{"id":69812,"date":"2020-05-21T08:14:01","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T08:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/travel\/?p=69812"},"modified":"2021-06-17T16:02:10","modified_gmt":"2021-06-17T15:02:10","slug":"newtownabbey-the-five-minute-spare-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fiveminutesspare.com\/travel\/newtownabbey-the-five-minute-spare-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"Newtownabbey: The Five Minute Spare Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Newtownabbey – County Antrim\u2019s greatest treasure is sometimes called a suburb of Belfast. It\u2019s not, it\u2019s just close enough that the lines blur. In fact, a whole golf course and the famed Cavehill lies between the city of Belfast<\/a> and the town of Newtownabbey. Although the third largest settlement in NI, Newtownabbey is not a city yet. It has a population around the 66k mark, which means there are British cities smaller than it. We\u2019re just saying.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Newtownabbey is mostly residential as the photo taken from atop Cavehill shows, with a spattering of commercial areas and greenery. Nice place to live though and before we look at what there is to do we thought you might like to take the famed Five Minutes Spare<\/a> history tour, to give you something to discuss with the locals should you do the right thing and visit the area if in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n

\"\"

As you can see there are a lot of houses in Newtonabbey! Image:Stanislavskyi\/Shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Newtownabbey in the Early Days<\/h2>\n

Newtownabbey, whose name was taken from an ancient 13th<\/sup> century monastery in the area, was actually \u2018built\u2019 in 1958. The monastery belonged to the Cistercians and was used until 1315, when it was damaged by Edward Bruce. You see, although the town itself was created from other towns amalgamating, Newtownabbey stands on land long-since populated by the early Irish.<\/p>\n

The town was made by joining the smaller settlements of Carnmoney, Monkstown, Jordanstown, Whitewell, Whiteabbey, Whitehouse and Glengormley. When the District Council arose in \u201973 another 4 settlements were added. So there you go\u2026 Newtownabbey is actually 11 places. You learn something new every day.<\/p>\n

The area lies between Belfast and Carrickfergus, both historically rich locations. Archaeological evidence suggests the presence of cairns and mottes here that date back to prehistoric times. There have been medieval additions, early settlements, and all sorts of battles in this part of County Antrim.<\/p>\n

Not unsurprisingly, the area has some prehistoric landmarks you can see from above, or from geographical surveys if you are lucky enough to be able to understand them. Those native to the area will know that there is a Stone Age tomb in the area. The Fort Road at Carngraney contains a low tomb and sealed chamber that was still in use right up until the 19th<\/sup> century. This former temple has been scanned and represents an exalted piece of archaeological evidence as to how Stone Age people worshipped. The locals call it Granny\u2019s Grave<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Robert The Bruces Brother<\/h3>\n

Back to that monastery. Around 1315, Edward (brother of King Robert) Bruce went to Northern Ireland with an army. For some completely baffling reason, Robert the Bruce thought that fighting in Ireland would somehow help him win Scottish Independence. We suspect that he hated his brother and wanted to be rid of him\u2026 like\u2026 here\u2019s an army, cross the sea and amuse yourself while I try and invade England. Weirdos.<\/p>\n

Anyway. The Scots being the charmers that they are, wrecked the monastery even though they didn\u2019t have any beef with the actual religion. The Bruce campaign in Ireland lasted three years and culminated in his gruesome death. You can read more about that little debacle, here<\/a>. Other battles have been fought all over the area. Roughfort Motte<\/a> was an assembly point of the 1793 rebellion, too, and has some historical links to the Battle of Antrim in 1798.<\/p>\n

Carnmoney Hill in Newtonabbey is one of the best-known landmarks, it is the sight of various medieval forts. The oldest thing in the whole area without question would have been the Carnmoney Parish Church, which was built in the 5th<\/sup> century. The original building has long since crumbled to dust, but the current church stands on the self-same site it has stood on since Noah was a boy. The building as it stands now has been there since 1856<\/a>\u2026 which is already kind of old.<\/p>\n

One final thing to note about the early days of Newtownabbey is that the author of Gulliver\u2019s Travels is buried in the area. Jonathon Swift was an ordained minister of the Church of Ireland in 1655, so his final resting place is with them.<\/p>\n

The Plantation of Ireland<\/h2>\n

So after the Brits invaded Northern Ireland, King James I sent a bunch of people over to \u2018plant\u2019 the country with his countrymen. Nobles from \/British shores flocked here, and one example of the types of houses they owned can be found courtesy of the White House Preservation Trust. In 1690, King William III met his men here before the Battle of the Boyne. It is a suitably gorgeous surrounding for a king. It is also dripping with history and makes a nice afternoon out.<\/p>\n

You can also visit Sentry Hill for a wander. This home was built by Scots, the McKinney clan, to be precise. The family passed down a collection of diaries, journals, and memorabilia from the time due to one of its members building an extensive collection. Most of it has survived to this day.<\/p>\n

