Coalisland () is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, with a population of 5,682 in the 2011 Census. Four miles from Lough Neagh, it was formerly a centre for

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...

History

Origins

In the late 17th century coal deposits were discovered in East Tyrone. While it was possible to exploit these resources, the difficulty was getting the coal to market in Dublin. In 1744 work began on the

Coalisland Canal Coalisland Canal (sometimes known as The Tyrone Navigation) is a canal in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Construction of the canal began in 1733, but progress was slow and it was not officially opened until 1787. The canal was built to redu ...

linking the coalfields to Lough Neagh. The town grew up around the canal workings.

Twentieth century

On 24 August 1968, the

Campaign for Social Justice The Campaign for Social Justice (CSJ) was an organisation based in 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 th ...

(CSJ), the

Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association ) was an organisation that campaigned for civil rights in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in Belfast on 9 April 1967,

(NICRA), among others, held the first civil rights march in Northern Ireland. The march went from Coalisland to

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in t ...

The Troubles

The town has traditionally been viewed as an IRA stronghold throughout the twentieth century, with deep and enduring links to republicanism in the vicinity. From

1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

, a total of 20 people were shot in or near Coalisland during the Troubles. The

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 Gur ...

killed a total of eight people, seven of whom were

Provisional Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

members and one a Catholic civilian, and the IRA in turn killed five British soldiers, three

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 ...

policemen, one ex- Ulster Defence Regiment soldier, and two Catholic civilians, all in separate incidents. The

Ulster Volunteer Force The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) is an Ulster loyalist paramilitary group. Formed in 1965, it first emerged in 1966. Its first leader was Gusty Spence, a former British Army soldier from Northern Ireland. The group undertook an armed campai ...

was responsible for the murder of a Catholic civilian in the nearby town of Aughamullan.

Transport

The town was served by a canal (the

or Tyrone Navigation), although this is now derelict. A campaign for its restoration is underway. Coalisland railway station was opened on 28 July 1897, closed for passenger traffic on 16 January 1956 and for goods traffic on 5 October 1959, finally closing altogether on 1 April 1965. There are no remains of the railway other than the bridge on the Derry Road and an old goods shed and grown over platforms. Daily bus services operated by Ulsterbus go through the town.

Arts and culture

The Craic Theatre and Arts Centre is a performing arts venue built on the site of an old weaving factory. Each year it provides opportunities and entertainment for people of the area, through its in-house company Craic Players. It has a youth theatre programme for children and young people aged 4 – 18. It also offers professional touring companies the opportunity to stage shows, concerts and workshops.

Education

*Gaelscoil Uí Néill *Primate Dixon Primary School *St John's Primary School * St Joseph's High School

Sport

* Coalisland Na Fianna is the local Gaelic Athletic Association club.

Demography

19th century population

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

Census 2011

On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 5,682 people living in Coalisland. Of these: *25.5% were aged under 16 years and 10.0% were aged 65 and over *49.1% of the population were male and 50.9% were female *93.8% were from 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 ...

background and 4.7% were from a Protestant or other Christian background *7.2% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

People

Denis Haughey Denis Haughey (born 3 October 1944) is a former Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland. Born in Coalisland, Haughey studied politics at Queens University, Belfast,

(b. 1944) – politician, founding member of

SDLP The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Irelan ...

Dennis Taylor Dennis Taylor (born 19 January 1949) is a Northern Irish retired professional snooker player and current commentator. He is best known for winning the 1985 World Snooker Championship, where he defeated the defending champion Steve Davis in a ...

(b. 1949) – 1985 Snooker World Champion * Michelle O'Neill (b. 1977) – Sinn Féin politician * Nathan Rafferty (b.2000) Professional PDC darts player

References

{{authority control Towns in County Tyrone