Gortin
Gortin is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is ten miles north of Omagh in the valley of the Owenkillew river, overlooked by the Sperrins, it had a population of 360 at the 2001 Census. In the 1840s Gortin was in the barony of Strabane, its 410 inhabitants lived in 81 houses indifferently built and so placed as to form one irregular street. A writer at the time described the surrounding scenery, though bold, as "generally destitute of beauty from the want of wood, found only at Beltrim, a residence surrounded by young and thriving plantations". A court baron for the manor of Eliston, in which debts to the amount of 40 shillings was recoverable was held on the first Tuesday of each month and petty sessions were held once a month; the fair was held on the first Wednesday of each month and a pleasure fair was held each Easter Monday. Gortin was the residence of the landlord Major A. R. Cole-Hamilton as well as a large area of country surrounding the village and is called Beltrim Castle.
The present castle is a modern building and the only part of the original castle which remains standing is a gable wall which at present no part of the modern building. The landlord built two Protestant churches on the estate, so large that the landlord was able to ride around it on horseback in a day, he preserved the game. It was well known that if a tenant on the estate possessed a dog which could and did kill a hare and the story went to the landlord's ears, the tenant got orders to have the dog destroyed at once, if the tenant was not prepared to do so he got "notice to quit". There was a bailiff kept on the estate whose principal duty was the control of the bog for turf cutting, who as well as his other duties, kept an eye on the progress of the tenantry and if anyone of them reclaimed any land or otherwise improved his holdings, so that the tenant was able to produce a couple of extra stacks of oats, his rent was increased; the landlord served on the Grand jury, was a Magistrate, Chairman of the local petty sessions, Chairman of the local board of guardians, who supervised the local workhouse and was always able to "rule the roost" and everyone else connected with these bodies were "yes" men.
The workhouse was built in 1841 at a cost of 2,689 pounds to accommodate 200 paupers. It consisted of a main building about 200 yards in length and three stories high, together with a general hospital and a fever hospital as well as outhouses and stores etc, it is no longer in existence nor is the village distillery, in operation then. There was a police station: a parish church; the fever hospital still is now the Manse or residence of the Presbyterian minister. There is a graveyard at the southern end or gable of it containing 33 graves of people who died in it, or in the central hospital or in the workhouse. In the famine years porridge was distributed at the workhouse to any person who asked for it provided they had a utensil to carry it away. There was seed potatoes and oats and grass seed distributed, a fee was charged; when the end to these places came, the remaining inmates were transferred to Omagh, the workhouse and other buildings were sold. The Presbyterian Church bought the fever hospital and grounds, to be converted into a residence for their minister.
While all the knocking down and leveling of the site was taking place the Parish Priest had a home fitted up for himself, it was part of the workhouse. The Minister had about the same time moved into his and some strangers were told one day at that time, that religion was in a bad way about Gortin at present, for the Presbyterian minister was in the fever hospital and the Parish Priest was in the workhouse. There was a Tannery about 100 years ago, hides and skins were tanned from a substance obtained from the bark of oak trees; the oak bark was steeped in pits, built of stone and lime, are still traceable in a yard in the village. The leather made here was used for making harness for horses as well as boots and shoes, which were made locally. There was a company of Imperial yeomanry stationed here about 150 years ago, whose principle duty seemed to be of searching for illicit spirits or poteen; the yeomanry were supplied with a metal badge worn on their uniform about the same size as the badge worn by taxi drivers and had embossed on it the words, "Gortin Imperial Yeomanry".
The, used as their barracks has been rebuilt. It was the first house in Gortin to have two floors. There was a brewery here at one time, it has been closed for about 100 years and a story still exists that an Excise officer from Omagh paid a visit to it once and he was never seen afterwards. There were two bakeries in Gortin at one time and the owner of one of them was in the habit of hitching up of two horses to the same number of carts and going to Dublin for two loads of flour; each owner of the bakeries had a bread cart delivering bread over the country. There was a saw mill driven by a steam engine with the assistance of a windmill which supplied power to a mill, for grinding Indian corn into meal and crushing oats, for printing. There was an ordinary corn mill for grinding oats into meal. A stream of water or burn which runs through the village supplied the brewery with water as well as the saw mill and the two other mills. There was no other power at the time; these mills are now derelict.
