Draperstown ()
[Toner, Gregory. ''Place-Names of Northern Ireland'', p. 85. Queen's University of Belfast, 1996; ] is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
in the
Sperrin Mountains
The Sperrins or Sperrin Mountains () are a range of mountains in Northern Ireland and one of the largest upland areas in Northern Ireland. The range stretches from Strabane eastwards to Slieve Gallion in Desertmartin and north towards Limavad ...
in
County Londonderry,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. It is situated in the
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
of Ballinascreen and is part of
Mid-Ulster district
, settlement_type = District
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_type1 = Constituent country
, subdivision_type2 =
, subdivision_type3 =
, subdivisi ...
. It is also part of the
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...
of Ballynascreen and the
Catholic parish
In the Catholic Church, a parish ( la, parochia) is a stable community of the faithful within a particular church, whose pastoral care has been entrusted to a parish priest (Latin: ''parochus''), under the authority of the diocesan bishop. It is t ...
of Ballinascreen, and within the former
barony of
Loughinsholin
Loughinsholin () is a barony in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its southeast borders the northwest shore of Lough Neagh, and itself is bordered by seven other baronies: Dungannon Upper to the south; Strabane Upper to the west; Keenaght ...
.
The village lies at the intersection of the townlands of Moykeeran (), Moyheeland (), Cahore and Tonaght.
Name
Draperstown had its name bestowed upon it in 1818 by the
Worshipful Company of Drapers
The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London. It has the formal name The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Dr ...
, which had previously named
Moneymore
Moneymore () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,897 in the 2011 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District. It is an example of a plantation village in Mid-Ulster built by the Dra ...
as Draperstown.
[Toner, Gregory; ''Place-Names of Northern Ireland, Volume Five, County Derry I, The Moyola Valley'', 1996. ]
Prior to this however the settlement was originally known as "Borbury" ().
It was then recorded as being called "The Cross" in 1813 and "Moyheelan" in 1821.
Despite the name given to it by the Drapers' Company, locals continued to commonly refer to the settlement with a variety of names:
*The Cross, in reference to the crossroads where the market was held,
*Moyheelan, after the townland of Moyheeland (), which it was founded in,
*the Cross of Ballynascreen, after the fact that it was the main crossroads in the parish of Ballynascreen,
*Ballinascreen (),
after the
Roman Catholic parish.
*Draperstown-cross,
after the crossroads that were the main feature of the settlement
*Ballynacross, of which the Irish form ''Baile na Croise'', meaning "townland of the crossroad", is used as the present Irish name for Draperstown.
The term "screen" in the popular Irish song ''
The Verdant Braes of Screen'' apparently refers to Ballinascreen.
History
The village began to emerge around the crossroads in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Prior to that, the crossroads was the location for occasional fairs. In the 1600s, at the time of the
Plantation of Ulster, the expropriated land in the Ballinacreen area was allocated to two London
Livery Companies. It was divided between the
Drapers Company
The Worshipful Company of Drapers is one of the 110 livery companies of the City of London. It has the formal name The Master and Wardens and Brethren and Sisters of the Guild or Fraternity of the Blessed Mary the Virgin of the Mystery of Dr ...
who took possession of the land west of the crossroads (Straw, Sixtowns and
Moneyneena) while the
Skinners Company took possession of the land to the east. Although settlers began to arrive, the
livery companies did not develop the area until later.
In 1760, the original St. Columba's
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...
Church was built near the crossroads. In 1798, Laughlin McNamee, a publican from nearby
Moneyneena, opened a
public house
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
at the crossroads where the local fair was held. He also built several houses. A broad main street, now known as St. Patricks’ Street, typical of Irish towns, began to develop along the road to Sixtowns. At this time this settlement became known by several names including the Cross of Ballinascreen, Moyheeland and Burboy. McNamee is buried at St. Columbas's Church in Straw. In 1812, the Drapers Company built a series of buildings including a courthouse at the other side of the crossroads from the main street. The company named it Draperstown, which was adopted by the
Post Office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...
as the official name of the village. The Presbyterian Church opened in 1843 and St. Columba's Catholic Church at Straw opened in 1853.
