[1] In the mid-19th century, the Lord Lieutenant of Antrim, the Marquess of Donegall, donated a site, which had previously been used as a rubbish dump, for the purpose of erecting a market hall.

[2] After the area was advanced to the status of an urban district in 1899,[4] the council leaders decided to take ownership of the building and to enlarge it.

[5] The enlarged structure was designed in the neoclassical style, built by W. H. and R. J. Beggs with a stucco finish and was officially opened by the Lord Lieutenant of Belfast, Sir Thomas Dixon, on 23 October 1935.

[6] The town hall continued to be used as an events venue for concerts and theatrical performances,[7] and one of the rooms was fitted out for use as a cinema.

[9] A plaque to commemorate the life of the locally-born Irish novelist, Archibald McIlroy, was installed on the wall of the town hall in October 2011.