Jordanstown

Jordanstown is a townland (of 964 acres)[1] and electoral ward in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the urban area of Newtownabbey and the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area. It is also situated in the civil parish of Carnmoney and the historic barony of Belfast Lower.[1] It had a population of 5494 in the 2001 census, with an average age of 34.[2]

Jordanstown
  • Irish: Baile Mhic Shiúrtáin
Jordanstown
Location within Northern Ireland
Population5,494 (2001 Census)
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townNEWTOWNABBEY
Postcode districtBT37
Dialling code028
UK Parliament
NI Assembly
Shore Road in Jordanstown in 2008

Jordanstown includes a University of Ulster campus, a bowling club, a few schools and shops. It also has a beach and seafront park area called Loughshore Park, which hosts various events throughout the year including the three-day Loughshore Festival over the last weekend in August. The park sits on the shore of Belfast Lough. Jordanstown has been voted 5th most attractive place to live in Northern Ireland by the NI Neighbourhood Information Service.

Name

The place is named from an Anglo-Norman family called Jordan who accompanied John de Courcy to Carrickfergus in 1182. The surname Jordan is ultimately derived from the river Jordan, the name of which was used a Christian name by returning crusaders who brought back Jordan water to baptise their children [Bally Jurdon 1604].[3]

Education

History

Jordanstown was a semi-rural district until the 1950s when it expanded rapidly with the construction of new housing. Middle-class families were attracted to the area due to its location adjacent to Belfast Lough and the railway station, which provides access to Belfast City Centre.

The Troubles

On 4 November 1983, 28-year-olds John Martin and Stephen Fyfe, and 29-year-old William McDonald, all members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), were killed by a Provisional Irish Republican Army time bomb, hidden in the ceiling of a classroom, which exploded during a lecture to RUC members at the Ulster Polytechnic, Jordanstown, now a campus of Ulster University. Nuala O'Loan, in her capacity as a prison independent custody visitor (ICV), who was named Northern Ireland's first Police Ombudsman many years later, was injured in the attack, and, pregnant, lost the baby she was carrying at the time.[4][5][6]

Transport

Churches

Sport

U.U.J. F.C. play association football in the Northern Amateur Football League.

Local councillors and MLAs

Jordanstown is covered by the University district electoral area of Newtownabbey Borough Council.

Local Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) for the area include:

2001 Census

Jordanstown is a small settlement within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 5,494 people living in Jordanstown. Of these:

  • 16.9% were under 16 years old and 48.9% were aged 60 and above
  • 32.6% of the population were male and 50.5% were female

See also

References
  1. "Jordanstown". IreAtlas Townlands Database. Retrieved 12 April 2015.
  2. "Jordanstown", NINIS, http://www.ninis.nisra.gov.uk/mapxtreme/pf_report.asp?sLevel=WARD&sID=95WW19&sName=Jordanstown
  3. "Placenamesni.org".
  4. Hattenstone, Simon (11 March 2002). "In the line of fire". The Guardian. London, UK. Retrieved 6 November 2010.
  5. The Telegraph article on O'Loan and the Jordanstown bombing, telegraph.co.uk; accessed 17 October 2015.
  6. http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/chron/
  7. "Jordanstown station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
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