Newtownabbey through the ages<\/h2>\n

What haven\u2019t we covered so far? When the Normans invaded in 1177, they left behind a castle at Carrickfergus. They had checkpoints throughout the area in the form of mottes. They were the ones to nickname the river the 6-mile water. Ballywalter motte was added circa 12oo. Cut forward a few hundred years and the Earl of Sussex camped at the fort overlooking the Carnmoney Cemetery. Later, Elizabeth I would grant lands to Mr Bunker, who built the White House. Sir Arthur Chichester would also be granted lands here by the queen in 1604.<\/p>\n

More modern times have seen the troubles start here in the 1970\u2019s. In 1974 and within days of one another, four catholic civilians were killed when they went to work. Two in a worker\u2019s hut, two as they got there in the morning. Their names were Terence McCafferty, James McCloskey, Thomas Donaghy and Margaret McErlane.<\/p>\n

This was not to be the end of the killing in this town. Twenty years later history repeated itself and two people were killed during an attack on a worker\u2019s hut. Their names were Cecil Dougherty and William Corrigan. The reports said that they were killed by the UVF because they assumed they were Catholics. No comment.<\/p>\n

Later, in 2012, Danny McKay<\/a> was shot dead in his home by the Correct Action Against Drugs group. It was thought he was a drug dealer.<\/p>\n

Newtownabbey in the last 100 years<\/h2>\n

Since it\u2019s only really been a place of its own for a few decades, let\u2019s look at those years for an accurate overview.<\/p>\n

Formally made into a town of its own on 1st<\/sup> April 1958, the town of Newtownabbey managed to bypass two world wars and several cholera epidemics. In 2015 it was merged with Antrim council to make the Antrim & Newtownabbey District Council Area.<\/p>\n

After the town was formed, three large public parks were added. Retail centres were built, and a movie theatre and a sports bowl were built. Later, in 1968, the main campus of the Ulster University<\/a> would open in the Jordanstown area of Newtownabbey. With four campuses in Ireland and two extensions of itself over in England, the University has grown to become a big employer in town. The University is noted for its 92% success rate at placing graduates.<\/p>\n

Newtownabbey has become an educated town, over the years. With more than 9 primary schools, six secondary schools, the Northern Regional College and the University, it is known throughout the academic world. The strange and eclectic nature of the area means that there are more churches and chapels than anyone can count. It also left them with seven football clubs, two cricket clubs, three hockey clubs and four rugby clubs. Basically, in another few years, their famous people list will be filled with sportsmen and women.<\/p>\n

Let nobody ever look at the list of worshipping centres in Northern Ireland and ever say they are not holy. They are most definitely holier than thou, too. The Methodists, Presbyterians, and Catholics all have numerous parishes here. There are also Congregational churches, just sprinkled in as extras for good measure. Newtownabbey is most definitely a new town with a big faith following. No argument from us on that front, just dang! We\u2019re pretty impressed.<\/p>\n

When added to the numerous public transport links able to take you back and forth to Belfast city, we can see a well-rounded picture of an area that people are proud to populate. In fact, people have been settled here since before anyone even though to write any history down\u2026 that\u2019s when you know your lands are lush and fertile.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve had just about all we can dig up in terms of the history of Newtownabbey. However, we are nowhere near finished yet! We are about to take a look at the most interesting facts to come out of this town. We cannot promise it won\u2019t be macabre. Given the history, it almost certainly looks like a sure thing\u2026.<\/p>\n

Interesting Facts about Newtownabbey!<\/h2>\n

So what are the most interesting, unique, and hopefully fun things to have happened in and around this new town? Let\u2019s take a look at a few of the Five Minutes Spare<\/a> favourites!<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Newtownabbey is made up of lots of different places, including (but not limited to): Ballybought, Ballyduff, Ballygolan, Ballyhenry, Ballyvesey, Ballywonard, Carnmoney, Collinward, Cloughfern, Drumnadrough, Dunanney, Glengormley, Jordanstown, Mallusk, Monkstown, Whiteabbey and White House.<\/li>\n
  2. Like many places in Northern Ireland, these townships are still split by mostly Catholic of mostly Protestant categorization.<\/li>\n
  3. It is often called a Belfast suburb, but this is not strictly true. The area being relatively new in terms of settlement histories has earned it this odd nickname. That and the fact that only a couple of golf courses separate it from the city proper.<\/li>\n
  4. There are so many old forts, caves in the hillside, and underground unknown areas in the area that the called it Cavehill and turned it into a tourist attraction. The Irish are more innovative than the rest of the world. Got a catacomb? Great! Why hide it away?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Famous People from Newtownabbey<\/h2>\n

    Newtownabbey has given us some wonderful famous faces over the years. Here are some of the Five Minutes Spare<\/a> favourite famous folk out of County Antrim:<\/p>\n