The Antrim Road is a major arterial route and area of housing and commerce that runs from inner city north Belfast to Dunadry, passing through Newtownabbey and Templepatrick. It forms part of the A6 road, a traffic route which links Belfast to Londonderry. It passes through the New Lodge, Newington and Glengormley areas of Northern Ireland amongst others.
History
The Antrim Road was initially a much shorter road than it is now and this smaller exit from the city centre was originally known as Duncairn Street. It took its present name from the fact that it links to Antrim town, a role that was previously filled by what is now the Shankill Road, which lies west of the Antrim Road.Paul Hamilton, Up The Shankill, Blackstaff Press, 1979, p. 2
The road was one of the areas of the city to suffer sustained bombardment by the Luftwaffe as part of the Belfast Blitz of April and May 1941 and was amongst those hit the hardest resulting in a high number of casualties.Darkest days – Belfast remembers the Blitz The Waterworks on Antrim Road, Belfast's principal source of water, was one of the Luftwaffe's targets."History of the New Lodge" Retrieved 20 March 2012 On the night of 15/16 April 1941 German bombers launched their deadliest attack on Belfast. Shortly after the air raid sirens sounded at 10.40 pm, the Luftwaffe bombers began dropping incendiaries, powerful explosive bombs and parachute mines. North Belfast was first to be attacked and bore the brunt of the bombardment with entire swaths of terraced houses levelled. The Antrim Road in particular took the full force of the air raid which resulted in an inferno that engulfed the street. The Auxiliary Fire Brigade was unable to put out the conflagration as the water mains had been broken in 20 places.Barton, Jonathan, lecturer at Queen's University, Belfast. The Belfast Blitz, 1941, an article. Retrieved 20 March 2012 Victoria Barracks, in the New Lodge area, had been destroyed by a number of direct hits. Burke Street, which ran between Annadale and Dawson streets, was obliterated by bombs, its 20 dwellings flattened and all of the occupants killed. The Ministry of Public Security ordered the killing of 23 animals from the nearby Belfast Zoo as it was feared the air raids would lead to the animals escaping thus posing a risk to the populace. The animals which were shot included a tiger, a lynx, a hyena, a black bear, two polar bears, and six wolves."Baby elephant kept as pet to save her from WW2 blitz". The Telegraph. Stephen Adams. 23 March 2009
Lower Antrim Road
The Antrim Road begins at Carlisle Circus, a roundabout north of the city centre just past the Westlink motorway. It is one of four exits from Carlisle Circus, the others being the Crumlin Road, a major arterial and residential route that forms part of the A2, Clifton Street which leads back to Belfast city centre, and Denmark Street which leads to the area of the Lower Shankill Road.
Annesley Street is located near the beginning of the road and it featured the synagogue, the former centre of the Jewish community in Belfast. Opened in 1904 after a sizeable donation from Otto Jaffe it served as the city's synagogue for a number of years before more modern premises were secured on Somerton Road.The Virtual Jewish History Tour – Ireland The area was noted for its Jewish population, with many Russian Jews fleeing persecution settling there in the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The synagogue is close to St Malachy's College, a historic Catholic grammar school for boys which has produced several notable alumni.St Malachy's College
The New Lodge district of Belfast is located to the south of St Malachy's College and centred on the New Lodge Road, which links the Antrim Road to North Queen Street. New Lodge is bordered on the north by Duncairn Gardens with the loyalist Tiger's Bay forming an interface area. It is one of the older areas of the Antrim Road, although it was previously known as the Pinkerton Row area.Belfast Street Names Then and Now
The Newington area borders two public parks on this part of the Antrim Road, the Waterworks on the corner of the Cavehill RoadWaterworks and Alexandra Park, which in 1994 was divided in two by a fence after clashes between Newington republicans and Shore Road loyalists. The fence remains in place although a gate was added in 2011 permitting limited access from one side to the other. This area of the Antrim Road also hosts Saint Ignatius', a building used by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, having previously been occupied by the Antiochian Orthodox Church.Church of Saint Ignatius
The Cliftonville Road faces the New Lodge area and it runs Northwest, linking up with the Oldpark Road as it heads towards the Ardoyne area. It was built in the 1890s to link the Antrim Road with the Old Park Road (as it was known at the time).David Harvey, Belfast Trolleybuses, Amberley Publishing, 2010, p. 69 Belfast Royal Academy, a voluntary grammar school founded in 1785, is located on the Cliftonville Road.Belfast Royal Academy Solitude, the home of Cliftonville F.C., is also located on a street just behind the Cliftonville Road. Both Cliftonville Cricket Club and Cliftonville Hockey Club originated in the area. All three clubs came under threat during the early days of the troubles for being perceived as Unionist clubs. The Cricket and Hockey clubs vacated after their grounds were looted and firebombed in 1972 while the Football club was adopted by the local Nationalist community in the aftermath of the nearby Distillery club also losing their grounds in the violence.
