Cullaville or Culloville ( or McCulloch's ville or town is a small
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 to ...
and
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 origi ...
near
Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Irel ...
in
County Armagh
County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...
,
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 the southernmost settlement in the county and one of the southernmost in Northern Ireland, straddling the
Irish border
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 ...
. In the
2001 Census it had a population of 400 people. The village is on a busy crossroads on the main
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
to
Castleblaney
Castleblayney (; ) is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town had a population of 3,607 as of the 2016 census. Castleblayney is near the border with County Armagh in Northern Ireland, and lies on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Lett ...
road (the
A37 in Northern Ireland and
N53 in the Republic); three of the roads lead across the border and the fourth leads to Crossmaglen.
History
Events
On 29 March 1922, during the
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...
,
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 tha ...
(IRA) volunteers ambushed and shot dead two
Royal Irish Constabulary
The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...
men (Patrick Earley and James Harper) at Ballinacarry Bridge, Cullaville.
Cullaville, along with the rest of South Armagh, would have been transferred to the
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...
had the recommendations of the
Irish Boundary Commission
The Irish Boundary Commission () met in 1924–25 to decide on the precise delineation of the border between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, which ended the Irish War of Independence, provided for such a c ...
been enacted in 1925.
On 2 September 1942, during the
Northern Campaign of the IRA, an attack was scheduled to take place against a
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
barracks in
Crossmaglen
Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Irel ...
. Twenty IRA volunteers were led by Patrick Demody in a commandeered lorry and accompanying car. A passing
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 Royal ...
(RUC) patrol, however, noticed the IRA convoy as it moved through Cullaville and in the ensuing gun battle, one IRA man was injured along with one RUC member. Conflicting accounts exist of the outcome, one claiming that the IRA unit surrendered and was released, all survivors being allowed to return to Dublin; another claiming that it was the RUC men (there were only two of them) who surrendered to the IRA and were released.
The Troubles
For more information see
The Troubles in Cullaville
Cullaville or Culloville ( or McCulloch's ville or town is a small village and townland near Crossmaglen in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is the southernmost settlement in the county and one of the southernmost in Northern Ireland, straddlin ...
, which includes a list of incidents in Cullaville during
the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
resulting in two or more fatalities.
Sport
The village is home to
Cullaville Blues Gaelic Athletic Club. Tracing its origins to a club founded in 1888, it is one of the oldest clubs in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
[Cullaville page](_blank)
on Armagh GAA website
Transport
The former station,
Culloville railway station and current post office are south of the
River Fane
The River Fane ( ga, Abhainn Átha Féan) is a river flowing from County Monaghan to Dundalk Bay in County Louth, Ireland.
Course
Originating in Lough Ross on the border of County Monaghan and County Armagh, and so of the Republic of Ireland ...
, in County Monaghan. The station was located on the former Great Northern Railway's Irish North West line from
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
to
Enniskillen
Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, 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 ...
, which opened in June 1858 but lost its passenger service in 1957, and closed completely in 1959.
Only the station masters house, up platform and brick built signal cabin base remains at Culloville, the rest of the station buildings have since been demolished.
References
Sources
NI Neighbourhood Information System
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 stat ...
*
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 stat ...
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Villages in County Armagh
Townlands of County Armagh
Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border crossings