More about Newtownabbey

It is a huge residential area with many modern housing estates. It is also a large industrial base with many engineering and computer industries based in the Monkstown and Carnmoney areas. Retail and leisure facilities include the Abbey Centre, Northcott Shopping Centre and Glengormley Moviehouse. The main campus for the University of Ulster is based at Jordanstown. Newtownabbey is the largest town on the island of Ireland. The government has proposed new council structures for all of Northern Ireland. As a result, Newtownabbey Borough Council will be subsumed into Inner East Council.

Lying a short distance north of the city of Belfast on the shores of Belfast Lough, Newtownabbey is a tourist gateway to the beautiful nine glens of Antrim and the magnificent Antrim coast. With its prominent suburban position at the heart of Northern Ireland’s business belt the area enjoys fast access to Northern Ireland’s two main airports and ports by means of its first-class road and rail infrastructure. Newtownabbey has several major international companies which sit comfortably alongside small and medium-sized businesses. There is also a strong agricultural base, chiefly in the fertile Ballyclare and surrounding area.

Newtownabbey has a population of approximately 80,000 with a density of 536 persons per square kilometre. Over 60% of the population are of working age (16-65). The number of households in Newtownabbey totals 31,302. 75% of these are owner occupied and of the remaining 25%, 17.5% are rented by the NIHE, 5.6% rented by private landlord and the remainder by other social renting arrangements.

Newtownabbey has a current unemployment rate of 2.9% (Northern Ireland average 5%). The current economic activity rate in the area (those of working age who are economically active) is 76.9%. Surveys show that Newtownabbey has a lower dependence on public sector employment and a higher dependence on the private sector in comparison to Northern Ireland as a whole. Telecoms and engineering firms characterise the area’s industry. Based on this strong platform, Newtownabbey has developed as a key ICT design and manufacturing location; the Canadian multinational Nortel is a leading employer in the area. The expanding Abbeycentre shopping complex and immediate area accommodates many leading national and local retail outlets.

Based in Newtownabbey are the East Antrim Institute of Further and Higher Education (EAIFHE) and the University of Ulster at Jordanstown (UUJ). Both produce a highly skilled workforce and well trained graduates. The University of Ulster (the largest in Ireland) has a student population of around 12,000 at its Jordanstown campus. Many companies in the area have strong links with the University, attracted by its Science and Technology Incubation Unit for graduate and postgraduate study.

Carnmoney Hill is one of the greatest landmarks within the Borough. It is the site of many souterrains and raths including Dunanney Rath or ‘fort’, which dates back to Celtic times and overlooks Carnmoney Cemetery on the southern face of the hill. In the graveyard of Carnmoney Parish Church, stands a magnificent Celtic Cross marking the resting place of General William James Smythe (1816-1887). The graveyard is the resting place of many other key figures in local history including Nicholas Grimshaw, found of Ireland’s first cotton mill at Whitehouse in 1784.

Mossley was a flax spinning mill from 1834 up until the 1990’s. Newtownabbey is strongly linked with the industrial revolution and old mill buildings are a feature of the area. The Council has undertaken a massive restoration project at Mossley Mill and the development includes new civic offices and a tourist information centre. Patterson’s Spade Mill is three miles east of Templepatrick on the Belfast-Antrim Road (A6) and is the last surviving water-driven spade mill in Ireland. The Patterson’s family handed down the art of spade-making from generation to generation. John Patterson was the fourth successive oldest son to be engaged in spade-making when he moved to County Antrim from County Tyrone just after the First World War, attracted there by the good water supply for powering the turbine.

Sentry Hill is a 19th century farmhouse in the Parish of Carnmoney, County Antrim. The house and its contents provide a rare insight into the lives of rural families in Ulster during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Sentry Hill was the home of the McKinney family, who first came to Ireland from Scotland in the early 1700’s. William Fee McKinney was born in 1832 and lived at Sentry Hill for most of his life. He built up an outstanding collection of personal diaries, family letters and records of local organisations. The house and farm remained in family ownership until 1996. Since then the site has been conserved and restored by Newtownabbey Borough Council and Heritage Lottery Fund.

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