Lisburn

Infobox UK place
official_name= Lisburn
irish_name= Lios na gCearrbhach
static_

static_image_caption= Ex Igne Resurgam
"Out of the fire, I shall arise"
map_type= Northern Ireland
latitude= 54.512
longitude= -6.031
population= 71,465 (2001 Census)
irish_grid_reference=
unitary_northern_ireland= Lisburn Borough
country= Northern Ireland
post_town= LISBURN
postcode_area= BT
postcode_district= BT27
BT28
dial_code= 028
constituency_westminster= Lagan Valley
lieutenancy_northern_ireland= County Antrim
County Down
constituency_ni_assembly= Lagan Valley
belfast_distance=
london_distance=
website= http://www.lisburn.gov.uk

Lisburn ( _ga. Lios na gCearrbhach; meaning "fort of the gamblers") is a predominantly unionist city in Northern Ireland, south-west of and adjoining Belfast. An Anglicised version of the Irish name, Lisnagarvey, is used in the title of schools and sporting clubs in the area. Formerly a borough, it was given city status in 2002 (along with Newry) as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrations. The city is split between County Antrim and County Down, the River Lagan forming the county boundary. Lisburn had a population of 71,465 people in the 2001 Census. Although it has city status, the area covered consists of the town of Lisburn, surrounded by an extensive rural and semi-rural hinterland. The council area includes Hillsborough, Moira, Dromara, Glenavy, Dunmurry and Drumbo The administrative headquarters are in the town of Lisburn. [ [http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Sr/sr2002/20020231.htm Office of Public Sector Information] ]

Lisburn is also known as the birthplace of Ireland's linen industry, which was established in 1698 by Louis Crommelin and other Huguenots. An exhibition about the Irish linen industry is now housed in the Irish Linen Centre, which can be found in the town’s old Market House in Market Square.

The city is a popular shopping centre, with a wide range of retail outlets both in the Lisburn town centre and in the out-of-town Sprucefield and Sprucefield Park centres. Also in the town centre is the Irish linen centre and Lisburn Museum, which is free to enter and contains displays about the history of the linen industry (which was a key industry in the history of Ulster). [ [http://www.culturenorthernireland.org/town_Home.aspx?co=16&to=338&ca=0&sca=0&navID=1 Culture Northern Ireland] ]

Lisburn is one of the four constituent cities that makes up the Dublin-Belfast corridor region which has a population of just under 3 million.

Administration

Lisburn is home to many important political, civil and military bodies with associated infrastructure. Including Thiepval Barracks, the headquarters of the British Army in Northern Ireland and the headquarters of the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade are also located in the town. In elections for the Westminster Parliament the city falls mainly into the Lagan Valley constituency but partly into West Belfast.

History

Lisburn was originally known as Lisnagarvey (an Anglicisation of Lios na gCearrbhach).

Negotiations preceding the American War of Independence between Ben Franklin and Lord Hillsborough took place at Hillsborough.

Lisburn's original site was located on what is now known as Hill Street Estate, on a hill above the River Lagan. There was also a fort located at the north side of what is now known as Wallace Park. In 1611 James I granted Sir Fulke Conway the lands of Killultagh in south west County Antrim. During the 1620s the original streets of Lisburn as we know it today were laid out, Market Square, Bridge Street, Castle Street and Bow Street. Sir Fulke Conway brought over many English and Welsh settlers during the Ulster Plantation. He built a manor house on what is now Castle Gardens and in 1623 he built a church on the site of the current cathedral. The Manor House was destroyed in the accidental fire of 1707 and was never rebuilt, a plaque in the Linen Museum marks the inferno. After the fire, Lisnagarvey was renamed Lisburn.

Lisburn is one of the constituent cities that makes up the Dublin-Belfast corridor region which has a population of just under 3 million.

The Troubles

For more information see The Troubles in Lisburn, which includes a list of incidents in Lisburn during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.

The Cold War

Between 1954 and 1992 Lisburn contained the operational headquarters of No 31 Belfast Group Royal Observer Corps [ [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/roc/group_hq.html ROC HQ locations and photographs] ] who operated from a protected nuclear bunker on Knox Road within Thiepval Barracks. Converted from a 1940s Anti-aircraft Operations Room (AAOR) the bunker would support over one hundred ROC volunteers and a ten man United Kingdom Warning and Monitoring Organisation warning team responsible for the famous Four-minute warning in the event of a nuclear strike on the UK. The ROC would also have detected radioactive fallout from the nuclear bursts and warned the public of approaching fallout.

The two organisations were stood down in 1992 at the end of the Cold War. In 2007 a commemorative plaque was mounted on the wall of the nuclear bunker which still stands, marking the volunteer service of ROC volunteers all over the Province. The well known BBC newsreader, TV personality and steam railway enthusiast "Sullivan Boomer" was an Observer Commander in the ROC and served as Group Commandant of the Belfast group during the 1970s and 1980s.

