Old Cinema

History

Dundonald refers to a 12th century Norman fort, or Dún, Dún Dónaill, that stood in the town. One of the largest in Ireland, the man-made hill that the fort stood on is still in existence.[citation needed]

Although the mound is commonly referred to as ‘the moat’ this is, in fact, a corruption of the word ‘motte’ and refers to the fact that this defensive structure was built in the style of a motte and bailey.[citation needed] St. Elizabeth’s Church is located beside the moat, with the Cleland Mausoleum in the adjacent graveyard.[citation needed]

Dundonald acquired rail links to Belfast and Newtownards in 1850, Downpatrick in 1859 and Newcastle in 1869. The rail link with Belfast encouraged Dundonald to expand as a commuter town, but in 1950 the railway line running through Dundonald was closed. Dundonald station was opened on 6 May 1850, but finally closed on 24 April 1950.[3]

Until the 1960s, Dundonald was a small village.[citation needed] A number of property developments, most notably the housing estate Ballybeen, were then built and Dundonald’s population rapidly grew.[citation needed]
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Demography

For census purposes, Dundonald is not treated as a separate entity by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).[4] Instead, it is combined with a large part of east and southeast Belfast to form the “Castlereagh Urban Area”. A fairly accurate population count can be found by combining the data of the electoral wards that make up Dundonald.[citation needed] These wards are Ballyhanwood 1, Carrowreagh, Dundonald, Enler, and Grahams Bridge.[citation needed] However, the wards also include part of the countryside surrounding Dundonald.[citation needed]

On the day of the last census (29 April 2001), the combined population of these wards was 13,985. This is within the bounds of the medium-sized town (a population between 10,000 and 18,000).[citation needed]