Cushendall

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Cushendall (in Irish: Cois Abhann Dalla or Bun Abhann Dalla, ie foot of the River Dall)is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is situated on the A2 coast road midway between Larne and Portrush, and lies within the Antrim Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is found where three of the Glens of Antrim: Glenaan, Glenballyemon and Glencorp meet. It lies beside the North Channel and the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland is only 16 miles away. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,241 people.

Much of the historic character of the 19th century settlement on the north bank of the River Dall remains. Consequently, Cushendall Conservation Area was one of the earliest in the region to be designated, in 1975, and includes the largely intact Irish Georgian buildings of the town’s four original streets. Cushendall lies in the shadow of the table topped Lurigethan Mountain and is also known for its traditional Irish music sessions and friendly pubs. Each August Cushendall hosts the Heart Of The Glens festival.

1 Places of interest
2 2001 Census
3 Sport
4 References
5 External links
6 See also

[edit] Places of interest

The Curfew Tower in the centre of the village was built by then landlord of the village, Francis Turnley, in 1817, to confine riotous prisoners. Dan McBride, an army pensioner, was given the job of permanent garrison and was armed with one musket, a bayonet, a brace of pistols and a thirteen-feet-long pike.
Ossian's Grave, off the main Cushendall to Ballymoney road, is a megalithic court cairn on a hillside in Lubitavish, near the Glenann River. It is believed to be the burial place of Ossian - the Celtic Warrior Poet. A stone cairn was erected here in 1989 in memory of John Hewitt, the poet of the Glens.
The ruins of Layde Church, one of the oldest and most important historical sites in the Glens are situated on the coast road between Cushendall and Cushendun. The exact origins of the site are unknown but it probably began life as a holy place in the Iron Age or before. It was in ruins in 1622 but rebuilt about 1696 and remained the site of Protestant worship until the 1800s.

[edit] 2001 Census

Cushendall is classified as a Village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,241 people living in Cushendall. Of these:

26.1% were aged under 16 years and 16.8% were aged 60 and over
47.9% of the population were male and 52.1% were female
96.9% were from a Catholic background and 3.1% were from a Protestant background
4.8% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service