Dollingstown
Coordinates: 54°27′46″N 6°17′26″W / 54.4628°N 6.29054°W
Dollingstown is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is close to the County Armagh border, east of Lurgan town centre. It is within the Craigavon Borough Council area. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,844 people.
[1] Retail Outlets
There are a few small retail outlets in thew town. One of the most popular is Moutray's Costcutter. The small shop provides food staples for the village and petrol sourced by Texaco. A newly built takeaway restaurant opened and is situated at the petrol station. Appropriately named "Oriental Chef" it specializes in Asian-style cuisine. A very busy physiotherapy clinic is located on the Belfast Road named the Active Therapy Clinic. D'Town Diner is the only British-style restaurant in Dollingstown.
History
Dollingstown developed during the 18th century where potato farming became popular and then 19th century as an industrial village and in the last ten years it has grown significantly to include a number of local retail/business outlets.
Sport
Dollingstown F.C. of the NIFL Championship plays its home matches in Lurgan.
2001 Census
The population of Dollingstown on Census day (29 April 2001) was 1844 people so is classified as a Village according to the NISRA (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research agency). The definition of a ‘village’ settlement is that it has a population of 1,000 people or more and is less than 2,250 people.
The demographic characteristics of the people living in Dollingstown was as follows:
- 48.9% were aged under 16 years;
- 14.1% were aged 60 and over;
- the average age was 33.7 years (NI average age 35.8 years);
- 25.1% of the population were male and 51.1% were female;
- 4.7% were from a Catholic Community Background;
- 90.8% were from a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related and Stuartism)' Community Background;
- 7.7% were born outside Northern Ireland; and
- 2.2% were from an ethnic group other than white.
People
World War II soldier James Kyle was also from the village. As a young man he earned the respect of his officers and rose to the ranks of general. In 1975 he left the army to follow an alternative career choice. With his war history behind him, he returned to Dollingstown to open a very popular Chip Shop, Dee Town. From today his grandchildren still run and maintain the chip shop.
In March 2014, Dee Town came under threat from another local takeaway which had recently opened. Owned and run by entrepreneur Christophe Trotter, The Jolly Fryer has become a big hit with locals from the village and Dee Town continues to struggle 18 months later.
References
- Craigavon Area Plan 2010
