89-601: (Redirected from Twin Brooks ) Twinbrook or Twin Brooks may refer to: Twinbrook, Belfast , a district on the outskirts of West Belfast Twinbrook (WMATA station) , a Washington Metro station in Montgomery County, Maryland Twinbrook (Rockville, Maryland) , a subdivision of Rockville, Maryland Twinbrook , a fictional town in The Sims 3: Ambitions Twin Brooks, Edmonton ,
178-570: A Gaeltacht Quarter around the Falls Road in 2002. The Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich , known colloquially as the Cultúrlann , is an Irish language and arts centre based in the middle Falls area which opened in 1991. It was originally the home of Broadway Presbyterian church. The centre also houses the Irish language bookshop An Ceathrú Póilí . The Féile an Phobail , an annual festival of Irish culture, which
267-529: A community garden and allotment site. Developments include a playground and multi-use games area. At the foot of St. James's Road and sandwiched between Rodney Parade and the M1 motorway is located the St. James's Community Farm. This was an abandoned piece of land that was transformed by local residents into a community farm providing facilities for around 50 animals and various gardening initiatives. Historically, there has been
356-508: A community hub for a range of community and business activities and is involved in the development of a Visitor Heritage Interpretation Space for the area. The centre is named Ionad (Centre) Eileen Howell after a local community activist. St. Brendan's Primary School on nearby Milford Street closed in the 1960s but for two years housed some pupils from St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School which at that time had exceeded its capacity in its Barrack Street premises. The Dunlewey Centre
445-623: A continuing interest in the Irish language and culture in the area. In 1936 the Cluain Árd centre was established in the Beechmount area and became a centre for Irish language enthusiasts. In the 1960s, there was a resurgence of interest in the Irish language reflected in the development of the Shaw's Road Gaeltacht in Andersonstown. Since then, interest has grown, with the approval by Belfast City Council of
534-608: A football pitch. Nearby are located the clubrooms of Davitt's GAC and Dwyer's GAC . A strong working class community, the Lower Falls has a history of storytelling, music and song which was often enjoyed in the many public houses in the area. These included such establishments as the Old House (famous for its folk music sessions), McGeown's , the West End Bar (owned by Peter and Molly Murray and famous for its weekend sing-songs),
623-572: A gym, and a badminton court. It was originally the location of the Falls Public Baths where local residents could avail of washing and swimming facilities. On 16 April 1941, it was the site of a temporary morgue following the Belfast Blitz . This is described in the novel The Emperor of Ice-Cream by the novelist Brian Moore . One of three Carnegie libraries built in Belfast is situated in
712-526: A large crowd of Loyalists from the Shankill Road end attempted to invade Divis Street. Houses in the street were attacked and the residents fled (see 1969 Northern Ireland riots ). These mills recruited workers from both the Falls and Shankill Roads. The Falls Leisure Centre is located in the lower Falls district. It currently offers a range of leisure facilities including a swimming pool, sauna and steam rooms,
801-406: A long history of human habitation, with a ringfort having existed in the area yielding artefacts from the early Christian era. A thirteenth century silver coin was also excavated. By the early 20th century the area had become part of the green belt between Belfast and Lisburn and was largely uninhabited. Cloona House is a substantial country house, a few miles from Belfast when it was built. It
890-582: A neighborhood of Edmonton Twin Brooks, South Dakota , a town in South Dakota Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Twinbrook . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Twinbrook&oldid=640246474 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
979-667: A period in the early years of the twentieth century. There are several large bars in the middle Falls area. These include the Beehive and the Red Devil – An Diabhal Dearg , at the top of Broadway, and the Rock Bar at the top of the Donegall Road. The Rock Bar is described as the oldest bar on the Falls Road. It was subjected to a loyalist attack with an RPG rocket in 1994 but survived and no customers were injured. The Broadway Cinema which
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#17330859401731068-508: A popular attraction for visiting tourists. The murals are frequently updated to reflect local support for certain individuals and groups (e.g. NHS staff). In 2023, a panel on the wall calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza was unveiled. There are many other murals on nearby gable walls frequently exhorting peace and reconciliation between communities. One in Bread Street, off Albert Street, has