Governance
The town lies within the Moyola District Electoral Area of
Mid-Ulster District Council
Mid Ulster District Council ( ga, Comhairle Ceantair Lár Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Mid Ulstèr Airts Cooncil'') is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Cookstown District Council, Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough ...
which elects five councillors out of the 40 members of the council. In the
2019 Mid Ulster District Council election
The 2019 Mid Ulster District Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect members of Mid Ulster District Council in Northern Ireland. This was on the same day as other local elections.
Election results
Note: "Votes" are the fi ...
, the five elected councillors included three members of
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
, one member of the
Democratic Unionist Party and one member of the
Ulster Unionist Party
The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it led unionist opposition to the Irish Home Rule m ...
.
It is located within the
Mid Ulster (Assembly constituency)
Mid Ulster (, Ulster Scots: ''Mid Ulstèr'') is a constituency in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
It was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election in 1973, which elected the then Northern Ireland Assembly. It usually shares boundaries wi ...
in the
Northern Ireland Assembly and the
Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency). The current MP is
Francie Molloy
Francie Molloy ( ga, Proinsias Ó Maolmhuaidh; born 16 December 1950) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician who has been the abstentionist Member of Parliament (MP) for Mid Ulster since 2013. He was a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) ...
of
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
.
Economy
The town largely acts as a service centre for the surrounding farming communities. The main store in the town is the EuroSpar. There are a range of other smaller shops. There is also a livestock mart in the town for the sale of cattle, sheep and pigs. The mart has weekly sales.
Churches and Local landmarks
![Draperstown RC Church - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Draperstown_RC_Church_-_geograph.org.uk_-_539537.jpg)
The Catholic Parish of Ballinascreen covers the town of Draperstown and surrounding district. The first church in the area dates back to at least the eighth century. It was a monastery church called ''Scrin Colimbkille'' (Columbcille's shrine) which is located in the townland of Moneyconey outside the town. The parish gets its name from this shrine the ruins of which are still visible. There are four active churches in the parish.
* The new Church of the Holy Rosary located on the Derrynoid Road opened in 1979. This replaced St. Mary's Oratory which had opened in 1928.
* The older St. Columba's Church which is located on the Sixtowns Road at
Straw opened in 1853.
* St. Patrick's Church in Sixtowns opened in 1854.
* St. Eugene's Church,
Moneyneany opened in 1902.
![St Columbas Church of Ireland - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/St_Columbas_Church_of_Ireland_-_geograph.org.uk_-_512395.jpg)
There are two other churches both of which are listed buildings. These are:
* St. Columba's Church,
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...
, Tobermore Road, built 1888. The original church on this site was built in 1760, before the town itself.
* Presbyterian Meeting House, 47 High Street, built 1843.
The Courthouse, 20 High Street, built 1839 is also a listed building. It is now used as a library.
In 1979, the core of the village was designated a
Conservation Area.
Demography
Draperstown is classified as a village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). There were 1,638 people living in Draperstown in the
2001 Census. The village had a population of 1,777 people in the
2011 Census.
On Census Day 27th March 2011, in Draperstown Settlement, considering the resident population:
*98.93% were from the white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic group
*92.80% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 5.91% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion
*10.47% indicated that they had a British national identity, 60.44% had an Irish national identity and 29.21% had a Northern Irish national identity*.
*24.22% had some knowledge of Irish
*3.25% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots
*4.19% did not have English as their first language
Transport
The town lies at the junction of the B40 (High Street and Derrynoid Roads), B41 (Tobermore Road) and B47 (St. Patrick's Street and Sixtowns Road). There is a regular bus service through the town.
Ulsterbus routes 112 and 112a are from
Magherafelt
Magherafelt (, mˠaxəɾʲəˈfʲiːlt̪ˠə is a small town and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,805 at the 2011 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county and is the social, econo ...
to Draperstown via the B40. Route 403 is from Magherafelt to
Omagh
Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. Northern Ireland's capital city Belfast is 68 m ...
passing through Draperstown via the B40 and B47.
