Carrickfergus

Related Topics:
Carrickfergus

Carrickfergus (Irish: Carraig Fhearghais, 'Rock of Fergus') is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 27,201 people in the 2001 Census. The town is the administrative centre for Carrickfergus Borough Council. It is Northern Ireland’s oldest town and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th century king of Dál Riata.

Carrickfergus stands on the north shore of Belfast Lough and is home to the 12th century Carrickfergus Castle, one of the best-preserved Norman castles in Ireland. It was built around 1180 by John de Courcy. The church of St Nicholas also dates from the late 12th century.

The town was formerly an important centre for the textile industry. It now is a centre for leisure sailing, and is home to Carrickfergus Marina. The town is inside the Greater Belfast conurbation, and is only 18.3 kilometres (11.4 miles) from Belfast city centre.

Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States, was born in 1767 in the predominantly Ulster-Scots Waxshaws area of South Carolina two years after his parents left Boneybefore, near Carrickfergus. A heritage centre in the village pays tribute to the legacy of 'Old Hickory', the People's President.
William Orr, United Irish martyr was hanged in Carrickgergus on October 14 1797
Louis MacNeice's family moved to the town when the poet was two years old (his father was appointed vicar of St Nicholas), and he left at the age of ten to attend boarding school in England. One of MacNeice's most well-known poems, Carrickfergus (1937), relates his ambiguous feelings about the town where he spent his early boyhood.
Neighbours actress Jackie Woodburne was born in Carrickfergus in 1957.
Stuart Robinson host of Northern Ireland's Young Star Search lived in Victoria in Carrickfergus during the 1980s and is also a presenter on Belfast CityBeat
Citybeat 96.7FM Radio Star Andy Pugh hails from Carrickfergus
Cathy Vizard member of Indie Rock Band The Jive grew up in Carrickfergus

There are many primary and secondary schools in Carrickfergus.

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Carrickfergus