1157-609: A priest, and built on a site donated by a local baker, Bernard Hughes . It became the cathedral church for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Down and Connor and the episcopal seat of the Bishop of Down and Connor in 1986. It is home to St Peter's Schola Cantorum (Choir). Clonard monastery , the home of the Redemptorist religious order, is located near the junction with Springfield Road . The church formally opened in 1911 replacing
1246-609: A quotation from Audre Lorde : It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept and celebrate those differences . Opposite the junction with Conway Street is a Garden of Remembrance. This is dedicated to the members of the IRA and the civilians from the Falls Road area who were killed during the Troubles and the prisoners in the H Block at the Long Kesh prison who died while on hunger strike in 1981. This section of
1335-503: A significant Protestant majority, led to vehement protests from loyalists . Building did not begin until 1979 and as a result of pressure from both Unionist politicians and the Ulster Defence Association the original Department of Environment plan for 4,000 houses had been scaled back to 1,563. The first areas, Old Colin and Colinmill, opened in 1980 with the first residents moved in on the morning of 28 November 1980. By
1424-468: A small church which opened in 1897. Father Alec Reid who played an important role in the Northern Ireland peace process was based here. There were/are seven Protestant churches which were/are largely located on the edges of the area and their congregations were/are mostly drawn from neighbouring districts. All but one of the older churches have been closed, repurposed or demolished since the onset of
1513-507: Is McCrory Park. It was named after Cardinal Joseph MacRory who was Bishop of Down and Connor and then Primate of All Ireland in the early part of the twentieth century. During the 1970s it was occupied by the British Army who called it Fort Pegasus. The playing fields of the Davitt's GAC are located in Beechmount. The Whiterock Leisure Centre is located off the upper Whiterock Road. It has
1602-468: Is a more recent development than Poleglass or Twinbrook and indeed as of 2012 houses are still being built on the estate. Its Catholic church, Christ the Redeemer, was only created as a breakaway parish from St Luke's Twinbrook in 1997 whilst the local primary school of the same name dates to only 1999. Falls Road, Belfast The Falls Road (from Irish túath na bhFál 'territory of
1691-404: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Twinbrook, Belfast Poleglass (from Irish Poll Glas , meaning 'green hollow') is an area of west Belfast in Northern Ireland . It is the name of a townland , a modern electoral ward , and a working class suburb . The townland is situated in the civil parish of Derriaghy and
1780-803: Is housed in a purpose-built facility. Nearby, on the Cullingtree Road, is located the Frank Gillen Centre which offers a range of community services. Closer to the city centre, in College Court, off Castle Street, was located the Astor Ballroom which was a very popular dance venue in the 1960s and where such famous bands as Thin Lizzy and Them performed. On some walls along the main road have been painted large murals . These are representations of local and national political issues and figures. One of
1869-541: Is located Willowbank Park which has a number of playing fields. It is located on the site of the Willowbank Huts which in the late nineteenth century housed a small British Army barracks. When the huts were vacated they were used by various groups including Fianna Éireann . Corrigan Park which is a facility for Gaelic games is located on the Whiterock Road. A nearby smaller facility for various sporting activities
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#17330859401731958-555: Is located near Gaelscoil an Lonnáin. The building was originally the home of the Bon Secours Sisters and also housed St. Vincent's Primary School for Girls . It is a now the home of a community education centre. Dunlewey Street on which it is located is named after the residence of a local mill owner, William Ross, who owned a house in Dunlewey , County Donegal. The nearby Ross Road is also named after William Ross. The churches in
2047-483: Is located opposite the hospitals on the corner of Cavendish Street. It was built as a chapel of ease to St Peter's Cathedral and celebrated its first Mass in July 1887. St.Paul's was raised from "a district of St Peters" to the status of a parish in 1905. Broadway Presbyterian Church opened in 1891 but closed in 1982. It has since been repurposed as an Irish language arts and culture centre (see below). Near Beechmount
