Ballygowan period, and subsequent to the introduction of the Belfast & County Down Railway in 1850, that the village began to grow. Ballygowan railway station opened on 10 September 1858, but finally closed on 16 January 1950. After the railway closed in 1950 the village became an attractive "dormitory" town and the ensuing 50 years have seen rapid growth. On Monday, 15 September 2014, the remains of The Baron Bannside (better known as The Rev. Ian Paisley) were buried in the graveyard attached to Ballygowan Free Presbyterian Church. Lord Bannside was a former First Minister of Northern Ireland and a former
Who Is America? interviewed by Baron Cohen while he was in character as a disabled veteran. She expressed anger at being tricked into participating in the interview saying, "I join a long list of American public personalities who have fallen victim to the evil, exploitive, sick 'humor' of the British 'comedian' Sacha Baron Cohen, enabled and sponsored by CBS/Showtime." Ultimately, Palin's interview was not included in any of the series' seven episodes though in the end credits of the final episode Palin is credited as "Special Publicity Consultant (Inadvertent)". A day later, former U.S. congressman Joe Walsh revealed on Twitter that he too