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Townland

Ballymena

An 1833 survey records a river cutting through basalt beside this rural townland.

Watercolour and fine ink view across a fenced green field towards mature trees in rural Ballymena townland, Skerry.
Illustration, Ballymena townland in Skerry, County Antrim
Recorded locationBallymena54.92695° N · 6.17190° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
Recorded place location · Logainm.ie

The name

A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.

Recorded forms

  • Ballymena · English · main form

Place & story

Boteler’s observation

Lieutenant Robert Boteler’s April 1833 survey described a waterfall on the boundary between Ballymena and Clonetrace. He estimated its drop at fifteen to twenty feet, followed by a narrow river passage through basalt. Farther downstream he noted basalt columns. This is a historical observation of the townland boundary, separate from the history of Ballymena town. [2]

Geographic information

Place type
Townland
County
Antrim
Civil parish
Skerry
Coordinates
54.92695, -6.17190
Mapped area
3.92 km²
Logainm ID
61429 ↗

People & family history

Census figures refer to the matched historical census area for each year. Boundaries and spellings can change over time.

1901 census

103People recorded
20Households recorded

Most frequent surnames in this year’s matched records

  • McKay 20
  • Gibson 13
  • Johnston 10
  • Shannon 10
  • Crawford 8
Explore the 1901 records ↗

1926 census

This year is outside the available dataset’s coverage. This does not indicate a population of zero.

Sources & further reading

  1. Logainm.ie — Ballymena. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  2. Ordnance Survey Memoir for the Parish of Skerry: Natural curiosities, April 1833; The Glynns 9, 1981 · Lieutenant Robert Boteler; transcription published by Glens of Antrim Historical Society
  3. Boundary geometry retains its source attribution and licence in the downloadable geographic record. Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.
  4. Ballymena townland in Skerry, County Antrim illustration: based on a Ballymena Townland by Kenneth Allen. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2019-06-27. How this page was prepared.