2136-588: Is now an enterprise centre. There was also a Presbyterian church in Albert Street (1852–1972) where one of the ministers was the Rev. Henry Montgomery who helped establish the Shankill Road Mission in 1896. The Maureen Sheehan Centre is now located on the site of the church. The centre is named after a local community nurse who was killed in a nearby car accident. Four sculptures from the church are featured in
2225-686: Is now the site of a shopping centre. This section stretches from the Whiterock Road to the Andersonstown Road. As its name implies, the Andersonstown Road leads to the Andersonstown district and the on out of the city. At the junction with the Glen Road was located the Andersonstown RUC station which was the most attacked police station in Northern Ireland. It was closed and demolished in 2005. The Glen Road runs for almost three miles passing
2314-482: Is situated. This is the oldest Catholic church in Belfast and dates from 1784. Nearby on Bank Street is located the historic Kelly's Cellars bar which dates from 1720. Opposite was located St. Mary's Hall , a popular social venue which was constructed in 1875 but demolished in 1990. Bank Street begins at Royal Avenue. The ornate building at its entrance was the former home of the Provincial Bank of Ireland which
2403-509: The Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava , originally from Killyleagh , who had been the Vicereine of India (1884–1888). These street names are recalled in the collection of poetry The Irish for No by Ciaran Carson . In one of the poems entitled "The Exiles' Club", Carson imagines a group of Belfast exiles: All of these houses have now been demolished and replaced with modern terraced houses. At
2492-578: The Ballymurphy and to Turf Lodge districts. It also leads to the Black Mountain which forms part of the range of hills overlooking Belfast. Across the Falls Road from the Whiterock Road is the Donegall Road. This road leads down to the junction with Broadway and Westlink – M1 motorway and then on down to Shaftesbury Square in the city centre. At the junction with Westlink is located the large public sculpture formally called RISE but informally known as
2581-558: The Crimean War (1853–1856) which was occurring at that time. These include Raglan Street (named after Lord Raglan , commander of British forces in the Crimean War), Garnet Street (after Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley ), Alma Street (after the Battle of Alma ), Balaklava Street (after the Battle of Balaklava ), Inkerman Street (after the Battle of Inkerman ), Sevastopol Street (after
2670-666: The Faas Raa in Ulster-Scots . The Falls Road forms the first three miles of the A501 which starts in Belfast city centre and runs southwest through the city forking just after the Falls Park into the B102 which continues for a short distance to Andersonstown . The A501 continues as the Glen Road. The area is composed largely of residential housing, with more public sector housing in the lower sections of
2759-685: The Laurel Leaf , the Centre Half and Haughey's . Gerry Conlon , who grew up in Peel Street, recalled in his autobiography Proved Innocent how he could see several pubs just a few yards from his front door: I'd watch the men off to the pubs. There were three pubs, Paddy Gilmartin's which was called the Laurel Leaf, Peter Murray's [the West End Bar] directly opposite, or further down on the right-hand side
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2848-604: The Provisional Irish Republican Army expelled seven men aged between 17 and 30 from the area after they had been accused of a spate of arson attacks on vehicles. The dissident Arm Na Poblachta has shown a level of activity in the Polegrass area. Summary justice in the form of punishment beatings and knee cappings dealt out to transgressors by paramilitaries have continued to be a feature of life in Poleglass after
2937-714: The SDLP . Since 2014, Poleglass has had a Sinn Fein councillor as their representative. Cllr Magennis led from 2014 till 2022 after being elected twice, he was later co-opted by Cllr McCann who is pushing to be elected for the first time in the 2023 Northern Ireland Local Elections . Poleglass is bordered on the east by the Stewartstown Road, which originates in the Andersonstown area of west Belfast. There are two main areas of housing on this road apart from Poleglass i.e. Twinbrook and Lagmore. Notable residents of Twinbrook have included Bobby Sands who led an IRA active service unit on
3026-613: The Siege of Sevastopol ), Plevna Street (after the Siege of Plevna ), Varna Street (after the Siege of Varna ) as well as Omar Street (after Omar Pasha ) and Osman Street (after Osman Nuri Paşa ). There were also streets named after Balkan places such as Bosnia Street, Balkan Street, Roumania Street and Servia Street. Other streets were named after contemporary political and royal figures such as Peel Street (after Robert Peel ) and Albert Street (named after Prince Albert ). Marchioness Street and Lady Street are probably named after Lady Dufferin,
