Brookeborough (; Irish: ''Achadh Lon'', meaning 'Field of the Blackbirds') 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
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
, at the westerly foot of
Slieve Beagh
Slieve Beagh () is a mountainous area straddling the border between County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland and County Fermanagh and County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. A point just east of its summit is the highest point in Monaghan; howev ...
. It lies about eleven miles east of
Enniskillen
Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...
, just off the A4 trunk road, and about five miles west of the
County Tyrone
County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...
boundary. 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 ...
barony Barony may refer to:
* Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron
* Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron
* Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
of Magherastephana. It is situated within Fermanagh and Omagh district.
According to the 2001 Census, Brookeborough had a population of 517. The economy is heavily dependent on cattle and sheep farming. There are five places of Christian worship; a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
church, a
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John'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 sec ...
church and a
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...
church; two public houses; and two primary (elementary) schools.
History
Before the
Plantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation ('' plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of th ...
the area of Brookeborough was known as ''Achadh Lon'' (
anglicised
Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...
as ''Aghalun''), the
townland
A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...
in which it lies. It is believed that the Irish name refers to a "field of blackbirds". Aghalun was in the hands of the Maguire Clan until the 1641 rebellion when it was given to the Brooke family. The village was then named after Sir Henry Brooke, who was granted the village in 1666 and settled at Colebrooke Park nearby.
On 1 January 1957, there was an attack on Brookeborough
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Roya ...
Barracks by the
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various paramilitary organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dedicated to irredentism through Irish republicanism, the belief th ...
Seán Garland
Seán Garland (7 March 1934 – 13 December 2018) was the President of the Workers' Party in Ireland from 1977 to 1999.
Early life
Born at Belvedere Place, off Mountjoy Square in Dublin, Garland joined the Irish Republican Army in 1953. In 1 ...
, and included Seán South and Fergal O'Hanlon, who were both mortally wounded during the attack.
In 2002, the Brookeborough Community Development Association, in conjunction with a similar organisation in Riverstown,
County Sligo
County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...
,
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
, launched the Riverbrooke Cross-Border Initiative linking the two villages in a programme of cross-community/cross-border working.
Places of interest
* Colebrooke House is a B+ listed Neoclassical country house, built in 1820, and situated in an estate of 1,000 acres. Colebrooke Park was recently renovated and refurbished by the present
Viscount Brookeborough
Viscount Brookeborough, of Colebrooke in the County of Fermanagh, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1952 for the Ulster Unionist politician and Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Captain The Rt. Hon. Sir Bas ...
and his wife, Viscountess Brookeborough. This renovation of Colebrooke included the installation of the new Colebrooke spa, which was featured on the television show '' Country House Rescue'' in June 2012. Part of this renovation also includes additional accommodation in the form of The Triumphal Arch Lodge. Today Colebrooke Park, and the buildings around it, provide a tranquil getaway from the rush of the main A4 road between Brookeborough and Fivemiletown, which eventually becomes a section of motorway between Ballygawley and Dungannon, on the way to Belfast. This homely and historic rural retreat has also featured in a number of programmes and publications on the culture of Northern Ireland, and also includes holiday cottages and The Ashbrooke Riding School. Equestrianism has long been a part of the history of this area.
*Memorial to Seán South and Fergal O'Hanlon at Altawalk Cross.
* Brookeborough Railway Station House (Formerly on the Clogher Valley railway which ran through the village from May 1887 to January 1942) - This small redbrick building now hosts a playgroup and community centre, and pays homage to its railway tradition through the artwork of Amanda Montgomery, who produced a specially commissioned piece of artwork based around themes of travel and railway history. Also in 1998 President Mary McAleese visited the station house as part of a celebration of its opening and as a testament to the cross community work taking place in the area at this time.
*Brookeborough Heber McMahons GAA grounds and complex - Located on the Carrickaheenan Road this facility includes two football pitches, changing rooms, and clubhouse.
*Aghavea Parish Church
Notable people
* John Armstrong - American Congressman and revolutionary
*
Field Marshal
Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
Captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
Aghadrumsee
Aghadrumsee ()Placenames NI - Aghadrumsee is a small village in south-e ...
and, later, in
Lisnaskea
Lisnaskea () is the second-biggest settlement in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated mainly in the townland of Lisoneill, with some areas in the townland of Castle Balfour Demesne, both in the civil parish of Aghalurcher and th ...
, her principal residence is now on the outskirts of Brookeborough.
* Bobbie Hanvey - Photographer & Radio Broadcaster
* Jeremiah Jordan - Irish Nationalist MP
*
Charitie Lees Smith
Charitie Lees Smith (later, Charitie Lees Bancroft; still later Charitie de Cheney or Charitie de Chenez; pen name, C.L.S. 21 June 1841 – 20 June 1923) was an Anglican Irish American hymnwriter. Her hymns, well known in England and Ireland, w ...
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...
Maguiresbridge
Maguiresbridge is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The village is named after the bridge over the Colebrooke River, first built by the local Maguire family about 1760. The village is 8 miles from Enniskillen and 3 miles fr ...
Clogher
Clogher () is a village and civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County Monaghan. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne ...
,
Augher
Augher (from ga, Eochair meaning "edge/border") is a small village in south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies just 6 miles to the County Monaghan Border and is 16 miles south of Dungannon. It is situated in the historic barony of Clog ...
Tynan
Tynan (PlaceNamesNI - Tynan ) is a Caledon.
*The main road to
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
bypassed the village in the mid 1960s.
2001 Census
Brookeborough is classified as a small village or hamlet by th NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with a population of between 500 and 1,000 people).
On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 517 people living in Brookeborough. Of these:
*25.5% were aged under 16 years
*16.8% were aged 60 and over
*the average age was 34.7 years (NI average age 35.8 years)
*50.3% of the population were male and 49.7% were female
*50.2% were from a Catholic community background
*48.1% were from a Protestant and other Christian
*8.2% were born outside Northern Ireland
For further details see NI Neighbourhood Information Service
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...
international goalkeeper, played for the Brookeborough football team.
*The local
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...
team is known as Brookeborough Heber MacMahon's Gaelic Football Club. It is named after Dr. Heber MacMahon (1600-1650), Bishop of Clogher, a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pre ...
who was executed during the
Irish Confederate Wars
The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...
. The team has never won honours at Senior Championship level but has won a number of Junior, Under-age and Intermediate Level competitions.
See also
*
List of villages in Northern Ireland
This is an alphabetical list of towns and villages in Northern Ireland. For a list sorted by population, see the list of settlements in Northern Ireland by population. The towns of Armagh, Lisburn and Newry are also classed as cities (see city s ...
*
List of towns in Northern Ireland
This is an alphabetical list of towns and villages in Northern Ireland. For a list sorted by population, see the list of settlements in Northern Ireland by population. The towns of Armagh, Lisburn and Newry are also classed as cities (see city ...