About Hannahstown Community Association
Hannahstown Heritage Quilt
Hannahstown Community Association was formed in the 1990s to raise money for a new community centre. This was because the old hall within the grounds of Hannahstown Church, which was used for dances, plays and other community gatherings, was not up to modern standards. The Community Association leased land from the Church and set about raising money for the new building. It successfully obtained funding from the National Lottery and Belfast Regeneration Office, along with generous donations from the local community, enabling the new centre to be built. The Hannahstown Community Centre was officially opened in February 2005 and provides a vital hub for the local community. Another important aspect of community life in Hannahstown is Lámh Dhearg CLG which was founded in 1903 and promotes the development of gaelic games.
For further information please contact: Hannahstown Community Association 23 Hannahstown Hill Belfast BT17 0LT Tel: 028 9030 9795
Flora and fauna Hannahstown is found at the base of Black Mountain within the Belfast Hills and provides a haven for a wide variety of wildlife. The Irish Hare can still be seen here, distinguishable from rabbits by its large size and long powerful back legs. Wildflowers such as orchids, devil’s-bit scabious and cuckoo flower flourish in the grasslands, and attract a variety of butterflies including the Meadow Brown. Towards dusk you might glimpse a badger or a bat emerging on their nightly hunt. Peregrine falcons and buzzards also feed in this area, so it is always worthwhile keeping a watchful eye on the sky above.
Folklore Fairy thorn/The gentle bush In the townland of Tornaroy, which is just adjacent to Hannahstown, stands an ancient thorn bush known locally as the gentle bush (often called a fairy thorn in other parts of the world). It is said that on occasions it is illuminated at night and different sorts of music and rejoicing can be heard emitting from it.
Standing stones Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland - Parishes of County Antrim II 1832 – 1838 records the presence of three standing stones in Tornaroy. Local opinion was that they were three finger stones cast there by two giants. The memoirs observe that the stones were substantial in size and didn’t match the local stone of the area so “were evidently erected for some particular purpose”.
“The hills around dear Hannahstown, so beautiful and wild, Where in happy vein through sun and rain I wandered when a child” Memories of Boyhood
Quarrying and the rumbling hole
Introduction Inspired by a quilt project that was featured on the TV programme ‘Lesser Spotted Ulster’, ladies from Hannahstown Community Association decided to create their own quilt depicting their local area. Divis and Black Mountain form the backdrop of the quilt, just as they do for the community of Hannahstown who live beneath these mountains. Various aspects of local life are illustrated, from farming, quarrying, wildlife and hikers to the TV masts, complete with aviation warning lights. Incorporated also are some of the iconic Hannahstown landmarks: Hannahstown Church; the Post Office run by Mrs Sheena McQuillan (née Magill) represented by the red post box; the TV road built through the Magill family farm; and Brendarragh Terrace affectionately known as “The Red Row”. There were a considerable number of individuals who took part in this project under the expert guidance of Sheila Gallagher, who sadly passed away before the completion of this project.
The Church Hannahstown Church was built in 1827 as a centre for worship for the local community. Prior to this Mass would have been solemnised in secret at nearby open air mass rocks and corners in the Belfast Hills. These mass rocks are depicted in two of the stained glass windows of the church. In 1998 a major extension was added to the original church building. This was in part paid for by money raised from dances held in a hall within the grounds of the church. These dances were very popular and people came up from Belfast in buses to attend.
Farming In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the McCormicks and Magills came to Hannahstown and purchased lands at the Brayfoot and Black Mountain for dairy farming. Other farmers in the area included the Deans. Back then, cows were milked by hand and the milk was delivered to Belfast in cans, by horse and cart. At this time Belfast was developing as an industrial city, resulting in a high demand for milk products. This meant Hannahstown was ideally situated for supplying the city. Farming and supplying milk to Belfast continued during the first and second world wars. Other farming activities in the area included rearing sheep, pigs and hens. In the 1940s, farming became more mechanised. Milking machines replaced milking by hand; lorries were purchased for delivering the milk in bottles; and tractors worked the fields and made hay. Nowadays, the McCormicks are the only family of that time still farming at the Brayfoot. However, they are no longer dairy farmers, instead rearing cattle for beef.
The Belfast Hills are predominately made up of basalt and limestone with flint deposits. This has resulted in a multitude of quarries becoming operational, dating back as far as the Neolithic period (4000BC) with its flint factories. The waterfall in Hannahstown was formed when quarrying started at the bottom of the Tornaroy River in the late 50s and early 60s. As the rock was blasted back up the river, the waterfall became higher, and when the quarrying stopped in the mid 60s the waterfall was at the height it is today. Black Mountain quarry, directly above Hannahstown, which opened in the 1950s was owned originally by the Workmans. Quarrying activities have mostly been replaced by land-filling today, but residents still remember the weekly Thursday blasts which at times made it feel that their houses actually lifted! Close to Hannahstown is Colinwell Concrete which got its name from the nearby Colin Mountain and the prolific spring well on its premises. In the 1880s John McQuillan started quarrying limestone, while in later years basalt was quarried. In the 1960s manufacturing concrete blocks as a sideline to quarrying started. A large range of blocks are still produced today by John’s great grandsons.