Cargan (from Irish an Carraigín, meaning 'the small rock')[1] is a hamlet and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies at the foot of Slievenanee in Glenravel – locally known as "The Tenth Glen" along with the more widely known nine Glens of Antrim. It is part of Mid and East Antrim district. It had a population of 588 people (223 households) in the 2011 Census.[2] (2001 Census: 411 people)

Cargan
The Legagrane Road in Cargan
Cargan is located in Northern Ireland
Cargan
Cargan
Location within Northern Ireland
Population588 (2011 Census)
• Belfast25 mi (40 km)
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBALLYCASTLE
Postcode districtBT44
Dialling code028
PoliceNorthern Ireland
FireNorthern Ireland
AmbulanceNorthern Ireland
UK Parliament
NI Assembly
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Antrim
54°59′37″N 6°10′55″W / 54.99361°N 6.18194°W / 54.99361; -6.18194

History

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One of the earliest anglicisations of the townland of Cargan is Carrigan.[1] In the late 1800s, the village of Cargan was known as Fisherstown. An iron ore mine was opened up around the same time. The ore was shipped to Barrow-in-Furness, first by horse,[3] then from 1875 by railway to Ballymena. The railway closed in 1937.[4]

Transport

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The Ballymena to Cargan railway line was opened in 1875 and extended to Parkmore and Retreat in 1876.[5] Cargan railway station opened on 1 June 1894, was closed for passenger traffic on 1 October 1930, and finally closed altogether on 12 April 1937.[6] It was on the Ballymena, Cushendall and Red Bay Railway which operated narrow gauge railway services from Ballymena to Parkmore from 1875 to 1940.[7]

2011 Census

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On Census day in 2011:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Placenames NI Archived August 4, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Cargan". Census 2011 Results. NI Statistics and Research Agency. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  3. ^ The Mountains of Iron, by K J O'Hagan, Mid-Antrim Part 2, 1991.
  4. ^ "The Drum, County Antrim". Woodland Trust. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  5. ^ McMinn, JRB. "The Social and Political Structure of North Antrim in 1869". The Glens of Antrim Historical Society. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  6. ^ "Cargan station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  7. ^ Baker, Michael HC (1999). Irish Narrow Gauge Railways. A View from the Past. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0-7110-2680-7.
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