Dunmurry

Coordinates: 54°33′00″N 6°00′18″W / 54.550°N 6.005°W / 54.550; -6.005

Dunmurry (/dʌnˈmʌri/; from Irish Dún Muirígh, meaning "Murry's stronghold") is an urban townland, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Located between Belfast and Lisburn, it was once a rural village, but is now apart of Belfast West conurbation. Dunmurry is also an electoral ward of Belfast City.

History

Until the end of the 18th century, Dunmurry was largely an agricultural area dominated by wealthy landowners. In 1817, work began on a new road from Belfast to Dublin through Finaghy and Dunmurry. This replaced the old turnpike road through Upper Malone and Drumbeg to Lambeg, which was linked to the town by Dunmurry Lane.

Throughout the 19th century, Dunmurry became known as one of the many 'linen villages' that were spread across Ulster as many of the local factories and mills were promoted by local entrepreneurs. It remained very much a village until the late 1920s, when developers became keen to seize the greenfield sites for overspill housing and for industry - a phenomenon which became particularly evident after World War II. The largest expansion of the village in this era came with the advent of the Housing Trust, who, in response to a 1951 order for 1500 units of social housing to be built between Belfast and Lisburn, purchased a large amount of land at Suffolk and former demesne land at Seymour Hill and Conway. One third of these housing units were reserved for residents of Belfast.