Mazetown or Maze is a small village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in County Down

County Down

-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. It was named after the townland

Townland

A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...

 of Maze. The village and townland sit on the southern bank of the River Lagan

River Lagan

The River Lagan is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs 40 miles from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The River Lagan forms much of the border between County Antrim and County Down. It rises as a tiny fast...

, which separates it from Lurganure

Lurganure

Lurganure is a small village and townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies to the west of Lisburn and is separated from Mazetown by the River Lagan. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 441 people...

. This river is also the boundary between County Down and County Antrim

County Antrim

County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...

.

It is within the Lisburn City Council

Lisburn City Council

Lisburn City Council is a district council covering an area partly in County Antrim and partly in County Down in Northern Ireland. The council is the second largest in the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Council headquarters are in the city of Lisburn, upon which was conferred city status in May 2002 as...

 area, and the Maze electoral ward. In the 2001 Census, there were 363 residents.

Places of interest

Maze is the site of HM Prison

Her Majesty's Prison Service

Her Majesty's Prison Service is a part of the National Offender Management Service of the Government of the United Kingdom tasked with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales...

 Maze

Maze (HM Prison)

Her Majesty's Prison Maze was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from mid-1971 to mid-2000....

, formerly a RAF

Royal Air Force

The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 station at Long Kesh

RAF Long Kesh

RAF Long Kesh was a Royal Air Force station at Maze, Lisburn, Northern Ireland, from 1941 until 1971.Various aircraft operated from the base during World War II, including the Supermarine Seafire and Spitfire....

. The prison was the main internment centre in Northern Ireland for suspected terrorists during the 1970s and was the focus of the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike

1981 Irish hunger strike

The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...

. It closed in 2000. The site is to be redeveloped and there are plans to provide a new national stadium for Northern Ireland (which would be unpopular with some)http://www.stadiumforbelfast.com/ and an equestrian facility. Proposals to retain some of the former prison buildings have also provoked controversyhttp://www.victims.org.uk/18-11-04a.html.