3115-666: The Troubles and the establishment of the peace lines . There were three Church of Ireland churches. St. Luke's Church (1863–2006) on Northumberland Street, was the Church of Ireland church for the Lower Falls. When it closed its congregation amalgamated with St. Stephen's Church in Millfield at the foot of Divis Street. This church which opened in 1856 was designed by Sir Thomas Drew who also designed St. Anne's Cathedral and many other churches. St Philips Church (Drew Memorial) opened on
3204-631: The 10c Colin Connect feeder service Poleglass to City Centre services are the, 10f, 10x and the 530a. The Poleglass to Lisburn service is the 530a. The West Belfast Taxi Association, which provides a hackney carriage " taxibus " service to the outlying estates beyond the Falls Road, also connects the city centre with Poleglass. Poleglass is part of the Collin District Electoral Area . Poleglass, like most of West Belfast , overwhelmingly votes for nationalist parties like Sinn Fein and
3293-507: The 12th century. Castle Street begins at the junction with Royal Avenue and Donegall Place, the main shopping district of Belfast. Two large buildings flank either side of the entrance to the street. On one side is the Bank Buildings and on the other is the former home of the Anderson & McAuley department store. Near the start of Castle Street is Chapel Lane on which St. Mary's Church
3382-430: The 1960s. In 1988, both of these schools amalgamated with Gort na Móna Secondary School to become Corpus Christi College which in turn merged (see above). St. Thomas's had a strong literary heritage. For a period, its headteacher was the writer Michael McLaverty . In addition, Seamus Heaney taught here for a while in the 1960s. He references the area in one of his poems: Brendan Hamill , another writer, who attended
3471-613: The 19th century and was organised in narrow streets of small terraced housing. The Westlink linking the M1 and M2 motorways now cuts through this area. This section of the road stretches from the junction of Castle Street and Millfield to the Grosvenor Road/ Springfield Road intersection. The lower part of the road is named Divis Street after the Divis mountain which overlooks much of West Belfast. The Falls Road proper begins at
3560-791: The Dairy Farm Shopping Centre, Footprints Women's Centre, the Church of the Nativity and Colin Glen Forest Park. The home of youth team Colin Valley football is situated behind the Olde Mill and they have won several trophies world-wide. Most memorably, they were winners of the Holland Youth Cup 1997. The Colin Valley senior side are also based at Good Shepherd Road in Poleglass. They compete in
3649-624: The Grosvenor Road in 1870. It was named after the fiery preacher Rev. Dr. Thomas Drew who hailed from Limerick and became a very influential clergyman when he moved to Belfast. It closed in 1994 and the church congregation merged with that of St. Simon's Church on the Donegall Road . A war memorial from the church is preserved in the Somme Museum, Newtownards . The church was sold to Dwyer's Gaelic Athletic Club who built their clubrooms on
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3738-453: The Lower Falls district reflect the changing demographics of the area. There are three Catholic churches in the area. The oldest is St. Mary's Church which opened in 1784 (see above). St Peter's Cathedral is located just off Albert Street. This was originally a parish church built for the expanding Catholic population in the area and opened in 1866. It was designed by Fr Jeremiah Ryan McAulay, who had trained as an architect before he became
3827-513: The Royal Dental Hospital. These four linked hospitals make up Northern Ireland's biggest hospitals complex. The Royal Victoria Hospital treats over 80,000 people as inpatients and 350,000 people as outpatients every year. The complex is a major training site for medical, dental, nursing and other health students from Queen's University Belfast. The original hospital opened in 1797 and moved to its present site in 1903. The hospital
3916-400: The area by the prospects for female and child employment in new linen mills. All of these mills have now closed or have been repurposed. This original area, which was centred on the junction of modern-day Millfield and College Avenue on what is now Divis Street, was known as Falls and lent its name to the road. which had previously been called The Pound . The housing in the area developed in
4005-435: The balls on the Falls . Through the area flowed the Clowney Water or River (Irish Abhainn na Cluana – River of the meadow) which is a tributary of the larger Blackstaff River . Both have largely been covered over and piped in. There are several large hospitals in the area including the Royal Victoria Hospital , the Royal Jubilee Maternity Service, the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children (Children's Hospital), and
