The townland of Randalstown was originally known as An Dún Mór, anglicised as Dunmore. This refers to a medieval motte-and-bailey castle built by the Irish on the west bank of the river Main just south of the town. A castle known as Edenduffcarrick, later Shane's Castle, was built near Randalstown in the 14th century by the O'Neills of Clannaboy. From at least the 1650s the town was known as "Iron Mills". In 1667, the town was created a free borough and was officially re-named Randalstown. It was re-named to mark the marriage of Randal MacDonnell, 1st Marquess of Antrim to Rose O'Neill of Shane's Castle. The 1798 United Irishmen rebellion began in Antrim following a meeting to prepare for revolt by the Ulster Directory on 1 February 1798, at McClean's Inn, Randalstown. Robert McClean's "Great Inn" had long been an Irish Volunteers meeting place. Following his death in 1790, his son Francis became the proprietor. Dunmore Park was used as a training camp for the Ulster Volunteers during the Irish Home Rule crisis. Randalstown has a strong history of linen and iron industries. A memorial to this history is in the middle of the town and made from the original turbine used to generate mains electricity for the town and items salvaged from the Old Bleach Linen Company founded by James Webb in 1864. An old linen mill chimney from the Old Bleach factory can be seen from most parts of the town. The Dorma Old Bleach factory which operated from a neighbouring site closed down in 2002. On 1 October 1989, an IRA car bomb exploded outside the town's police station on New Street causing serious damage to nearby property. On 8 January 2010, PSNI Constable Peadar Heffron was seriously injured as a bomb exploded under his car on the Milltown Road near Randalstown. Dissident republicans were blamed for the attack.
Places of interest
The Tudor style gateway to the Shane's Castle estate is in the town.
Randalstown OC Presbyterian Church, a fine example of Irish Gothic.
Around the corner from the gateway is the seven-piered, viaduct built in 1855 to carry the railway line over the River Main. This has had a new bridge installed and a walk path created as part of the local healthy walking areas.
Craigmore Fishery, a Fly Fishing facility is located on the outskirts of town.
Caddy, a hamlet 3 miles north of the Randalstown centre, was site of a new school in 1908. and also a centre of beekeeping in the 1950s.
Demography
In the 2011 Census Randalstown had a population of 5,126 people, an increase of 3.4% on the 2001 Census population of 4,956. Of these:
21.9% were aged under 16 years and 14.1% were aged 65 and over
48.0% of the population were male and 52.0% were female
54.7% were from a Catholic and 39.8% were from a Protestant or other Christian background
4.3% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed
Notable residents
John Bodkin Adams, a suspected serial killer, was born to a Plymouth Brethren family in Randalstown on 21 January 1899 and lived here until 1901. He became a general practitioner and worked in Eastbourne from 1922. He was charged in 1957 with the murder of two patients but was acquitted. He was, however, suspected of causing the death of 163 other patients.
