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Lisburn is a city split between County Antrim & County Down, Northern Ireland. The River Lagan denotes the county boundary. Lisburn had a population of 71,465 people in the 2001 Census. Lisburn is a busy new city with excellent shopping facilities.
The ’Lis’ element in Lisburn may derive from Lisnagarvy, a townland incorporated in the modern city and whose name is from the Irish: Lios na gCearrbhach, ie fort of the gamesters or gamblers.
Lisburn is also known as the birthplace of the Irish 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.
It was made a city in 2002 (along with Newry) as part of Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee celebrations. The city is a popular shopping centre, with a wide range of retail outlets both in the city centre and in the out-of-town Sprucefield and Sprucefield Park centres. Also in the town centre is the Linen Museum, which is free to enter and has highly informative displays about the history of the linen industry (which was a key industry in the history of Ulster).
Lisburn housing estates include Ballymacash, Rushmore, Knockmore, Old Warren and Hill Street.
Administration
- Lisburn is home to many important political, civil and military bodies with associated infrastructure. Down Lisburn Trust, one of the largest of Northern Ireland's Health and Social Services trusts, is based in the city as is its Lagan Valley Hospital. Thiepval Barracks is the headquarters of the British Army in Northern Ireland.
- It contains the headquarters of Lisburn City Council. The unionist-controlled Lisburn Council recently decided to fly the Union Flag from its offices all year round, a decision which has angered many of the city's nationalists.
- In elections for the Westminster Parliament it is split between the Lagan Valley constituency and the West Belfast constituency.
History
Negotiations preceding the American War of Independence between Ben Franklin and Lord Hillsborough took place at the parish of Hillsborough in Lisburn.
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.
The Troubles
- 15 June 1988 - Derek Green (20), Michael Winkler (31), Mark Clavey (24), Graham Lambie (22), William Paterson (22) and Ian Metcalfe (36), all off-duty members of the British Army, were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army booby trap bomb attached to a British Army minibus at Market Square, Lisburn on the evening of the town's annual Fun Run.
2001 Census
Lisburn Urban Area is within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA)and is classified as a Large Town by the 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.
For more details see: NI neighbourhood Information Service
Education
References
External links
See also
"Lisburn"