4094-400: The city centre and continues to the junction with the Grosvenor Road . The middle Falls district centres on Beechmount. The Upper Falls starts about the Donegall Road and continues into Andersonstown. The short stretch of the road from the city centre to the start of Divis Street at Millfield is known as Castle Street after the former Belfast Castle which was built nearby by the Normans in
4183-400: The corner of Conway Street was located Greeves' Mill (original owner Thomas Greeves of Strandtown , Belfast) and also the Conway Mill (original owner James Kennedy of nearby Clonard). Originally a flax spinning mill, it now houses a community enterprise of small businesses, art studios, retail space and education floor. It also houses the Irish Republican History Museum . Finally, Ross's Mill
4272-440: The corner of Northumberland Street. By the 1960s the buildings in the area had decayed considerably and the Belfast Corporation introduced a major development plan which involved wholescale demolition of much of the area. Many of the old street names were retained in the new housing development. In the Divis Street area, the housing was replaced with the Divis Flats complex which consisted of twelve blocks of flats built on top of
4361-401: The enclosures' ) is the main road through West Belfast , Northern Ireland , running from Divis Street in Belfast City Centre to Andersonstown in the suburbs. The name has been synonymous for at least a century and a half with the Catholic community in the city. The road is usually referred to as the Falls Road, rather than as Falls Road. It is known in Irish as the Bóthar na bhFál and as
4450-428: The end of the Troubles . One such attack occurred in August 2008 when a 20-year-old man was discovered after being shot in the legs. In 2011 a 46-year-old man was seriously injured in the area in a case treated by police as attempted murder although no suggestion was made that this attack was connected to paramilitaries or punishment attacks. Poleglass is served by the Metro arm of Translink bus services as part of
4539-404: The estate from his parents' Laburnum Way home before his imprisonment prior to his death on hunger strike . Twinbrook has also long been home to several Irish Traveller families. Like Poleglass, Twinbrook gives its name to an electoral ward in the Dunmurry Cross area of Lisburn City Council. The Lagmore housing estate lies to the south of Poleglass, in the Derriaghy area of Lisburn . Lagmore
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#17330859401734628-399: The facade of the centre. There was also a Methodist church in Divis Street (1850–1966). This church was designed by Charles Lanyon and was the original home of the Falls Road Orange Lodge . Nearby was the Hungarian Flour Mill owned by Bernard Hughes . The mill burned down in a fire in 1966. A recent addition is the New Life City Church which is located on Northumberland Street on
4717-451: The foot of Divis Street is located the Morning Star House. This is a hostel which provides temporary accommodation for homeless people. It is run by the Legion of Mary and was originally located at the corner of Percy Street. Additional accommodation for homeless people is provided nearby by First Housing at Ardmoulin Mews, off Ardmoulin Street. At the foot of Divis Street is located the Millfield campus of Belfast Metropolitan College ,
4806-451: The headteacher. For several years, after the school closed, this building was used by Belfast Metropolitan College for further education courses. After the new Springvale campus of the college was opened the building was demolished. Coláiste Feirste is an Irish language secondary school which is situated near Beechmount, in the former home of the Riddel family. Mo Chara from the Belfast-based hip hop trio Kneecap attended this school. At
4895-521: The higher education level, there is St Mary's University College which is part of Queen's University Belfast . This was established in 1909 as St Mary's Training College to train women as teachers. It amalgamated with St Joseph's Training College (for male trainee teachers) in 1985. Besides teacher training it now offers a range of degree courses. The college has a substantial programme of community engagement playing host to many local events including many organised by Féile an Phobail . St Paul's Church
4984-459: The historic Barony of Belfast Upper . It is mainly an Irish nationalist area. Due to its proximity to both Belfast and Lisburn , it has become popular with commuters. This has led to the swift growth of housing in the area and a sharp rise in house prices. Addresses in Poleglass are classed as being in Belfast, and the telephone numbers in the area generally start with '90' as with the rest of Belfast. The area currently known as Poleglass has
