Caledon () 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 ...

(of 232 acres) in

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional Counties of Ireland, counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an admini ...

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 in the Clogher Valley on the banks of the River Blackwater, 10 km from

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

. It lies in the southeast of Tyrone and near the borders of

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 ...

and

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...

. It is situated in the historic

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 Dungannon Lower and 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 authority ...

of Aghaloo. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 387 people. It is a designated conservation area. It was historically known as Kinnaird (

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 ...

: ''Cionn Aird'', meaning "head/top of the height or hill".

History

The old settlement of Kinard was burned in 1608 by the forces of Sir

Cahir O'Doherty Sir Cahir O'Doherty ( ga, Cathaoir Ó Dochartaigh or ga, label=none, Caṫaoir Ó Doċartaiġ; 1587–5 July 1608) was the last Gaelic Chief of the Name of Clan O'Doherty and Lord of Inishowen, in what is now County Donegal. O'Doherty was a ...

during O'Doherty's Rebellion. Sir Henry Óg O'Neill, the main local landowner, was killed by the rebels. In 1967 the Gildernew family, began a protest about discrimination in housing allocation by 'squatting' (illegally occupying) in a house in Caledon. The house had been allocated by Dungannon Rural District Council to a 19-year-old unmarried

Ulster Protestant Ulster Protestants ( ga, Protastúnaigh Ultach) are an ethnoreligious group in the Irish province of Ulster, where they make up about 43.5% of the population. Most Ulster Protestants are descendants of settlers who arrived from Britain in the ...

woman, Emily Beattie, who was the secretary of a local

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 movem ...

politician. Beattie was given the house ahead of older married

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 ...

families with children. The protesters were evicted by officers of the

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 ...

, one of whom was Beattie's brother. The next day, the annual conference of the Nationalist Party unanimously approved of the protest action by Currie.

Caledon House

Caledon House was built in 1779 by James Alexander, a member of the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

for Londonderry, who had previously in 1778 bought the Caledon Estate. James Alexander was made Baron Caledon in 1790 and later Viscount Caledon in 1797. The House was begun in 1779 to designs by Thomas Cooley, but altered by John Nash in 1808–10.

Transport

Caledon railway station (on the narrow gauge

Clogher Valley Railway The Clogher Valley Railway was a , narrow gauge railway in County Tyrone and County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It opened in May 1887 and closed on 1 January 1942 (with the last trains running the previous day). Route The railway was mainly si ...

) opened on 2 May 1887, but finally closed on 1 January 1942. Tynan and Caledon railway station on the mainline opened by the

Ulster Railway The Ulster Railway was a railway company operating in Ulster, Ireland. The company was incorporated in 1836 and merged with two other railway companies in 1876 to form the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). History The Ulster Railway was auth ...

on 25 May 1858. In 1876 the Ulster Railway merged with other railways companies to become the

Great Northern Railway (Ireland) The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I) or GNRI) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway (INW), Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. The government ...

. The station was finally closed on 1 October 1957.

Education

Local schools include Churchill Primary School and St. Joseph's Primary School.

Demography

19th century population

The population of the village decreased during the 19th century:

21st century population

On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 387 people living in Caledon. Of these: *31.0% were under 16 years old and 16.2% were aged 60 and over; *47.9% of the population were male and 52.1% were female; *35.1% were from a Catholic community background *60.0% were from a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' community background.

Caledon townland

The village of Caledon is in a

of the same name. The townland is situated in the historic

of Dungannon Lower and the

of Aghaloo and covers an area of 232 acres. The population of the townland declined during the 19th century: The townland contains one Scheduled Historic Monument: a

Beam engine A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newco ...

(grid ref: H7581 4521).

People

* The village is home to the

Earl of Caledon Earl of Caledon, of Caledon, County Tyrone, Caledon in the County of Tyrone, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1800 for James Alexander, 1st Earl of Caledon, James Alexander, 1st Viscount Caledon. He was a merchant who had ...

and the Alexander family as well as previously being home to Felim O'Neill, the leader of the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...

. *

John Foster McCreight John Foster McCreight, (1827 – November 18, 1913) was a jurist and the first premier of British Columbia. Early life McCreight was born in Caledon, County Tyrone, Ireland, to a well-established and well-connected family. After completing la ...

(1827-1913) was a jurist and the first

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

of the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He was born in Caledon to a well-established and well-connected family. * Brian McCoy (1942 – 1975), was a trumpet player with the Miami Showband. McCoy was one of the three band members killed when the group was ambushed at a bogus military checkpoint outside Newry by the

Glenanne gang The Glenanne gang or Glenanne group was a secret informal alliance of Ulster loyalists who carried out shooting and bombing attacks against Catholics and Irish nationalists in the 1970s, during the Troubles.

, an outfit composed of loyalist paramilitary, RUC officers, and members of the British military and security services.

References

External links

Caledon Village website

{{authority control Villages in County Tyrone Townlands of County Tyrone Civil parish of Aghaloo