Poleglass

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Poleglass (from the Irish: an Pholl Glas meaning "the green hollow") is a mainly Nationalist / Republican estate with a population of around 10,000 on the outskirts of West Belfast Northern Ireland. Due to its close proximity to both Belfast and Lisburn it has become popular with commuters, this has lead to rapid expansion of housing developments close to the area, and a dramatic increase in house prices equal to many other areas in the North of Ireland. Poleglass is also an electoral ward of West Belfast.

Addresses in Poleglass are classed as being in Belfast and the telephone numbers in the area start with '90' as in Belfast city. It currently lies within Lisburn City Council but due to boundry changes which are to take place it will become part of Belfast City Council.

Until the development took place, Poleglass was rural land on the outskirts of the city. This is where the name comes from - an Pholl Glas means "the green hollow".

It is made up of small estates, such as Glenwood, Glenkeen, Laurelbank, Old Colin, Ardcaoin and Brianswell. Each of these vary in their size and age, some being fairly recent developments, others being original housing from when Poleglass first emerged.

As the area has increased, the distance between Poleglass and the similarly expanding estates of Twinbrook and Lagmore has shrunk - and more commonly they are discussed as one in terms of "Colin Neighbourhood", particularly in relation to community development and improvement.

[edit] Notable citizens

The inventor of the portable cardiac defibrillator, Dr Frank Pantridge of Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital used to have residence in Poleglass, there also a road named after him (Pantridge Road).