Baron Carrickfergus

Baron Carrickfergus is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, referring to Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Its current holder, since its creation on 29 April 2011, is Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, who was granted the title as a personal gift, by Queen Elizabeth II, on the day of his marriage to Catherine Middleton. On the same day he was also created Duke of Cambridge and Earl of Strathearn, with his bride becoming Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cambridge as well as Countess of Strathearn and Lady Carrickfergus as a result of the marriage. Traditionally, when male members of the British royal family marry, they are granted at least one peerage.

History of title and town

A barony, referring to Carrickfergus, had previously existed between 1841 and 1883. In 1841, George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall, was created by Queen Victoria as Baron Ennishowen and Carrickfergus, of Ennishowen, in the County of Donegal, and Carrickfergus, in the County of Antrim, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. When he died in 1883, the Barony of Ennishowen and Carrickfergus became extinct; the Marquessate of Donegall was inherited by his brother, Lord Edward Chichester.

Carrickfergus

Coordinates: 54°42′58″N 5°48′32″W / 54.716°N 5.809°W / 54.716; -5.809

Carrickfergus (from Irish: Carraig Fhearghais, meaning "rock of Fergus"), known locally and colloquially as "Carrick", is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located on the north shore of Belfast Lough, 11 miles (18 km) from Belfast. The town had a population of 27,903 at the 2011 Census and takes its name from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, the 6th-century king of Dál Riata. It is County Antrim's oldest town and one of the oldest settlements in Ireland as a whole. Carrickfergus was the administrative centre for Carrickfergus Borough Council, before this was amalgamated into the Mid and East Antrim District Council in 2015, and forms part of the Belfast Metropolitan Area. It is also a townland of 65 acres, a civil parish and a barony.

The town is the subject of the classic Irish folk song "Carrickfergus", a 19th-century translation of an Irish-language song (Do Bhí Bean Uasal) from Munster, which begins with the words, "I wish I was in Carrickfergus."

Carrickfergus Borough Council

Coordinates: 54°43′16″N 5°47′28″W / 54.721°N 5.791°W / 54.721; -5.791

Carrickfergus Borough Council was a district council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymena Borough Council and Larne Borough Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Mid and East Antrim Borough Council.

The council headquarters were in Carrickfergus and the council administered the town, on the north shore of Belfast Lough, and surrounding area, which extended from Greenisland in the south-west to Whitehead in the east. The borough was 32 square miles (83 km²), with a population of just over 39,000.

Together with the neighbouring district of Larne and small parts of Newtownabbey and Moyle, it forms the East Antrim constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly.

Mayors of Carrickfergus

List of Mayors and Sheriffs of Carrickfergus Corporation from 1523 to the passing of The Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840

Carrickfergus (UK Parliament constituency)

Carrickfergus is a 19th-century United Kingdom Parliament constituency, in Northern Ireland, represented, between 1801 and 1885, by one MP.

Boundaries

This constituency was the Parliamentary borough of Carrickfergus in County Antrim.

Members of Parliament

Supplemental Note:-

References