Draperstown railway station
Draperstown railway station was on the Draperstown Railway which ran from Magherafelt to Draperstown in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
History
The station was opened by the Draperstown Railway on 20 July 1883. It was taken over by the No ...
opened on 20 July 1883, closed for passenger traffic on 1 October 1930 and finally closed altogether on 3 July 1950. The Draperstown branch ran from
Magherafelt
Magherafelt (, mˠaxəɾʲəˈfʲiːlt̪ˠə is a small town and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,805 at the 2011 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county and is the social, econo ...
with an intermediate station at
Desertmartin
Desertmartin (;Toner, Gregory: ''Place-Names of Northern Ireland'', page 85. Queen's University of Belfast, 1996, )Flanagan, Deirdre & Laurence: ''Irish Place Names'', page 202. Gill & Macmillan Ltd., 2002. is a small village in County Londonde ...
.
Irish Language
Although the dominant language of the residents of Draperstown has been English for the past century, in the surrounding rural areas the
Irish language
Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
was widely spoken up until the late nineteenth century. Indeed, there is evidence that it was still spoken in some households in the 1930s and later. Although the most prominent native
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
speaker was Éilis Ní Dhonnghaile (1857–1935) of Labby, records of other Irish speakers included the Murray sisters in
Moneyneena (1931), Peig James (1943) and Hannah James (1947); Matthew Regan, Draperstown (1942); and Mary Anne Doherty,
Moneyneena and Antrim (1965). There have been attempts to promote the speaking of Irish in the area with the opening of an Irish language nursery and primary school. Pupils from the primary school can proceed to the Irish language secondary school
Gaelcholáiste Dhoire
The Gaelcholáiste Dhoire is a multi-denominational, 11–19, all-ability, coeducational, Irish-medium, post-primary school in Dungiven, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is located inside Dungiven Castle.
it has had many sporting achieve ...
in
Dungiven.
Education
*Naíscoil na Speiríní, an Irish language medium pre-school, in which all subjects are taught in Irish.
*Gaelscoil na Speiríní, an Irish language medium primary school, in which all subjects are taught in Irish.
*St Mary's Primary School
*
St Colm's High School
Sport
*
St Colms's GAC Ballinascreen (''CLG Naomh Colm Baile na Scrine'') is the local
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...
(GAA) club. The club provides teams in
Gaelic football,
hurling,
ladies football and
camogie. Dean McGlinchey Park is the club's ground.
*
Draperstown Celtic FC is the local
football team who play at Cahore playing fields.
Surnames
According to the Ulster Towns Directory, the following were the ten most common surnames in the town in 1910: Bradley, Connor, Donnelly, Henry, Kelly, Murray, McKenna, McNamee, O'Kane and O'Neill.
Notable people
*
Robert Sands (1828-1872) -
conductor of the
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir, acting as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for ov ...
*
Charles McAnally (1836-1905) -
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
soldier originally from
Glenviggan
*
Sir Denis Henry (1864-1925) - lawyer and politician
*
Jimmy McCabe (1918-1989) - footballer
*
Christina McKenna
Christina McKenna (born 1957) is a bestselling Irish author and novelist. She has written books that comprise the Tailorstown series.
Early life
McKenna grew up in Draperstown, Northern Ireland. She attended the Belfast College of Art where sh ...
(b. 1957) - author and novelist
*
Orla Chennaoui
Orla Chennaoui () (born 13 November 1979) is a Northern Irish television journalist and former all-Ireland triple jump champion. Chennaoui was born in Draperstown, County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. After completing a degree in Law and Fre ...
(b. 1978) - television journalist and athlete
*
Michael McBride (b. 1982) -
Gaelic footballer
*
Dermot McBride (b. 1988) -
Gaelic footballer
*
Emma Sheerin
Emma Sheerin (born 1991/92) is an Irish Sinn Féin politician from Derry, Northern Ireland. Since 2018 she has been MLA for Mid Ulster.
Background
Sheerin is a native of Ballinascreen where she attended St Colm's High School. She then procee ...
(b. 1991) - politician
See also
*
Market Houses in Northern Ireland
References
{{authority control
Villages in County Londonderry
Mid-Ulster District