Joey Dunlop
William Joseph “Joey” Dunlop was born near Ballymoney on 25 February 1952 and became one of the most successful road racers in motorcycling history — 26 wins at the Isle of Man TT (a world record), 24 at the Ulster Grand Prix, and five Formula One World Championships, racing with the local Armoy Armada club early in his career. He was awarded the MBE in 1986 for racing and the OBE in 1996 for humanitarian work delivering aid to Romanian orphanages. He was killed racing in Tallinn, Estonia, on 2 July 2000. See Historic Sites Around Ballymoney for the memorial garden.
Robert Dunlop
Joey’s younger brother, Robert Dunlop made his racing debut aged 19 at the Temple 100 and became the most successful rider ever at the North West 200, with 15 wins there across his career, plus nine at the Ulster Grand Prix and five at the Isle of Man. A severe crash in 1994 broke his arm and leg and kept him off a bike for two years; he returned and kept winning, later racing Grands Prix as far afield as Indonesia and Macau. He was killed racing at the North West 200 on 15 May 2008.
George Shiels
Born at Ballybrakes, near Ballymoney, on 24 June 1881, George Shiels became one of the most popular Irish playwrights of the early 20th century, writing plays set in County Antrim with local Ulster humour. His 1940 play The Rugged Path was seen by 40,000 people over three months at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre. He died in 1949.
James Young
Born in Union Street, Ballymoney, in 1918, James Young moved to Belfast as an infant but was one of Northern Ireland’s best-loved comedians and actors by the 1950s–70s — known for characters including “Derek the Window Cleaner” from BBC Radio Ulster’s The McCooeys. He died in 1974.
George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney
Born at nearby Lissanoure Castle, Loughguile, on 14 May 1737, George Macartney led the first British diplomatic mission to China in 1792–93, seeking expanded trade access with the Qing dynasty. He also served as Chief Secretary of Ireland, Governor of Madras, and Governor of Grenada, the Grenadines, and Tobago. He died in 1806.
Rev. James Brown Armour
Born at Lisboy, near Ballymoney, in 1841, J.B. Armour served as minister of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Ballymoney from 1869 until 1925. Initially opposed to Irish Home Rule, he changed his position in the 1890s, becoming one of the few prominent Ulster Protestant voices to publicly support it — putting him at odds with mainstream unionist opinion of his day. He died in 1928.