Cavehill to Bellevue
The Cavehill Road, which runs Northwest off the Antrim Road, takes its name from Cavehill, a large basaltic hill that dominates the skyline over much of the Antrim Road. The Cavehill Road is itself an interface, separating the traditionally Protestant Westland Road and the Catholic areas known as "Little America" although co-operation between community groups aimed at decreasing tensions has increased.The safest barbecue in Belfast The Westland estate was previously home to the Shoukri brothers, two dominant figures in the North Belfast Brigade of the UDA who subsequently fell out of favour.Paramilitary Shoukri group gives up final arms Cliftonville Golf Club is also located on Westland Road.
The Antrim Road Police Service of Northern Ireland station is located close to the Cavehill Road junction.Station opening hours Nearby is Skegoneill Avenue, the entry to which is marked by the imposing Fortwilliam and Macrory Presbyterian Church, which was opened in 1885History of Fortwilliam and has become a Roman Catholic church in 2019Former Belfast Presbyterian church bought by Catholic order, under the name of Church of the Immaculate Heart of MaryChurch of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. A football stadium also called Skegoneill is also located on the Avenue and is the home of the minor league side Brantwood F.C. The ground has also been used by Newington F.C., an NIFL Championship club that originated in the Newington district but which has led a peripatetic existence due to a lack of a home ground. The area is also the location for Dunmore Park Camp, a facility used by the Territorial Army to house the North Irish Horse.Dunmore Park Camp
Beyond this section of the road there are the Salisbury and Chichester Park areas, which are largely made up of middle class private housing. St Peter's Church, Belfast, a historic Church of Ireland church built in 1900, is found in this section of the Antrim Road, facing the North Circular Road.Saint Peter and Saint James This road leads back to the Crumlin Road, passing through the loyalist Ballysillan area.
The upper section of the Antrim Road in Belfast is variously known as Downview and Bellevue, with both areas mostly made up of large detached and semi-detached private houses. The Somerton Road, which runs alongside the Antrim Road at this part, is the current location of the main synagogue for the Belfast Hebrew Congregation.Belfast Jewish Community "Lisbreen", the official residence of the Bishop of Down and Connor, is also located on the Somerton Road.Diocese of Down and Connor bishops Belfast Castle is located in Cavehill Country Park overlooking the Antrim Road in the Downview area.Belfast Castle The Bellevue area is also the location of Belfast Zoo.Belfast Zoo Overlooking the north shore of Belfast Lough, this elevated coastal area enjoys the mildest climate in Belfast and is one of the few areas of the city where palm trees and other semi-tropical plants have been successfully grown.Harvey, p. 57
Outside Belfast
The border between Belfast and Newtownabbey forms soon after the Antrim Road passes over the M2 motorway. The road then passes through the Glengormley suburb of Newtownabbey and forms its main shopping district. Barron Hall, a venue used by the Newtownabbey Community Forum which involves both communities, was targeted in a sectarian arson attack in July 2010 having been mistaken for an Orange hall.Community centre hit by arson 'may have been mistaken for Orange hall' Glengormley police station was also located close to Barron Hall.Station opening hours The road continues through the residential areas of Glengormley until it reaches Sandyknowes roundabout at which point it diverts into the industrial areas of Mallusk, also passing through the City of Belfast Golf Course.City of Belfast Golf Club
Following Mallusk the Antrim Road enters a mainly rural area in which it is largely parallel to the M2. This continues until the roundabout junction with the Ballyclare Road, when the Antrim Road forms the main thoroughfare through the village of Templepatrick. After more countryside the road ends at Dunadry, where it changes its name to the Belfast Road. Under various names, this road continues as the A6 to Derry.
Politics The Antrim Road passes through three separate constituencies for UK House of Commons and Northern Ireland Assembly elections i.e. North Belfast, East Antrim and South Antrim. The North Belfast parliament seat is held by John Finucane of Sinn Féin whilst the corresponding Assembly seats are held by Paula Bradley and William Humphrey and of the DUP, Carál Ní Chuilín and Gerry Kelly of Sinn Féin and Nichola Mallon of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP). The East Antrim parliamentary seat is held by Sammy Wilson (DUP) with the Assembly seats held by David Hilditch and Gordon Lyonsof the DUP, Roy Beggs Jr and John Stewart of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and Stewart Dickson of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (APNI). The MP for South Antrim is Paul Girvan (DUP) whilst the MLAS for the seat are Trevor Clarke and Pam Cameron of the DUP, John Blair of the APNI, Steve Aiken of the UUP and Declan Kearney of Sinn Féin.
Much of the Antrim Road is within Belfast City Council, specifically the Castle and Oldpark district electoral areas. Castle is represented by Lydia Patterson and Gut Spence of the DUP, Mary Campbell and Tierna Cunningham of Sinn Féin, David Browne of the UUP and Pat Convery of the SDLP. The seats in Oldpark are held by Daniel Lavery, Conor Maskey and Gerard McCabe of Sinn Féin, Ian Crozier and Gareth McKee of the DUP and Nichola Mallon of the SDLP.
After Belfast the road enters the territory of Newtownabbey Borough Council where it is contained within the Antrim Line area. The seven councillors for this area are Audrey Ball and Paula Bradley of the DUP, Marie Mackessy and Gerard O'Reilly of Sinn Féin, as well as John Blair (APNI), Mark Cosgrove (UUP) and Noreen McClelland (SDLP).Newtownabbey Borough Council Antrim Line