Aughnacloy, County Tyrone

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Aughnacloy
Irish: Achadh na Cloiche
Aughnacloy, County Tyrone - geograph.org.uk - 164484.jpg
Aughnacloy is located in Northern Ireland
Aughnacloy
 Aughnacloy shown within Northern Ireland
Population 801 (2001 Census)
Irish grid reference H665521
   – Belfast 52 mi (84 km)  
District Dungannon & South Tyrone
County County Tyrone
Country Northern Ireland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town AUGHNACLOY
Postcode district BT69
Dialling code 028, +44 28
EU Parliament Northern Ireland
UK Parliament Fermanagh & South Tyrone
NI Assembly Fermanagh & South Tyrone
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Tyrone

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Aughnacloy, sometimes spelt Auchnacloy (Irish: Achadh na Cloiche (field of the stone)[1]) is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Close to the border with County Monaghan, the village is about 20 km southwest of Dungannon, and 7 km southeast of Ballygawley. It is situated in the historic barony of Dungannon Lower and the civil parish of Carnteel.[2] In the 2001 Census it had a population of 801.

History

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Much of the town was built in the 18th Century by Acheson Moore, the local landlord. Because he backed the Jacobite cause, he planted his estate in the shape of a thistle and planned out the town on the edge of it. Unable to rename it "Mooretown", he had to settle for naming the main street "Moore Street", and the side streets Sydney, Lettice, and Henrietta (now Ravella Road), after his three wives.

Aughnacloy served as an important staging post on the road to Derry. However, lacking large-scale industry, it started to wane in the late 19th century.

Famous residents

Aughnacloy Catholic church
Aughnacloy Presbyterian church
The old railway station

James Young Malley, the son of an Aughnacloy farmer and merchant, was the eldest of three brothers to fly with RAF Bomber Command. His service with the RAF during the Second World War extended to 127 operations over enemy territory, including more than 30 raids over Berlin. Malley achieved distinction a second time as private secretary to the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Terrence O'Neill. He oversaw the delicate negotiations which preceded the meeting between O'Neill and Sean Lemass at Stormont in January 1965.

The Troubles

On 20 January 1974, Cormac McCabe (42), the first Headmaster of Aughnacloy Secondary School and a Captain in the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), was shot dead by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA). His corpse was found in a field near Aughnacloy.[3]

On 6 July 1977, David Morrow (37) a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer, was killed by the IRA while sitting in a stationary RUC patrol car in Aughnacloy.[4]

In 1988, Aidan McAnespie, a Catholic civilian, was killed, in contested circumstances, by a bullet from a heavy machine-gun held by a British Army soldier at Aughnacloy. In June 2008, the Police Service of Northern Ireland Historical Enquiries Team published its findings on the case in a report. In the fatal shooting the soldier claimed that his hands were wet, causing him to accidentally fire the machine-gun. The report called this the "least likely version" of what happened.[5]

Buildings and features of note

  • One of the widest Main Streets in Northern Ireland[citation needed]
  • The Aughnacloy Thistle (large scale landscape feature)
  • St James Parish Church
  • Aughnacloy Market House
  • Copperfields Nursing home (former Alms House)

Transport

Aughnacloy had its own railway station on the Clogher Valley Railway (CVR) from 2 May 1887 to 1 January 1942.[6] The CVR's headquarters and locomotive workshop was also at Aughnacloy. Current proposals to upgrade the A5 road through the village to a dual carriageway and build a bypass have met with a mixed reaction in the town, with many traders and farmers strongly opposed.[citation needed]

Education

  • Aughnacloy Primary School
  • Aughnacloy College (former names: Aughnacloy Secondary School; Aughnacloy High School) opened in 1963, designed by John MacGeagh. It occupies a rural site on the outskirts of Aughancloy, serving a catchment area stretching along the Blackwater valley including Caledon, Greystone, Innismagh, Ballygawley, Lisdoart and Favour Royal
  • St. Mary's Primary School, Aughnacloy

Demography

Aughnacloy is classified as a Small Village or Hamlet by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)] (i.e. with population between 500 and 1,000 people).[7]

On the last census date (29 April 2001), there were 801 people living in Aughnacloy. Of these:

  • 23.3% were aged under 16 years and 26.6% were aged 60 and over;
  • 48.6% of the population were male and 51.4% were female;
  • 45.4% were from a Catholic background and 52.1% were from a Protestant background; and,
  • 3.0% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.[7]

Sport

See also

References

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  7. 7.0 7.1 Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)

Sources

  • Dungannon & South Tyrone Area Plan 2010