Clady () is a small village and townland 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 lies about 4 miles from

Strabane Strabane ( ; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,172 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the east bank of the River Foyle. It is roughly midway from Omagh, Derry and Letterkenny. The River Foyle marks ...

on the River Finn and borders with the

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. A ...

. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 538 people. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th
Open Government Licence v3.0
© Crown copyright. It is within Urney

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 ...

and the former

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 ...

Strabane Lower Strabane Lower (named after Strabane) is a barony in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is bordered by five other baronies in Northern Ireland: North West Liberties of Derry to the north; Tirkeeran to the north-east; Strabane Upper to the eas ...

. In local government it is part of the

Derry City and Strabane District Council Derry City and Strabane District Council ( ga, Comhairle Chathair Dhoire agus Cheantar an tSratha Báin; Ulster-Scots: ''Derry Cittie & Stràbane Destrìck Cooncil'') is the local authority for Derry and Strabane district in Northern Ireland. I ...

. The townland covers an area of 173 acres.

History

The village is one of the oldest in the district. The village is referred to as Claudy in Samuel Lewis' Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, but early and later works attribute the name, Clady, distinguishing it from

Claudy Claudy () is a village and townland (of 1,154 acres) in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It lies in the Faughan Valley, southeast of Derry, where the River Glenrandal joins the River Faughan. It is situated in the civil parish of Cumber U ...

in County Londonderry. Next to the village is an important passage over the River Finn, one of the "passes", which controlled the access to Londonderry from the south and east in the times when the ferry at Londonderry was the only means to cross the River Foyle. Originally, the passage at Clady was provided by a ford, known as the Cladyford. Soon a bridge was built, which existed already in the 17th century. According to Lewis in 1840, a "handsome bridge of seven arches" spanned the river near the village. This passage over the Finn was contested during the

Williamite War The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

on 15 April 1689 when Jacobite cavalry under Richard Hamilton and the

Duke of Berwick Duke of Berwick () ''()'' is a title that was created in the Peerage of England on 19 March 1687 for James FitzJames, the illegitimate son of James II and VII, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland and Arabella Churchill. The title's name ...

forced the passage. Some days later James II crossed the Finn at this place, proceeded to Londonderry and summoned the city to surrender. With these events started the

Siege of Derry The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates ...

. In February 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 ...

, an

Ulster Special Constabulary The Ulster Special Constabulary (USC; commonly called the "B-Specials" or "B Men") was a quasi-military reserve special constable police force in what would later become Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, shortly before the par ...

platoon attempting to enter Clady were forced to withdraw two nights in a row after coming under fire from 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 tha ...

. One USC officer was killed in the clashes.

The Troubles

For more information see

The Troubles in Clady (Tyrone) Clady may refer to: *Clady, County Londonderry, a village in Northern Ireland *Clady, County Tyrone, a small village in Northern Ireland * Clady, County Antrim, a townland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland * Clady, County Armagh, a rural area near ...

, which includes a list of incidents in Clady during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.

Demography

19th century population

The population of the village decreased during the 19th century: The population of the townland increased overall during the 19th century: In 1891, the town of Clady, which stands in the townlands of Clady and Donnygowen, had an estimated area of 10 acres.

2011 Census

On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 538 people living in Clady, of which: * 2.2% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion and 97.6% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion;

Sport

*Urney St. Columba's is 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 ...

club.

References

* * {{authority control Villages in County Tyrone Townlands of County Tyrone Civil parish of Urney