Ballymena 400 Civic Thanksgiving Service

What to Expect

St Patrick’s Church on Castle Street hosts a Civic Thanksgiving Service marking 400 years since the granting of the Ballymena Charter in 1626. The service forms part of the year-long “Ballymena Turns 400” programme run by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, which has already included two family Adventure Quests around the town centre, a street party and a Birthday Bonanza earlier in the same August week. This closing civic gathering brings together council representatives, church leaders and residents for an evening of reflection on four centuries of the town’s history, heritage and community spirit, rather than a festival-style celebration.

Where the earlier August events were aimed at families and street-level celebration, the Civic Thanksgiving Service is the more formal, reflective close to the anniversary year, held in the church rather than out on the streets. It gives residents, civic leaders and local groups a chance to mark the milestone together in one setting, and rounds off a summer of programming that has run since the Ballymena Charter anniversary was first marked earlier in 2026.

Good to Know

• Date and time: Tuesday 25 August 2026, service at 7:30pm with doors from 6:45pm
• Venue: St Patrick’s Church, Castle Street, Ballymena, Co. Antrim, BT43 7BT
• Free to attend, but a reservation is required as capacity is limited
• To reserve a place, email Members.Services@midandeastantrim.gov.uk or phone the organisers on +44 (0) 7391 861746
• Organised by Mid and East Antrim Borough Council as the closing civic event of the Ballymena 400 anniversary year
• A one-off event, not part of a recurring series

Getting There

St Patrick’s Church stands in Ballymena town centre on Castle Street, a short walk from the Ballymena Bus Centre and the town’s main car parks. Ballymena train station, on the Belfast to Derry/Londonderry line, is around a 15-minute walk away, and the church is easily reached on foot from anywhere in the town centre. Anyone driving in should allow extra time, as evening events elsewhere in the Ballymena 400 programme have drawn larger than usual crowds into the town centre this summer.