Culnady (named after the townland of

Culnady Culnady (named after the townland of Culnady) is a small village near Maghera in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 144 people. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District. History *Dunglady fort ...

) 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 ...

near

Maghera Maghera (pronounced , ) is a small town at the foot of the Glenshane Pass in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its population was 4,220 in the 2011 Census, increasing from 3,711 in the 2001 Census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster Distric ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry ( Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulster. B ...

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 ...

. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 144 people. It is situated within

Mid-Ulster District , settlement_type = District , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_type1 = Constituent country , subdivision_type2 = , subdivision_type3 = , subdivisi ...

History

*Dunglady fort is a

Ringfort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...

located less than a mile from the village of Culnady variously dated from around 100 AD, to as early as 2000 BC.It is 110m in diameter with three banks and three ditches (up to 5m. deep) with a straight entrance. A legendary home of the Celtic Kings, it is the earliest known instance of residence in the Culnady area.The fort was occupied by tribes during the earliest periods of Irish history, until the arrival of the plantations (c.17th century) in Ireland, at which time settlers began to live in the low-lying areas surrounding the Clady river, using it for farming, and thus the village of Culnady was born.

Rivers

The Grillagh River which is an artery of the Clady River along with the Knockoneil River flows through the town underneath the Old Culnady Bridge where a large weir has been constructed to dam the Grillagh for hydro energy for the Culnady mill which is nothing more than rubble these days.The

Grillagh River The Grillagh River is a small river located outside Maghera, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It starts in Slaughtneil a rural area northwest of Maghera southwest of Swatragh south of Glenullin and north of Glen. Slaughtneil means Niall ...

along with the larger Artery River The

Knockoneil River The Knockoneil River sometimes spelled Knockoneill and is even called Clady River this river is a small to medium sized river in Northern Ireland located near Maghera and is a major artery river which merges with the Grillagh River to form the ...

which can be seen just half a mile outside the village at the Old Dunglady Bridge. The Grillagh and Knockoneil merge in the vast floodplain around a quarter mile from Dunglady Bridge for the Knockoneil and Curdian Bridge for the Grillagh to form the

Clady River The River Clady is a mid-scale river in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, a tributary of the Lower Bann. It forms from the confluence of the Grillagh River and Knockoneil River. Course The river flows through the flatlands outside C ...

.This spot is known locally and by the Clady Angling Club as the Joinings. Here the Clady flows on towards Eden Drumnacannon Bridge and then from here the river flows onwards through Greenlough then through Clady and flows out into the

Lower Bann The River Bann (from ga, An Bhanna, meaning "the goddess"; Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is one of the longest rivers in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). However, the total leng ...

above

Portglenone Portglenone (from ga, Port Chluain Eoghain , meaning 'landing place of Eoghan's meadow') is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies 8.5 miles (14 km) west of Ballymena. It had a population of 1,174 people in t ...

Demography

Culnady lies within * Upperlands census ward * Magherafelt Local Government District * Mid Ulster Parliamentary Constituency * Northern Health and Social Care Trust * North Eastern Education and Library Board. In the 2005 Urban Rural Classification, it was classified as a

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

ward. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 144 people.

Notable landmarks

* Culnady Presbyterian Church - The earliest records of the church date from 1801, but it is believed to have been in existence long before this. The church is part of the

Presbyterian Church in Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach in Éirinn; Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in ...

, and is paired with the presbyterian Church in

Swatragh Swatragh () is a small village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Swatragh is on the main A29 road north of Maghera, and is situated within Mid-Ulster District. The population was 438 in the 2011 Census. The village has three ...

. As of 2010, the Church has roughly 120 attending families. * Culnady Primary School - The school dates from the late 1800s and closed in summer 2019. * Culnady Orange Hall - The lodge dates back to 1870, and in 1906 an agreement was drawn up between the members of the lodge and Daniel McAlery, who owned the ground where the present lodge now stands. The lodge is part of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

and is one of the largest lodges in the surrounding district. * The village store – Originally established in 1956 by John A. McGuiness, the shop is newly refurbished and serves the village as the village store.

References

*Chart, D. , E Estyn Evans E.and Lawlor H.C. ''A preliminary survey of the ancient monuments of Northern Ireland'' Ancient Monuments Advisory Council for Northern Ireland. Belfast : H.M.S.O., 1940.
NI Neighbourhood Information System
Villages in County Londonderry Mid-Ulster District {{Londonderry-geo-stub

History

Rivers

Demography

Notable landmarks

See also

References