Ahoghill

Ahoghill (pronounced ah-HOCH-ill, where "ch" represents the guttural sound in "loch"; not pronounced "A Hog Hill") is a village in the district of Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It has a population of 3,055 people (in the 2001 Census). In early documents, Ahoghill is referred to as "Magherahoghill", meaning "'the plain of the ford at the yew wood".

Ahoghill has recently seen a series of firebomb attacks on the homes of some of its Catholic residents, as loyalists seek to remove them from the area. The Police Service of Northern Ireland have been unable to apprehend the perpetrators, and have handed out fire blankets and smoke alarms. Local politician Ian Paisley, Jr. has told the media he believes the police know who are behind the attacks. PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Paul Leighton has been criticised for attempting to play down the sectarianism of the attacks by claiming they are caused by neighbours who are "not getting on", and he has since admitted the attacks are sectarian. Many sectarian attacks of this type have previously taken place in the village and surrounding areas. Local clerics of all denominations have visited the families concerned and condemned the attacks in the strongest terms.

Ahoghill is classified as an Intermediate Settlement by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with a population of between 2,250 and 4,500 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 3,055 people living in Ahoghill. Of these:

23.2% were aged under 16 and 14.8% were aged 60 and over
48.9% of the population were male and 51.1% were female
5.8% were from a Catholic background and 92.3% were from a Protestant background;
2.4% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.