Cullybackey

Cullybackey was part of the ancient kingdom of Dál nAraidi. Evidence of ancient dwellers in the area have been found throughout the years, including the remains of Crannogs and Souterrains.{{cite journal|last=W. J.|first=Knowles|title=Souterrains at Cullybackey, in the County of Antrim|journal=Ulster Journal of Archaeology|date=April 1905|volume=11|series=Second|issue=2|pages=51–54|jstor=20566211}}

Christian Missionary Mackevet erected a monastery in the area. It is said that when Mackevet first approached the Irish Chieftain MacAfee about this matter the two began to argue over it and Mackevet, who was a large man raised his fist into the chieftains face and said "I'm a man of peace, but smell that MacAfee". This won him the argument and the monastery was built, supplying the area with a place of learning for many centuries afterwards.{{cite book|last=Shaw|first=William|title=Cullybackey and District|year=1912|publisher=Ballymena Borough Council|page=4}}

In 1778 a Volunteers company was raised by John Dickey of Cullybackey House, They named themselves 'The Cullybackey Volunteers'.{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=Samuel|title=A topographical dictionary of Ireland|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_dDQE_stxs-AC|year=1837|publisher=S. Lewis, 1837|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_dDQE_stxs-AC/page/n448 443]}}

In 1847, the village contained 235 residents and contained about 50 houses.

• Arthur Cottage, the ancestral home of Chester A. Arthur, 21st President of the United States, from 1881 to 1885, is close to the village, on the B62 road from Ballymena. It is a restored 18th-century farmhouse with open flax-straw thatched roof. It is usually open to the public through the spring and summer months.
• The old Methodist church on the banks of the river was opened in 1839 as the Original Secession Church. It later became the United Free Church of Scotland. When the United Free clergy withdrew from Ireland in 1923, the congregation became Methodists.
• The Cuningham Memorial Presbyterian Church
• Craigs Church of Ireland, which was designed by celebrated 19th-century architect Sir Charles Lanyon and built in 1840. Attached to the church is a very old graveyard which contains 'The Strangers Plot', where the poor of the parish where buried, including those who lost their lives in the parish during the Great Famine (Ireland)
• Reformed Presbyterian Church (Covenanter){{fact|date=April 2025}}
• Cullybackey Millennium Riverwalk {{cite web |url=http://www.walkni.com/Walk.aspx?ID=27 |title=Maine Riverside |publisher=Walk NI |date=2010-07-11 |access-date=2015-10-22 |archive-date=20 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220214542/http://www.walkni.com/Walk.aspx?ID=27 |url-status=dead }}
• Craigdun Castle, a 19th-century Scottish baronial castle that is set a mile outside the village. Believed to have been designed by Charles Lanyon, it was left to the NHS as a home for multiple sclerosis sufferers in the 1950s and continued in this role until the 1990s, when it was sold by the NHS. The current owners have extensively renovated the property and gardens, and in 2011 the house was a finalist in the BBC Northern Ireland House of the Year programme.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

{{See also|Cullybackey railway station}}

Translink (Northern Ireland) run both trains and buses through the village daily.

The first sod on the Belfast railway line was turned in 1845 and the line from Ballymena to Portrush was completed in 1855 Cullybackey and District by William Shaw The railway line is still well used by the population of Cullybackey today with trains stopping at the station almost hourly throughout the day.

There are bus stops at both ends and in the middle of the Main Street. bus stops are dotted around the surrounding townlands.

Local sports clubs include Cullybackey Blues Football Club.{{Cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/Cullybackey-Blues-FC-1073769382662082/|title=Cullybackey Blues FC|website=Facebook|access-date=24 July 2019|archive-date=8 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808223156/https://www.facebook.com/Cullybackey-Blues-FC-1073769382662082/|url-status=live}}

Schools in the area include:{{fact|date=April 2025}}

• Cullybackey College
• Buick Memorial Primary School
• The Diamond Primary School

Cullybackey It had a population of 2,569 people (1,088 households) in the 2011 census. Of these:

• 4.0% were from a Catholic background and 88.4% were from a Protestant background{{fact|date=April 2025}}

In 2001, Cullybackey was classified as an "intermediate settlement" by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e., with population between 2,250 and 4,500 people). On census day 2001 (29 April 2001), there were 2,405 people living in Cullybackey. Of these:[http://www.ninis.nisra.gov.uk/ NI Neighbourhood Information Service]

• 19.5% were aged under 16 and 22.3% were aged 60 and over
• 47.1% of the population were male and 52.9% were female
• 1.2% were from a Catholic background and 97.0% were from a Protestant background
• 3.3% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

{{See also|Category:People from Cullybackey}}

• Bruce Anstey, motorcycle racer{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/northern-ireland/58544514|title=Bruce Anstey: 'The doctors don't know how I'm still here' - Kiwi road racer talks about cancer battle|publisher=BBC Sport|date=14 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210916220149/https://www.bbc.com/sport/northern-ireland/58544514|archive-date=16 September 2021|url-status=live}}
• William Arthur, father of Chester A. Arthur, 21st President of the United States of America
• Matilda Cullen Knowles, scientist, was born here in 1864.{{cite web|title=Ask About Ireland – Irish Scientists – Matilda Knowles|url=http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/life-society/science-technology/irish-scientists/knowles-matilda/|website=Ask About Ireland – Irish Scientists|access-date=2 November 2014|archive-date=15 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915003127/http://www.askaboutireland.ie/reading-room/life-society/science-technology/irish-scientists/knowles-matilda/|url-status=live}}
• Jessica Kurten, Olympic horse rider and representative of Ireland.{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}}
• Neil 'Smutty' Robinson, a well-known motorcycle racer and British 250cc Championship winner, who was killed, aged 24, in 1986.
• Steven Davis - Rangers and Northern Ireland Footballer.
• Ella Young, Celtic poet, mythologist and Feminist activist was born here in 1867.{{Cite web|url=http://cullybackeyhistory.co.uk/ella/|title=Ella Young|website=Cullybackey and District Historical Society|access-date=24 July 2019|archive-date=24 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190724180244/http://cullybackeyhistory.co.uk/ella/|url-status=live}}

{{commons category}}

• List of villages in Northern Ireland
• List of towns in Northern Ireland

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20120118053125/http://craigduncastle.com/ Craigdun Castle]

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{{County Antrim}}

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Category:Villages in County Antrim