People

Sir Richard Wallace made quite an impact on Lisburn. His bequests include the Wallace Park and Wallace High School. In 1872 he donated drinking fountains, known as Wallace fountains, two of which can still be seen near the cricket pitch in Wallace Park, another in front of Lisburn Linen Museum in Bow Street and another in Castle Gardens. Wallace was created baronet in 1871 and was Member of Parliament for Lisburn from 1873 to 1885. Super-middleweight boxer Brian Magee is from Lisburn.

Demographics

Lisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA)and is classified as a Large Town by the [http://www.nisra.gov.uk/ NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)] (ie with population between 18,000 and 75,000 people). On census day (29 April, 2001) there were 71,465 people living in Lisburn. Of these:
*25.4% were aged under 16 years and 15.6% were aged 60 and over.
*52.1% were female and 47.9% were male.
*54.2% were from a Protestant background and 41.7% were from a Catholic background.
*4.0% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed. [ [http://www.ninis.nisra.gov.uk/ NI neighbourhood Information Service] ]

Public Representatives

Lisburn encompasses the Lagan Valley constituency, as well as a small portion of the West Belfast seat

Education

* Central Primary School
* Tonagh Primary School
* Largymore Primary School
* St. Aloysius Primary School
* Killowen Primary School
* Ballymacash Primary School
* Brownlee Primary School
* Forthill Primary School
* Harmony Hill Primary School
* St. Joseph's Primary School
* St. Colman's Primary School
* Old Warren Primary School
* Knockmore Primary School
* Pond Park Primary School
*Friends School
*Lisnagarvey High School
*Wallace High School
* Forthill College
* Laurelhill Community College
* St. Patrick's High School
* Lisburn Institute (further education college)

Churches

* Priesthill (Zion) Methodist at Kesh Road in the Lagan Valley.
* [http://www.lisburnbaptist.com/ Lisburn Baptist Church] (located on Longstone Street).
* [http://www.harmonyhillchurch.org/ Harmony Hill Presbyterian Church] is located in Lambeg.
* [http://lisburn.rpc.org/ Lisburn Reformed Presbyterian Church] located on the Nettlehill Road.

Transport

*Lisburn railway station was opened on 12 August 1839. [cite web | title=Lisburn station | work=Railscot - Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2007-08-28|format=PDF]

*The city is served by a variety of bus routes to Belfast city centre via the Lisburn Road (523/4/5) and also the Falls Road (530/1/2). There are also routes passing through the city heading for Banbridge/Newry (service 38) and Craigavon (service 51).

*The city has a vast network of local buses, serving the local housing developments and amenities.

*A new Bus Centre opened on 30 June 2008 at the corner of Smithfield Street and the Hillsborough Road. The new structure replaces the simple shelters at Smithfield Square, 200 yards to the east.

Communications

The local area code, like the rest of Northern Ireland is 028. However all local 8-digit subscriber numbers commence with 92xx-xxxx. Before the Big Number Change in 2000, the STD code for Lisburn and its surrounding area was 01846.

Health care

The main hospital in the city is the Lagan Valley Hospital, which provides Accident and Emergency services to the area. The hospital lost its acute services in 2006 and is set to lose maternity services in 2009. Residents now must travel to Belfast for acute surgery. Primary care in the area is provided by the Lisburn Health Centre, which opened in 1977. [cite web|url=http://www.lisburn.com/books/historical_society/volume2/volume2_4.html|title=Health and Wealth in the Borough of Lisburn. By E.J.Best|"|publisher=Lisburn Historical Society (Vol. 2)|accessdate=2008-08-01] . The city lies within the South Eastern Health and Social Care Board area, formerly known as "Down and Lisburn Trust".

port

*Lisburn Distillery is football club playing in the Irish Premier League. The club, founded in 1879, originated in West Belfast, where it was based at Distillery Street off Grosvenor Road until 1971. After sharing Skegoneill Avenue (Brantwood FC) and Seaview (Crusaders FC) for some years the club again moved in 1980 to New Grosvenor Stadium, Ballyskeagh, near Dunmurry on the outskirts of the city. The club was known as 'Distillery' until 1999, when it changed its name to 'Lisburn Distillery' in an attempt to associate itself more closely with its adopted borough of Lisburn. The club's colours are all white, and the current manager is Paul Kirk.
*Lisburn Basketball Club
*Lisburn Cricket Club
*Lisburn Racquets Club

References

See also

*List of towns in Northern Ireland
*List of villages in Northern Ireland
*Market Houses in Northern Ireland
*Lisburn telephone exchange code

External links

External links

*commonscat-inline|Lisburn
* [http://www.lisburn.com/ lisburn.com]
* [http://cloghmore.bravepages.com/antrim/lisburnMH.html Lisburn Market House]
* [http://www.lisburncricketclub.co.uk/ Lisburn Cricket Club]
* [http://www.lisburnracquets.co.uk/ Lisburn Racquets Club]
* [http://www.bfbs.com/lisburn BFBS Radio Lisburn]
* [http://www.stpatricksgac.com/ St. Patrick's GAA, Lisburn]
* [http://www.lisburnam.org.uk/ Lisburn Advanced Motorcyclists]
* [http://www.lisburnbaptist.com/ Lisburn Baptist Church]
* [http://www.qsl.net/gi4gty/ "LVARS" Lagan Valley Amateur Radio Society Gi4GTY]