Whitehead, County Antrim

Whitehead Irish: an Cionn Bán
The shorefront
Population	3,702 (2001 Census)
District	Carrickfergus
County	County Antrim
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CARRICKFERGUS
Postcode district	BT38
Dialling code	028
UK Parliament	East Antrim
NI Assembly	East Antrim

Whitehead is a small seaside town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, lying almost midway between the towns of Carrickfergus and Larne. It lies within the civil parishes of Island Magee and Templecorran, the barony of Belfast Lower, and is part of Carrickfergus Borough Council. Before the Plantation of Ulster its name was recorded as both Whitehead and Kinbaine (from Irish an Cionn Bán 'the white head').

Located at the base of Muldersleigh Hill, at the entrance to Belfast Lough, Whitehead lies in a small bay between the limestone cliffs of Whitehead and the black volcanic cliff of Blackhead, with the Blackhead Lighthouse on top, marking the entrance to the Lough. It had a population of 3,702 in the 2001 Census. Whitehead is notable in that there are no streets with the suffix "Street" in their name, giving rise to the nickname 'The Town With No Streets'.

Education

One primary school exists within the town - Whitehead Primary School. Another school, Lourdes Primary School, operated until June 2011.

Churches

• Whitehead Baptist Church
• Whitehead Presbyterian Church
• St Patrick's Church of Ireland
• Whitehead Methodist Church
• Our Lady of Lourdes (RC)
• Bethany Hall, Christian Assembly
• Whitehead Congregational Church

History

In late Victorian and Edwardian times, Whitehead was a popular seaside holiday destination and visitors flocked from Belfast and the surrounding area each year. The town also was home to an aerodrome during the First World War which housed two airships. Whitehead is a Victorian railway village with a well preserved conservation area, including the railway station. It is home to the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, County Antrim Yacht Club and the Council owned Bentra Golf Course, as well as being the starting point for the popular Gobbins Path seaside walk past Sunshine House, around Blackhead Lighthouse and along the Irish Sea cliffs of Islandmagee.Whitehead is about 20 miles from Belfast. On the opposite coast of Belfast Lough, the Copeland Islands, Bangor and part of the County Down coastline, are clearly visible. Whitehead received a silver at the Britain in Bloom awards in 2005 and 2006, and a bronze in 2007. The town's Brighter Whitehead group planted many of the flowers. In 2012 Northern Ireland's only Jubilee Wood was planted at Whitehead to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II.

Sport

• Whitehead Eagles F.C. play in the Northern Amateur Football League.

The Troubles

For more information see The Troubles in Whitehead, County Antrim, which includes a list of incidents in Whitehead during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities. The UDA South East Antrim Brigade lists Whitehead as a base of operations.

People

• Neighbours actress Jackie Woodburne lived in Whitehead before her family emigrated to Australia.
• Sting (Gordon Sumner) lived with ex-wife Frances Tomelty in Whitehead during the mid-1970s.
• Keith Gillespie (Northern Ireland footballer) went to Whitehead Primary School.
• Rory Ferguson for being Ferg

Railways

Whitehead railway station is on the Larne Harbour to Belfast Central and Belfast Great Victoria Street line. Located on the Northern Ireland Railways network being part of the Belfast Suburban Rail as well as the home of the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland.

Conservation and Energy Saving

Transition Town Whitehead want to make Whitehead an example of a great place to live, a great place to work, a great place for visitors and to have a glowing reputation, not only in Northern Ireland but beyond. They would like Whitehead to be a town where local businesses would sell more locally produced food, where the local people could restore land and have local residents pay less for light and heat.

Transition Town Whitehead are currently one of the six groups competing in the Power NI BIG Energy Saving Challenge, which is an exciting community based energy saving project in which six communities from across Northern Ireland compete over a year to win £20,000 worth of funding.

2001 Census

Whitehead is classified as an intermediate settlement by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 2,250 and 4,500 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 3,702 people living in Whitehead. Of these:

• 20.3% were aged under 16 years and 24.1% were aged 60 and over
• 15.4% were from a Catholic background and 76.8% were from a Protestant background
• 2.7% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

See also

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

References

• Whitehead Community Association
• County Antrim Yacht Club - Marine Parade, Whitehead
• Whitehead Golf Club
• Railway Preservation Society of Ireland
• Bentra Golf Course
• Whitelight Theatre Group
• Castle FM Carrick's Radio Station (special events)
• Brighter Whitehead, established to ensure our town always looks its best
• Culture Northern Ireland
• Library Ireland
• Power NI - BIG Energy Saving Challenge