Broughshane

Broughshane
Irish: Bruach Sheáin
240px
Broughshane shown within Northern Ireland
Population	2,851 (2011 Census)
District	Mid and East Antrim
County	County Antrim
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	BALLYMENA
Postcode district	BT43
Dialling code	028
EU Parliament	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	North Antrim
NI Assembly	North Antrim
List of places UK Northern Ireland Antrim

Broughshane (pronounced bru-SHAYN, formerly spelt Brughshane, from Irish: Bruach Sheáin) is a village within the Borough of Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is 3.5 miles (5.6 km) northeast of Ballymena and 13.8 miles (22.2 km) north of Antrim, on the A42 road. It is part of Mid and East Antrim District Council and had a population of 2,851 people in the 2011 Census.

The quaint pub, The Thatch Inn, has a thatched roof and is a Grade B+ listed building. It was originally a planter’s house. The local Masonic Lodge would meet upstairs in The Thatch. Now a Masonic Hall built in 1904 is adjacint to the pub.

Broughshane is known as the 'Garden Village of Ulster' with the motto 'People, Plants and Pride growing Together'. The village has won Ulster in Bloom, Britain in Bloom and Entente Florale (Europe in Bloom). In 2007 and again in 2012 the village won 'Champion of Champions' award in the Britain in Bloom competition. It has also won the All Ireland Tidy Town Award.

Volunteers have established in the area around the village pond, a wildlife area which has some of every species of swan and many rare types of geese etc.

Notable people

• Broughshane was the ancestral home of Sir George White VC, the most decorated soldier in the British Army and the hero of the Siege of Ladysmith. There is a memorial in the Presbyterian Church graveyard.
• His son, Captain James Robert "Jack" White, co-founded the Irish Citizen Army during the Dublin Lockout and later went on to fight the Fascist uprising in the Spanish Civil War.
• Sir James Russell, Chief Justice of Hong Kong was from Broughshane and is buried there.
• Actor James Nesbitt grew up in Broughshane before moving to Coleraine.
• Ireland national rugby union team and British and Irish Lions rugby player David Humphreys (rugby union), from Broughshane, winning the Triple Crown (rugby union) and captaining the Barbarian F.C. in his illustrious career.
• Ulster Rugby player Ian Humphreys, brother of David Humphreys (rugby union) is from Broughshane.
• Labour Party politician Mark Young is a native of Broughshane
• British & Irish Lions, Ireland national rugby union, Barbarian F.C, Ulster Rugby & Ballymena RFC Rugby player Stevie Smith (Irish rugby union) lives in Broughshane, Ballymena

Sport

Broughshane has two football teams.

• Braid United play in the Ballymena Saturday Morning League
• Raceview play in the Ballymena and Provincial League.

Both clubs play their home matches at the village's football pitch at Knockan Road. Since 2008 the pitch has also been used as a venue for Milk Cup games.

Ballymena Golf Club is situated in the outskirts of Broughshane.

Ballymena R.F.C. rugby Grounds are on the road linking Ballymena to Broughshane.

Demography

2011 Census

It had a population of 2,851 people (1,235 households) in the 2011 Census.

2001 Census

Broughshane is classified as an intermediate settlement by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with a population between 2,250 and 4,500 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 2,364 people living in Broughshane. Of these:

• 19.3% were aged under 16 and 23.6% were aged 60 and over
• 48.6% of the population were male and 51.4% were female
• 4.9% were from a Catholic background and 93.5% were from a Protestant background
• 2.8% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

References

• Culture Northern Ireland