Carrickfergus
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Carrickfergus (Carraig Fhearghais, meaning 'Rock of Fergus', in Irish) is a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It stands on the north shore of Belfast Lough and is home to Carrickfergus Castle, a 12th century structure. It is a minor fishing port, and important town for the textile industry. It is a centre for leisure sailing and has a large marina. The town is the administrative centre for Carrickfergus Borough Council.
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Famous people
The parents of the US President Andrew Jackson emigrated from Carrickfergus in 1765. The Andrew Jackson Centre has information about the family. A couple of miles to the north east of Carrickfergus are the ruins of Kilroot church, where Jonathan Swift was minister in the 1690s. Louis MacNeice's family moved to the town when the poet was two years old, and he left at the age of ten to attend boarding school in England. One of MacNeice's most well-known poems, Carrickfergus (1937), relates his ambiguous feelings about the town where he spent his early boyhood.
Miscellaneous
Carrickfergus is also immortalised as the title of a popular Irish folk song about a dying man who wishes to return home to the town.
See also
External links
- Words and music to the folk song "Carrickfergus" (http://www.molwert.de/Lieder/Carrickfergus.htm)
- Louis MacNeice talks about Carrickfergus (http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/learning/getwritingni/ram/macneice_carrickfergus.ram) (BBC website, RealAudio file)