5073-463: The historic district formerly known as the Pound Loney . The high point of this redevelopment was Divis Tower . Because of its rapid deterioration, the whole complex, except for Divis Tower, was demolished thirty years later and replaced with blocks of terraced housing. Past Albert Street, more mills were built on the northern side and more streets of small terraced houses on the southern side. The old streets were named after characters and events in
5162-420: The intermediate sections of the Northern Amateur Football League . One of the newest developments within Poleglass would be the 'Páirc Nua Chollann' a new park program situated in the Southwest Colin area brought forward by elected Sinn Fein representatives at Belfast City Council to suit the needs of Poleglass's youth. The public was consulted over the naming of the park, with a majority local vote opting for
5251-409: The junction with Northumberland Street and Albert Street. The area to the south of Divis Street/Lower Falls Road was considered the heart of the district and was initially composed of rows of small terraced houses which were constructed in the mid to late nineteenth century to house mill workers and their families. The area is detailed in the 1931 Ordnance Survey map of the area. Shortly after Millfield,
5340-420: The largest further and higher education college in Northern Ireland. Nearby was located the original St. Mary's Christian Brothers' Grammar School . In the 1960s, this school transferred to a greenfield site on the Glen Road in the upper Falls. The original school building is now the home of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust . Opposite is St. Mary's Primary School . Nearby is the location of the Árd Scoil which
5429-494: The late 1990s a "Neighbourhood Watch" scheme was organised by local residents, with activities such as night-time patrols, the blocking of small streets to prevent access to joy riders and curfews for large groups of youth undertaken. The scheme was criticised by some as vigilantism with claims made by the families of some youths that they were forced out of the estate although members of the Neighbourhood Watch rejected these allegations. This followed an incident in September 1996 when
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#17330859401735518-420: The lower Falls Road. It opened on 1 January 1908 and is the last Carnegie library in Belfast still functioning as a library. Opposite was located the Clonard Picture House which closed in 1966. The Diamond Picture House at the corner of Cupar Street closed in 1959. The Arcadian Cinema on Albert Street opened in 1912 but closed in 1960. At the junction with Grosvenor Road is located Dunville Park which
5607-511: The most famous is the large mural of Bobby Sands on the side wall of the Sinn Féin 's offices at the corner of Sevastopol Street. It bears the quotation from his writings: our revenge will be the laughter of our children . Further down the road on the corner of Northumberland Street is a series of murals which has come to be called the International or Solidarity Wall . This is a series of images of international figures who have been involved in various liberation struggles. These murals have become
5696-502: The peace line marking the separation of the Falls Road and the Shankill Road. It is an Elim Pentecostal Church . The Lower Falls area previously had many linen mills. These have either been demolished or converted for other purposes. The Twin Spires Complex has replaced the demolished massive mill of the New Northern Spinning and Weaving Company (Craig's Mill) which was located at the corner of Northumberland Street. The new complex consists of shops, offices and small industrial units. On
5785-401: The primary level, St. Paul's Primary School is located in the Beechmount area. There are also two Irish language primary schools. These are Gaelscoil na bhFal and Bunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh . At the senior level, there is St Dominic's Grammar School for Girls . Beside it was located St. Catherine's Primary School which was also run by the Dominican nuns but closed in 2005. At the rear
5874-404: The road centres on the Beechmount district and stretches from the intersection with the Grosvenor Road/Springfield Road to the Whiterock Road. The district takes its name from Beechmount House which was located at the top of a nearby hill surrounded by beech trees. It was the former home of Eliza and Isabella Riddel . It is now the site of an Irish Language school. The Whiterock Road leads to
5963-464: The road crosses over the Westlink (A12) which links three motorways - the M1 to the southwest of the city, the M2 to the north and the M3 to the east. Running alongside the Westlink is Townsend Street which originally marked the end of Belfast. Townsend Street links Divis Street with Peter's Hill at the bottom of the Shankill Road. The housing in the area developed in the 19th century and was organised in narrow streets of small terraced housing. Many of
