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Wikipedia / Ballybeen

Ballybeen (), also known as Ballybeen Housing Estate, is the second-biggest housing estate in Northern Ireland. It is in the village of Dundonald, on the outskirts of east Belfast. It lies within the townlands of Ballybeen and Carrowreagh, between the Upper Newtownards Road and Comber Road. Started in 1963, and mostly completed by 1971, the estate consists of some 2,400 dwellings. Most of the street names are Scottish in origin (Enler and Brooklands being the exception) as the architects who designed the estates layout mostly came from Scotland. It lies within the Borough of Castlereagh and the Belfast East Parliamentary and Assembly constituency. In the 2001 census the area had a population of 9,170.

History

Ballybeen is mainly a Protestant area, although before 1970 and the onset of The Troubles, about 20 per cent of the population were Catholic. During The Troubles the estate became a loyalist stronghold. Andy Tyrie, Ulster Army Council leader and commander of the Ulster Defence Association in the 1970s, was from the estate. The estate was named after the nearby townland of Ballybeen, home to the Robb family of farmers and landowners. The Robb family house, a stately home, which then became the Northern Ireland Housing Executive offices, was knocked down when the Housing Executive relocated to their new premises at the junction of Robbs road and Church Road in the late 1980s. The only surviving vestiges of the once-grand gardens are a scattering of mature trees and a handful of structural paths that still trace the original Victorian layout.

"Esker", the house that was built to accommodate the growing Robb family still stands today at the junction of Rank road and Church Road.

The farmland owned by the Robbs is now Ballybeen Housing Estate, which was built in the 1960's when the Robbs sold around 220 to 250 acres of this land in Ballybeen to the Northern Ireland Housing Trust.

This transition marked the evolution of Dundonald from a quiet agricultural outpost into a bustling suburban town. Robbs Road, now a vital thoroughfare, originated as a private access lane for the family farm; its name was officially designated by the Castlereagh Council to honor the Robb family’s long-standing heritage in the area.

Sport

43rd Dundonald F.C, situated in the Ballybeen Sport and Wellbeing Hub on Brooklands Road play in the Down Area Winter Football League. The sport and wellbeing hub contains facilities such as a 4G pitch, changing rooms, showers etc.

Dungoyne F.C. is a football team based in Dungoyne, Ballybeen established in 1976.

The Ballyoran Community Centre has indoor facilities for Netball, Volleyball, Bowls, 5-a-side football and Basketball. The community centre also features an IFA grade 3G pitch.

Simply Judo's Dundonald branch is located in the Enler Centre, and is the largest and most successful judo club in Northern Ireland. It teaches classes for children and adults.

Marching bands

Pride of Ballybeen Flute Band is a marching band based in the estate formed in 2014. They are a blood and thunder style band that parade in Orange walks, including The Twelfth and Battle of the Somme Commemoration Parade.

A notable historic loyalist marching band from the area was the Ballybeen Defenders Flute Band. Following a fatal accident in the early 1970s involving one of its members, the band was renamed the Kingsley Kennedy Memorial Flute Band in his honor. On September 8, 1975, another member of the band and member of the UDA, Andrew "Andy" Craig, was killed during a sectarian shooting at his workplace in Belfast. Following his death, the band was renamed a second time to become the Kennedy-Craig Memorial Flute Band, commemorating both deceased members. The band subsequently disbanded, but a permanent memorial plaque dedicated to Andrew Craig was erected within the estate.

Notable residents

References