Cogry

Cogry-Kilbride is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, about 4 km west of Ballyclare. The village encompasses the two townlands of Cogry and Kilbride. It had a population of 1,195 people in the 2001 census. Kilbride is also a civil parish. It is situated in Antrim and Newtownabbey district.

History

The names Cogry and Kilbride come from Irish: Coigríoch, meaning "border-land, frontier" and Cill Bhríde meaning "Bríd's church". Kilbride is also called Burnside as it is beside a small river (or "burn"). The "Cogry Burn" forms a narrow, wooded corridor through the village centre and the mill buildings at the foot of the valley slopes are a prominent landmark to the south of the village.

Cogry was originally a mill village built and owned by the McMeekin family during the mid 19th century, who also owned Cogry Mill. But it declined in the 1950s with the closure of the mill and the demolition, in the 1970s, of Cogry Square. In recent years the village has been revitalised by housing development. As the two settlements are so close they are often treated as one.