6052-471: The road. There are many small shops lining the road as well as schools, churches, hospitals and leisure facilities. Employment in the area was originally dominated by the large linen mills but these have mostly closed. Today, local employment is in the service sector, health and education with additional employment in other parts of the city. The Falls Road district can be roughly divided into three sections. The Lower Falls which includes Divis Street starts near
6141-402: The school in the 1960s recalled later: While on teaching practice, Seamus Heaney came to St Thomas' about October that year (1962). I remember him, his voice grave and resonant, his big, brown shoes, reading from Carrickfergus by Louis MacNeice. He was an enormously decent man with extraordinary antennae. Joe Graham , the writer and historian, was also a student at the school when McLaverty was
6230-417: The site. There were two Presbyterian churches. The largest was located on the other side of the peace wall dividing Townsend Street which links Divis Street with Peter's Hill, the lower Shankill Road . It opened in 1878 and formally closed in 2022 when it was taken over as a rehearsal space by the Ulster Orchestra . Nearby was located the Soho Foundry established by Robert Shipboy MacAdam in 1846. It
6319-415: The streets were named after local mill owners. Alexander Street West was named after John Alexander who was a local mill owner. He also named Milford Street after Milford Mills, County Carlow where he had a house. Ardmoulin Street was named after Ardmoulin House, the residence of John Chartres of Falls Flax and Weaving Company. Craig Street was called after the Craig family who owned the New Northern Mill at
6408-551: The top end of Leeson Street. St Finian's School and the nearby St. Gall's Primary School closed in the late twentieth century due to declining student numbers. These schools were run by the De La Salle Christian Brothers . The name of the latter school survives in the name of St. Galls' Avenue. St Comgall's Public Elementary School , in Divis Street, opened in 1932 but closed in 1988. It has been transformed into
6497-624: The year 2000 Poleglass had expanded to around 2,000 dwellings. This expansion was necessitated by the demolition of parts of the Divis flats on the lower Falls, with the residents rehoused in Poleglass. It is made up of small estates, such as Glenbank, Glenbawn, Merrion Park, Woodside, Glenwood, Glenkeen, Laurelbank, Old Colin, Colinmill, Springbank, Colinbrook, Colinvale, Ardcaoin and Brianswell. Each of these vary in their size and age, some being fairly recent developments, others being original housing from when Poleglass first emerged. Notable landmarks include
6586-533: The “full” Irish translation Páirc Nua Chollann. It received 317 responses, and accounted for 42.4 percent of the public vote. It replaced a previous option, the English/Irish hybrid “Páirc Nua Colin.” In keeping with a number of social housing areas in Northern Ireland Poleglass has gained a reputation for the anti-social behaviour of gangs of " hoods " who indulge in such acts as joyriding . During
6675-492: Was Charlie Gormley's, across from Finnegan's the butcher shop. The Centre Half Bar which was located at the corner of Panton Street and the Falls Road was named by the licensee Mickey Hamill who played for both Belfast Celtic and Glasgow Celtic as well as Manchester United and Manchester City. He captained the Ireland team to their first Home International championship win in 1914. The Spanish Rooms bar, in lower Divis Street,
6764-458: Was designed by Henman and Cooper of Birmingham in 1899, completed in 1906. It was claimed to be the first air-conditioned public building in the world. Opposite the Children's Hospital is Mulholland Terrace, a row of terraced houses which were built in the nineteenth century by David Mulholland. He also owned several bars in the area. There are several educational institutions in the district. At
6853-490: Was erected in 1869. When it closed in 1989, the building was occupied until 2021 by a Tesco store. It was then refurbished as a social facility by Belfast City Council . The Falls Road derives its name from the Irish túath na bhFál , an Irish petty kingdom whose name means "territory of the enclosures". These enclosures resulted from the Plantation of Ulster which occurred from the seventeenth century. This territory
6942-462: Was established in 1988 provides a showcase for Irish culture. Nearby, at the corner with Broadway, is the new Áras na bhFál , the home of Iontaobhas na Gaelscolaíochta – the Trust Fund for Irish-Medium Education. The Áras Uí Chonghaile/James Connolly Visitor Centre is located near the top of the Donegall Road . This centre is dedicated to the life and work of James Connolly who lived nearby for
