Rahul Sharma (Editor)

Kilrea

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Population
  
2,724 (2011 Census)

Country
  
Northern Ireland

Post town
  
COLERAINE

Local time
  
Monday 10:15 PM

District
  
Causeway Coast and Glens

Ni assembly
  
East Londonderry

County
  
County Londonderry

Sovereign state
  
United Kingdom

Postcode district
  
BT51

Province
  
Ulster

Dialling code
  
028

UK parliament constituency
  
East Londonderry

Kilrea httpspbstwimgcomprofileimages5837307822435

Weather
  
12°C, Wind SW at 19 km/h, 83% Humidity

Kilrea (pronounced /kɪlˈreɪ/ kil-RAY, from Irish: Cill Ria, meaning "church on the hill") is a village, townland and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It gets its name from St. Patrick's Church of Ireland, which sits on Church Street looking over the town. It is near the River Bann, which marks the boundary between County Londonderry and County Antrim. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 2,724 people. It is situated within Causeway Coast and Glens district.

Contents

Map of Kilrea, Coleraine, UK

History

There is a tradition that St Patrick visited the area during the fifth century, a story repeated recently in the book 'The Fairy Thorn' produced by Kilrea local historians. During the Plantation of Ulster Kilrea and the surrounding townlands were granted to the Worshipful Company of Mercers by King James I for settlement. Their headquarters in Ulster were at nearby Movanagher on the banks of the River Bann. Today Kilrea is a market town and commercial centre of the surrounding district. The village is centred on 'The Diamond' which includes the town's War Memorial erected in honour of Kilrea men killed in the Great War. The village is featured in the Orange song, Sprigs of Kilrea. It is also mentioned in the song Kitty the rose of Kilrea by The Irish Rover band.

Festival of the Fairy Thorn

A feature of Kilrea is its 'Fairy Thorn' tree in the grounds of First Kilrea Presbyterian Church. It is the focal point of the annual summer cross-community festival in the town.

People

  • Martin O'Neill ex professional footballer and manager of the Republic of Ireland national football team
  • Hannah Shields, second Irish woman to climb Mount Everest.
  • John Dallat, first nationalist mayor of the Borough of Coleraine
  • Monica McWilliams
  • Brian McAlary Irish international bowler

    • Railways

    Kilrea railway station was opened by the Derry Central Railway on 18 February 1880. It was taken over by the Northern Counties Committee in September 1901.

    The station closed to passengers on 28 August 1950 by the Ulster Transport Authority.

    Sport

  • Kilrea Angling Club
  • Kilrea Camogie Club
  • Kilrea Golf Club
  • Kilrea Pádraig Pearses GAC
  • Kilrea United Football Club
  • Manor Golf and Sports Club
  • Go Pro Kart Racing Movanagher Road
  • Kilrea Sports Complex

    • Education

  • Kilrea Primary School
  • St Columba's Primary School
  • St Paul's College
  • Crossroads Primary School

    • Religion

  • Boveedy Presbyterian Church
  • First Kilrea Presbyterian Church
  • Kilrea Baptist Church
  • Second Kilrea Presbyterian Church
  • St Anne's Roman Catholic Church
  • St Patrick's Church of Ireland
  • Drumagarner Roman Catholic Church

    • 2011 Census

    Kilrea is classified as an Intermediate Settlement by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e., with population between 2,250 and 4,500 people). On Census day (22 March 2011) there were 2,724 people living in Kilrea. Of these:

  • 23.27% were aged under 16 years and 14.5% were aged 60 and over
  • 50.77% of the population were male and 49.23% were female
  • 67.11% were from a Catholic background and 29.77% were from a Protestant background
  • 6.46% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed

    • For more details see the match of location name: @Exact Match Of Location Name: Kilrea@4?

    References

    Kilrea Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA