Солтүстік Ирландиядағы Балликелли ауылы

Village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland

Ballykelly is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies 3 mile (5 km) west of Limavady on the main Derry to Limavady A2 road and is 15 mile (24 km) east of Derry. It is designated as a Large Village and in 2011 the population of Ballykelly was 2,107. It lies within Causeway Coast and Glens district.

Ballykelly contains some of the most interesting buildings erected in Ulster by the Plantation companies, being largely developed by the London Company of Fishmongers through the 18th and 19th centuries. It features Tamlaghtfinlagan Parish Church, built by Earl Frederick Hervey, 18th century Bishop of Derry, amongst many traditional buildings. The Presbyterian Church, Drummond Hotel and North West Independent Hospital, were all built by the London Company of Fishmongers. The village enjoys views across Lough Foyle to Inishowen in County Donegal and is bordered by Ballykelly Forest which was the first State Forest in Northern Ireland.

The village lies within the East Londonderry constituency and is represented by Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) member, Gregory Campbell.

The village was originally laid out as a Plantation settlement. The development of the nearby World War II airfield greatly enhanced the size and significance of the village. Between Limavady and Ballykelly is Rough Fort, one of the best preserved earthworks in the province. It covers approximately Nearby is Sampson's Tower, a fortified structure built by public subscription in memory of Arthur Sampson who for 40 years was an agent of the London Worshipful Company of Fishmongers. The village hosts Shackleton Barracks, which became famous when a commercial airliner on a Ryanair service landed there by mistake on 29 March 2006, instead of at City of Derry Airport. Behind the Kings Lane Estate there are the remains of the Lough Shore Base Line trigpoint. This is one of three towers created to verify a mapping baseline for Ireland. ,

Ballykelly has good road links to Derry and Limavady. The City of Derry Airport is to the west. The Broharris Canal was constructed in the 1820s. Ballykelly railway station opened on 29 December 1852 and closed on 20 September 1954. There are currently no rail links serving Ballykelly, although the Derry to Belfast railway line runs nearby.

Gaelic football is played at Glack GAC which encompasses players from Ballykelly and the Glack area. Camogie is also played at Glack GAC for ladies. The Nedd CC is the local cricket team in Ballykelly, and currently play in Senior League 2 of the North West Cricket Union.

The Anglican parish of Tamlaghtfinlagan originally was located 1 mile (2 km) southwest of the current village. The village is recorded in Papal Bulls of the mid 12th century. The name Tamlaghtfinlagan comes from the Irish for "the resting place of Finliganus", one of Columba's monks who was, according to tradition, the founding abbot of the abbey. This abbey building still exists, although in ruins. In the mid 16th century the parish church moved to Walworth. In 1689 it was gutted by the retreating troops of James II following the defeat in the Battle of the Boyne. The current edifice was dedicated in 1795, and is a simple perpendicular church, with three aisles, a small chancel and a gallery, much of which was built by the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers. Ballykelly Presbyterian Church was built in 1827 by the Fishmongers Company, London and is a listed grade A building. It has a growing congregation of over 240 families. Saint Finlough's Catholic Church dates from 1849.