7031-449: Was famed for selling scrumpy , especially to young men on their way to a dance. In the early 1970s it was the largest seller of cider in Britain and Ireland. Most of these bars were demolished as part of the redevelopment of the area which occurred in the 1970s and 1980s. Near the foot of Divis Street is located the offices of Raidió Fáilte , an Irish language community radio station. It
7120-665: Was first opened in 1893. It was funded by Robert G Dunville, the owner of the nearby Dunville & Co whiskey distillery. who also funded the large fountain at the centre of the park which was designed by the English sculptor Arthur Ernest Pearce . Sorella Street at the foot of the park is named after the Sorella Trust which was established by Robert's uncle William Dunville who named the trust after his sister (sorella in Italian) Sarah. The park has recently been refurbished and includes
7209-469: Was historically the centre for Irish language and culture in the area. Just past it was located the Hastings Street RUC station. There are currently two other primary schools in the Lower Falls district. These are St. Peter's on Ross Road and St. Joseph's on Slate Street. In addition, there is the Irish language Gaelscoil an Lonnáin which occupies the site of St Finian's Primary School at
7298-560: Was located St Rose's High School in the Beechmount district which in 2019 was amalgamated with the Christian Brothers School, Glen Road and Corpus Christi College to form All Saints College / Coláiste na Naomh Uile . There were several boys secondary schools in the area which have gone through a process of merging over the past forty years. St. Thomas's Boys Secondary School on the Whiterock Road opened in 1957. St. Peter's Boys Secondary School on Brittons Parade opened in
7387-416: Was located on Clonard Street with an entrance at the top of Sevastopol Street. It has been demolished and replaced by housing but its name survives in the street name Ross Mill Avenue. There are still two large flour mills located in the lower Falls district. Near the bottom of Divis Street is located Neill's Flour Mill which is entered via College Square North. This mill was originally a small stone mill but
7476-521: Was one of a number of housing schemes established in the forty years or so after the Second World War as an attempt to alleviate the overcrowding of the Catholic areas of west Belfast, in particular the lower Falls Road , which underwent extensive redevelopment during the period. The building of the estate was first mooted in 1973 but its location within the boundaries of Lisburn, a town at the time with
7565-465: Was roughly the same as that of the ecclesiastical parish of the Shankill, which spanned a large portion of modern-day Belfast. The Falls Road itself was originally a country lane leading from the city centre but a largely Catholic population—refugees from a rural poverty that been intensified by Belfast's mechanisation of what had been a cottage textile industry and, in the 1840s, by famine —was drawn to
7654-513: Was situated near Beechmount was the largest of Belfast's suburban cinemas when it opened in 1936. It closed in 1972 after a bombing. Nearby is the Falls Women's Centre/Ionad Mhná na bhFál which was established in 1982. On the Donegall Road, is the former site of Celtic Park . This was originally a football stadium and the home of Belfast Celtic F.C. It was also the first greyhound racing track to open in Ireland. The stadium closed in 1983 and
7743-508: Was taken over by James Neill in 1867 who converted it into a roller mill in 1880. This mill grew in size and in the 1960s it became part of Allied Mills which in turn became part of Associated British Foods . The original mill was then demolished and rebuilt in 1986–7. Between Northumberland Street and Percy Street is located Andrews Flour Mill. The mill was originally developed in 1895 by the Andrews family from Comber , County Down. J. M. Andrews
7832-646: Was the childhood home of Beatrice Grimshaw , journalist and adventurer. It was taken over by the Ministry of Defence in 1940, and served as the home of the General Officer Commanding of the British Army in Northern Ireland . In 1980 it was bought by the Catholic Church . It has been used for a community projects and since 2011 has been occupied by Colin Neighbourhood Partnership. Poleglass
7921-491: Was the second Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (1940–1943). Northumberland Street and Percy Street were named after Hugh Percy, 3rd Duke of Northumberland who was the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland 1829–1830. Percy Street was badly damaged in the Belfast Blitz (1941) and 30 people were killed when a bomb hit a shelter. In August 1969, Percy Street and the neighbouring Dover Street were the location for major disturbance when
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