placenamesBalmoral
Baile Mhoireil
Balmoral’s showgrounds connected Belfast with agricultural life, while the King’s Hall became an exhibition space, wartime factory and concert venue.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Baile Mhoireil · Irish · main form · streetname not yet validated by the local authority
- Balmoral · English · main form
Place & story
Agriculture comes to Balmoral
The agricultural society bought thirty acres on Belfast’s Lisburn Road in 1894, giving it a permanent home. Its first show at the new Balmoral grounds followed in 1896, with 1,391 entries. The organisation became the Ulster Agricultural Society in 1903 and received its royal prefix the following year. Balmoral remained its show venue until 2012; the next year’s event took place at a larger site near Lisburn. The enduring show name therefore carries a connection to this Belfast district even after the move. [2]
Building the King’s Hall
Archibald Leitch and Partners designed the King’s Hall in 1933–34 as a reinforced-concrete exhibition building for the society. The Irish Architectural Archive records a span of 152 feet, a length of 300 feet and seating for eight thousand people. J. and R. Thompson built it, with A. Strathdee supervising as clerk of works. The Duke of Gloucester opened the hall on 29 May 1934. Its large covered interior allowed activities beyond the annual agricultural show. [3]
An aircraft factory and a concert hall
During the Second World War the King’s Hall became an aircraft factory. The site’s heritage account records its acquisition by the Air Ministry in 1940 and the construction of Stirling bomber fuselages there by Short Brothers and Harland. Civilian uses returned after the war. Exhibitions, boxing and music made the hall a familiar Belfast venue; the Beatles performed there on 2 November 1964. Its changing uses connect agricultural display with wartime manufacturing and popular entertainment. [4]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Antrim
- Barony
- Belfast Upper
- Civil parish
- Shankill
- Coordinates
- 54.57024, -5.97419 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 135730 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Balmoral. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Our History · Royal Ulster Agricultural Society
- Balmoral Show Grounds: King’s Hall, works record 44762 · Irish Architectural Archive
- A Cultural and Creative Heritage · King’s Hall Health and Wellbeing Park
- King’s Hall, Balmoral illustration: based on a Kings Hall Belfast by Ross. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2026-07-21. How this page was prepared.