Up to about 80 years ago
Clabby
Clabby (from Irish: Clabaigh, meaning "place of pock-marked land" is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is 3 miles north-west of Fivemiletown and 4 miles north-east of Tempo, close to the County Tyrone boundary; the 2001 Census recorded a population of 198. The Village, is named after the infamous Real Time Co-ordinator Daniel Clabby, it is situated within Omagh district. NI Neighbourhood Information Service
Drumquin
Drumquin is a small village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the banks of the Drumquin River, it is situated in the historic barony of Omagh West. It had a population of 2091 people in the 2001 Census, it has a rich and varied historical legacy with a Neolithic stone circle, a Holy Well, the Giant's Stone on Dooish Mountain. Those who are ad with the works of the noted Irish writer Benedict Kiely will be aware of his many references to the Drumquin district, with which he has family connections on his mothers side. In 1802, the countryside around Drumquin was described as one continuous scene of dreary mountains. However, the traveler did point out that forty years before that a rich coalmine had been opened at Drumquin and a canal opened to transport the coal. Drum quin has been in existence since 1211. Sir John Davies founded the village itself in 1617, the same gentleman built Castle Curlews called Castle Kirlish, the remains of which can be seen in the town land of that name.
His agent was a man called Bradley, one of whose family was responsible in times for the building of the fine stone house, a feature of the village today. Castle Kirlish was joined to Castlederg Castle by a straight causeway, seven miles long. Traces of this causeway could still be observed in 1837. Drumquin was a staging town in the 19th and early 20th century for coaches and travellers who were making their way to Derry from Omagh and vice versa; as a result of this the village hosted a hotel and several shops. Felix Kearney immortalised this area with songs such as "The Hills Above Drumquin" and others. On 26 August 1920, during the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Republican Army attacked the Royal Irish Constabulary barracks in Drumquin. One RIC constable and one IRA volunteer were killed; the geography of the area is a mixture of flat fertile lands that clings to the banks of the Fairywater and steep rolling hills. There is forests to the southwest of the village. Lough Bradan is located 7 miles from the village.
The land is covered in numerous rivers and streams and two rivers meet on the outskirts of the village to form the river Fairywater. The village itself is dominated by Dooish Mountain, the highest point in the area. Close to the village Sloughan Glen Waterfalls can be found these rest in a deep ravine. Beyond the townland of Bradan lies miles of wet bogland that stretches to the border with County Fermanagh. In the area of the glen the land rises before falling again into the Fermanagh countryside; the area in general is dotted with several quarries the biggest of these lying 2 miles outside of the village itself. Lough Bradan is located 7 miles from the village, is used as a fishing location and stocked with trout; the area around the lough has a number of walking trails. There are several benches to be found near the lough's edge and these are used for picnicking, it is not uncommon to see stags in the area. Sloughan Glen Waterfalls are located 4 miles from the village; this is a tourist location and it is common to see people picnicking throughout the year.
The waterfalls themselves lie in a deep ravine and can be accessed by a series of walkways and steps. The layout of the walk is such that the visitor comes across the smaller waterfall first this can be viewed from ground level; the steps can be taken to view the first waterfall from a high walkway. Upon following this walkway further and climbing several more steps the larger waterfall can be viewed from atop. There are several picnic areas at a car park; the stone monument on Dooish Mountain was built in order to mark the turn of the Millennium, construction started on 14 September 1999 and was completed on 4 May 2000. The monument itself was built using traditional methods, with no modern tools or equipment used, it is accessed via a mountain walk from either west face of the mountain. From the top of the mountain itself there are views of the village of Drumquin and the surrounding countryside. Drumquin Wolfe Tones is the local Gaelic Athletic Association club, in existence in its current form since 1968.
Previous clubs have existed in various forms from the early 1930s. Drumquin have a soccer team, Drumquin United, in operation since 2007; the U-13 team won the Grade 4 league final in 2012. Drumquin plays host to several stages of the World Rally Championship as part of Rally Ireland and has hosted two such races in recent years; the population of the village decreased during the 19th century: On Census day in 2011: 71.3% were from a Catholic background and 27.0% were from a Protestant background The townland is situated in the historic barony of Omagh West and the civil parish of Longfield West and covers an area of 398 acres. The population of the townland declined during the 19th century: The village of Drumquin is in the townland of the same name, in townland of Drumnaforbe in the civil parish of Longfield East. In 1891 the village was estimated to cover an area of 12 acres. List of townlands of County Tyrone NI Neighbourhood Information Service Omagh District Council
Carnteel
Carnteel ) is a hamlet and civil parish, about 2 miles northeast of Aughnacloy in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Dungannon Lower; the village is situated 14 kilometres southwest of Dungannon, close to the B35 Dungannon to Aughnacloy Road, with a hilltop location, focused around a crossroads at its centre and with the ruins of an historic church. It is made up of housing, with a large agricultural machinery business to the north, other facilities limited to a shop and post office. In 1837 Carnteel Parish, situated on the River Blackwater, had a population of 7,459 people and covered 13,432 acres, it was mountainous, with some bog, in the north of the parish and there was extensive quarrying. Most people were engaged in agriculture with some cotton weaving; the church at Carnteel was destroyed in the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and replaced with a church at Aghaloo, itself replaced after the building of a church in Aughnacloy in 1736. The Parish contains the townlands of: The townland is situated in the historic barony of Dungannon Lower and the civil parish of Carnteel and covers an area of 235 acres.
