placenamesWhitehead
An Cionn Bán
Whitehead's seaside growth was closely tied to the railway. Its preservation workshops and nearby lighthouse carry that transport history into the present landscape.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An Cionn Bán · Irish · main form · validated name
- Whitehead · English · main form
Place & story
Making a railway resort
Whitehead's present station opened in 1877, helping a small coastal settlement develop as a resort and residential town. The Belfast and Northern Counties Railway promoted seaside housebuilding through its villa-ticket scheme, offering free travel as an incentive. Engineer Berkley Deane Wise's Blackhead Path opened another part of the coast to visitors in 1892. Promenade, railway and cliff walk worked together: the company created reasons to travel as well as the means of reaching them. [2]
From excursion platform to preservation base
The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland took over Whitehead's excursion site as its headquarters in 1966. Workshops, locomotive and carriage sheds, a foundry and other facilities developed through decades of work. Whitehead Railway Museum opened in 2017. The site therefore preserves more than a display of old trains: it also records the skills and infrastructure needed to maintain historic locomotives and rolling stock. Its later history continues the town's close association with railways. [2]
William Douglass’s lighthouse
Black Head Lighthouse marks the northern entrance to Belfast Lough. Designed by William Douglass, engineer to the Commissioners of Irish Lights, its octagonal tower was completed in 1902. Originally red, it was painted white in 1929. Conversion to electric light followed in 1965, and resident keepers were withdrawn in 1975. The lighthouse's successive technologies belong to the same maritime approach that made the coast important to shipping, while its tower remains a defining feature above the walk from Whitehead. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Town
- County
- Antrim
- Barony
- Belfast Lower
- Civil parish
- Templecorran
- Coordinates
- 54.75407, -5.70090 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1165760 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Whitehead. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Whitehead History · Railway Preservation Society of Ireland
- Black Head (Antrim): lighthouse history · Commissioners of Irish Lights
- Blackhead Lighthouse, near Whitehead illustration: based on a The Blackhead lighthouse, Whitehead (3) by Albert Bridge. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0; adapted illustration distributed under the same licence.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2021-05-26. How this page was prepared.