill, George (1873). An historical account of the Macdonnells of Antrim : Including Notices Of Some Other Septs, Irish And Scottish. Kessinger Publishing. p. 453. ISBN 1-4326-4080-1. Retrieved 4 February 2010. Ballynamanagh.
6. St. J. Clarke, The Rev. H. J. (1938). Thirty Centuries in South East Antrim. The Parish of Coole or Carnmoney. p. 128. Retrieved 4 February 2010.
7. Hill, George. An historical account of the Macdonnells of Antrim : Including Notices Of Some Other Septs, Irish And Scottish. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 1-4326-4080-1. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
8. McCann, Edmund; Reeves, William; McCana, Edmund (1854). "Irish Itinerary of Father Edmund MacCana". Ulster Journal of Archaeology. 2: 44–59. JSTOR 20608707.