The population of the townland declined during the 19th century: The townland contains one Scheduled Historic Monument: a Church. List of civil parishes of County Tyrone List of townlands of County Tyrone
Caledon, County Tyrone
Caledon ) is a small village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is in the Clogher Valley on the banks of the River Blackwater, 7 miles from Armagh, it lies near the borders of County Armagh and County Monaghan. It is situated in the civil parish of Aghaloo. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 387 people, it is a designated conservation area. It was known as Kinnaird (Irish: Cionn Aird, meaning "head/top of the height or hill"; the old settlement of Kinard was burned in 1608 by the forces of Sir Cahir O'Doherty during O'Doherty's Rebellion. Sir Henry Óg O'Neill, the main local landowner, was killed by the rebels. Caledon House was built in 1779 by James Alexander, a member of the Irish House of Commons for Londonderry, who had in 1778 bought the Caledon Estate. James Alexander was made Baron Caledon in 1790 and Viscount Caledon in 1797; the House was begun in 1779 to designs by Thomas Cooley, but altered by John Nash in 1808-10. In 1967 the Gildernew family, began a protest about discrimination in housing allocation by'squatting' in a house in Caledon.
The house had been allocated by Dungannon Rural District Council to a 19-year-old unmarried Ulster Protestant woman, Emily Beattie, the secretary of a local Ulster Unionist Party politician. Beattie was given the house ahead of older married Catholic families with children; the protesters were evicted by officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, one of whom was Beattie's brother. The next day, the annual conference of the Nationalist Party unanimously approved of the protest action by Currie. Caledon railway station opened on 2 May 1887, but closed on 1 January 1942. Tynan and Caledon railway station on the mainline opened by the Ulster Railway on 25 May 1858. In 1876 the Ulster Railway merged with other railways companies to become the Great Northern Railway; the station was closed on 1 October 1957. The village is home to the Earl of Caledon and the Alexander family as well as being home to Felim O'Neill, the leader of the Irish Rebellion of 1641. John Foster McCreight was a jurist and the first Premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia.
He was born in Caledon to a well-connected family. Brian McCoy, was a trumpet player with the Miami Showband. McCoy was one of the three bandmembers killed when the group was ambushed outside Newry by the Ulster Volunteer Force at a bogus military checkpoint. Churchill Primary School St. Joseph's Primary School The population of the village decreased during the 19th century: On Census day there were 387 people living in Caledon. Of these: 31.0% were under 16 years old and 16.2% were aged 60 and over. For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service The townland is situated in the historic barony of Dungannon Lower and the civil parish of Aghaloo and covers an area of 232 acres; the population of the townland declined during the 19th century: The village of Caledon is in the townland of the same name and in 1891 had an area of 45 acres. The townland contains one Scheduled Historic Monument: a Beam engine. List of townlands of County Tyrone NI Neighbourhood Information System Caledon Village website Lewis's Topographical Dictionary, 1837 Lewis's Topographical Dictionary, 1842
Ballymagorry
Ballymagorry or Ballymagory is a small village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is west of 5 kilometres north of Strabane. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 565, it lies on the River Glenmornan. It has been a settlement since Plantation times, being founded in the early 17th century by Scotsman Sir George Hamilton of Greenlaw who died around 1654, whose brother was James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn. Within two generations his lands had been consolidated into the Manor of Cloghogall within the extensive Abercorn estate; the village is known as Bellymagarry in Ulster-Scots. The area was once served by rail with Ballymagorry railway station run by the County Donegal Railway on the section from Strabane railway station to Londonderry Victoria Road in Derry line. Ballymagorry station opened on 7 August 1900 but was shut on 1 January 1955; the village lies on the main A5 trunk road between Strabane and'Derry. The population of the village decreased during the 19th century: Ballymagorry is classified as a small village.
On Census day there were 565 people living in Ballymagorry. Of these: 25.3% were aged under 16 years and 15.2% were aged 60 and over 50.4% of the population were male and 49.6% were female 43.7% were from a Catholic background and 54.0% were from a Protestant background 4.8% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed The townland is situated in the historic barony of Strabane Lower and the civil parish of Leckpatrick and covers an area of 289 acres. The population of the townland increased during the 19th century: Ballymagorry is home to Fox Lodge Cricket Club. List of townlands of County Tyrone Ballymagorry Rent Rolls Strabane District Council
Altamuskin
Altamuskin or Altamooskan is a small village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Clogher and the civil parish of Errigal Keerogue and covers an area of 1165 acres. In the 2014 Census Altamuskin had a population of 127 people, it is home to St Bridget's Altamuskin. The population of the townland declined during the 19th century: Altamuskin Community Hall provides sports, youthclub and part-time post office and credit union facilities. Community Dances on the 3rd Friday Night of every month. List of villages in Northern Ireland List of townlands of County Tyrone
