Doagh

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Village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland

title: "Doagh" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["villages-in-county-antrim"] description: "Village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland" topic_path: "general/villages-in-county-antrim" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doagh" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox UK place"]

Field	Value
official_name	Doagh
static_image_name	Corner stone.jpg
static_image_caption	Corner stone
country	Northern Ireland
lieutenancy_northern_ireland	County Antrim
irish_name	Dumhach
scots_name	Doach
coordinates
population	1,404
post_town	BALLYCLARE
postcode_area	BT
postcode_district	BT39
dial_code	028
population_ref	(2021 census)
constituency_ni_assembly	South Antrim
constituency_westminster	South Antrim
unitary_northern_ireland	Antrim and Newtownabbey
belfast_distance_mi	11
::

Doagh ( ; ) is a village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is in the Six Mile Water Valley, about two miles south-west of Ballyclare, and had a population of 1,404 people in the 2021 census. It is known as Doach in Scots.

While older 19th century housing stands in the village centre, the village has gradually grown and new housing estates have been built on its outskirts.

History and built heritage

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Doagh_Holestone_-County_of_Antrim,1833(IA_jstor-30004534)(page_1_crop).jpg" caption="The ''Doagh Holestone'' illustrated in the [[Dublin Penny Journal]], 1833"] ::

There is evidence of settlement in the vicinity at least from the Iron Age, and possibly the Bronze Age - as represented by the Holestone, a Bronze Age whinstone megalith known as The Holestone, and traces of numerous souterrains in the surrounding fields. Couples used to promise marriage by clasping hands through the hole in the stone, a convention that can be traced back to about 1830. W.G. Wood-Martin, writing in 1902, asserted that it was anciently "connected with aphrodisiac customs". Even today, newlyweds, together with the wedding party, will visit the stone in observance of the ancient local custom.

The remnants of a Norman motte can be found on the southern outskirts of the village at Lindsay's Corner roundabout, overlooking the Six Mile Water River.

The first Sunday school in Ireland was alleged to have been held in 1770 in Doagh on the site where the Methodist church now stands, although there is no firm evidence to support this claim. The Methodist church was established in 1844.

There are a number of buildings of architectural interest either in or proximate to the village. These include Fisherwick Lodge - a hunting lodge built for the Marquess of Donegall (1805), and Holestone House. Examples of industrial architecture include the remaining mill buildings, such as at nearby Cogry.

The nearby cemetery at Kilbride contains the 19th century Stephenson Mausoleum - a listed building modelled off the Taj Mahal - and numerous gravestones reflecting a history of emigration and war. Also in the cemetery is the headstone of William Gault, a United Irishman and founder of the aforementioned Sunday school.

Transport

Doagh was formerly the terminus of a branch line of the narrow gauge Ballymena and Larne Railway. The line was extended from Ballyclare to Doagh in 1884. Passenger services between Doagh and Ballyclare were withdrawn in 1930, and freight services in 1933.

Sport

Parkview Hockey Club is based in Doagh.

References

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Open_Government_Licence_logo.svg" caption="30px]] This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ Open Government Licence v3.0]. © Crown copyright."] ::

| title = Scots Online Dictionary | url = https://www.scots-online.org/dictionary/index.php | access-date = 18 November 2021

|url=https://apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/Buildings/buildview.aspx?id=3012&js=true |title=Stephenson Mausoleum |publisher=Department for Communities |date=16 October 2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118155942/https://apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/Buildings/buildview.aspx?id=3012&js=true |archivedate=18 November 2021 |accessdate=18 November 2021 | quote = Right hand tombstone to the back of the mausoleum is that of William Gault, schoolmaster of Doagh, who was a United Irishman and is believed to have started one of the earliest Sunday schools in Ireland in 1770. Rowan (local nineteenth century engineer) made the doors of the mausoleum and they carry his name (memorial HB21/02/002). Describing it as a 'miniature Taj Mahal in stone', Girvan believes it could have been the inspiration of one of the family who served in the Dragoons and saw the original on his travels (p 20).

References

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::