Moneyreagh

Moneyreagh or Moneyrea (from Irish Mónaidh Riabhach, meaning 'grey bog or moor') is a small village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. Around 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Belfast city centre, it is just off the main road between Belfast and Ballygowan. It is situated in the civil parish of Comber and the historic barony of Castlereagh Lower. It had a population of 1,594 people in the 2021 Census.

Demography

2011 Census

On Census Day, 27 March 2011, the usual resident of the Moneyreagh Settlement was 1,384 (519 households).

17.92% were aged under 16 years and 13.37% were aged 65 and over
50.29% of the usually resident population were male and 49.71% were female
44 was the average (median) age of the population
99.71% were from the white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic group
2.24% belong to or were brought up as Catholic
90.39% belong to or were brought as 'Protestant and other Christian (including Christian related)' religion
83.31% indicated that they had a British national identity, 2.53% had an Irish national identity and 29.77% had a Northern Irish national identity.

Respondents could indicate more than one national identity.

Language

1.04% had some knowledge of the Irish Language
9.07% had some knowledge of the Ulster Scots Language
0.30% did not have English as their first language

Education

Primary

Moneyreagh has one primary school locally, seen at the top of the table below.

Other schools nearby have been added also.

School name	Location	Distance outside
Moneyrea PS	Moneyreagh	0 mi (0 km)
Alexander Dickson PS	Ballygowan	3.6 mi (5.8 km)
Loughview Integrated PS	Castlereagh	4 mi (6.4 km)
Andrews Memorial PS	Comber	4 mi (6.4 km)

Secondary

Moneyreagh does not have any secondary schools locally.

Those located nearby (<10 mi (16 km) away) are shown in the table below:

School name	Location	Distance outside	Notes
Lagan College	Castlereagh	4 mi (6.4 km)
Grosvenor Grammar School	Castlereagh	4.7 mi (7.6 km)	Accessible by public bus route 12/512
Saintfield High School	Saintfield	6.4 mi (10.3 km)

Notable people

Golfer, Rory McIlroy, lived near the village until March 2013.[citation needed]

Transport

Moneyreagh is connected to Belfast City Centre by the 12/512 bus route ran by Translink. This route also connects Moneyreagh to the neighbouring small town of Ballygowan.