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Hamlet in County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Human settlement in Northern Ireland
Cargan (from Irish an Carraigín, meaning 'the small rock')[1] is a hamlet and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies at the foot of Slievenanee in Glenravel – locally known as "The Tenth Glen" along with the more widely known nine Glens of Antrim. It is part of Mid and East Antrim district. It had a population of 588 people (223 households) in the 2011 Census.[2] (2001 Census: 411 people)
One of the earliest anglicisations of the townland of Cargan is Carrigan.[1] In the late 1800s, the village of Cargan was known as Fisherstown. An iron ore mine was opened up around the same time. The ore was shipped to Barrow-in-Furness, first by horse,[3] then from 1875 by railway to Ballymena. The railway closed in 1937.[4]
The Ballymena to Cargan railway line was opened in 1875 and extended to Parkmore and Retreat in 1876.[5] Cargan railway station opened on 1 June 1894, was closed for passenger traffic on 1 October 1930, and finally closed altogether on 12 April 1937.[6] It was on the Ballymena, Cushendall and Red Bay Railway which operated narrow gauge railway services from Ballymena to Parkmore from 1875 to 1940.[7]
On Census day in 2011: