Dromore, County Tyrone
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Dromore () is a village,
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 ...
and
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 ...
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 nine miles (15 km) south west of
Omagh Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. North ...
on the A32 and sixteen miles (26 km) from
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 ...
. The population of Dromore was 1,198 at the 2011 Census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th
Open Government Licence v3.0
© Crown copyright.


History

The town was originally built in 1757 when the then Lord of the manor, William Hamilton, of Aughlish House gave a grant of the townland of Mullinacross, now called Dromore, to two families - Stewart and Humphreys. The town at that time consisted of only four houses. The original name of the townland is derived from an ancient stone cross which formerly stood on the top of the hill overlooking the town, and near to where the
Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...
was located. This abbey which was destroyed by a fire in 1690 is said to have been built on the site of a nunnery founded by
Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...
for Saint Cettumbria, the first Irish female who received the veil from his hands. In the village, still to be seen, are the ivy-clad remains of a
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
church built in 1694. During the
Irish Rebellion of 1798 The Irish Rebellion of 1798 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1798; Ulster-Scots: ''The Hurries'') was a major uprising against British rule in Ireland. The main organising force was the Society of United Irishmen, a republican revolutionary group influence ...
, when Lord Blayney came to Tyrone, as Dromore was principally inhabited by rebels, he set it on fire and burned some of the houses, but owing to the exertions of Captain Charles Muirhead, Lieutenant James Alexander and the Rev. Benjamin Marshall the balance of the town was saved from destruction. In the area around Dromore are to be found a number of ancient earthen forts. At Dullaghan about four miles to the northwest is a Druid's Altar - a small roofless chamber tomb. A tannery was known to have existed in the village. In the Dromore Parish at least nine locations of Mass Rocks are known. During the times of the Penal Laws certain "Mass Gardens" were located in the district where the local parishioners met in seclusion to celebrate Mass. It is said that Lord Belmore, who owned considerable property around Dromore, was so impressed with the devotion of the congregation at one of these gatherings, which he came across one day by chance, that he made available a piece of ground for the erection of a church with a condition that the Chapel could not be seen from the village. Hence St Dympnas Chapel was built in a hollow. St Davogs chapel built in 1987 is where the
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 ...
Church of Dromore now stands. In April 1921, 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 ...
, 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 ...
(IRA) ambushed
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 ...
(RIC) patrols in the area. On the night of 6–7 April, an RIC sergeant shot and wounded a Catholic girl on the main street in a sectarian attack. He was then shot dead by the girl's brother, an IRA volunteer. In reprisal, Special Constables took three local IRA volunteers from their homes and summarily executed them, dumping their bodies by the roadside.


Townlands of Dromore

Early Irish ancestors gave us the vast bulk of the local placenames we use to this day, especially our townland names. The words in Irish for hill (druim, cnoc, cor, iomaire, mullan, tulach) predominate. The name "Dromore" (Droim Mor) itself means "the great ridge". The word "meen" (found in Meenagowan and Meenagar) shows the wet, healthy nature of much of the land. Dromore parish consists of over sixty townlands; roughly elliptical in shape, it is bounded on the north by
Drumquin Drumquin (Irish: ''Droim Caoin'' (Pleasant ridge).) is a small village and townland (of 398 acres) in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies between Omagh and Castlederg, on the banks of the Drumquin River (Fairywater). It is situated in the ci ...
, on the south by
Trillick Trillick () is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 2,439 people in the 2011 Census. Trillick is in the Civil Parish of Kilskeery, Barony of Omagh East. It is located within the Diocese of Clogher (both R ...
, on the west by
Ederney Ederney () is a village situated primarily in the townlands of Drumkeen and of Ederny in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. At the 2011 Census it had a population of 587. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available ...
and on the east by
Omagh Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. North ...
and
Fintona Fintona (; ), is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Its population at the 2011 Census was 1,164. Name and etymology Fintona is derived phonetically from the Irish name of the area, ''Fionntamhnach''; this is often trans ...
. Nowadays, townland names in particular are under threat owing to a new computerised system of addresses for rural homes, a system suited to areas in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
where townlands do not exist. Roads are now to be given arbitrary names by administrators who do not possess a deep knowledge of the area, attaching arbitrary house numbers to them. For example, the former Corbally Road is to be known as 'St. Dympnas Road', on the specious argument that St. Dympna's Catholic Church is situated near it. This inevitably has met considerable opposition with local residents who value of these ancient names as badges of personal identification, and many will continue to use them to preserve the ancient names for future generations and residents.


Demography


19th century population

The population of Dromore village increased slightly overall during the 19th century:


21st century population

Dromore is classified as a village by the
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA, ga, Gníomhaireacht Thuaisceart Éireann um Staitisticí agus Taighde, links=no) is an executive agency within the Department of Finance (Northern Ireland), Department of Finance in No ...
(NISRA) (i.e. with population between 1,000 and 2,499 people). On Census Day (27 March 2011) the usually resident population of Dromore Settlement was 1,198, accounting for 0.07% of the NI total. Of these: *23.96% were aged under 16 years and 13.44% were aged 65 and over *48.58% of the population were male and 51.42% were female *85.89% 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 11.44% were from a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' background


Sport

*
Dromore St. Dympna's Dromore St Dympna's is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the village of Dromore in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. History The club was established in 1933. On Sunday 14 October 2007, Dromore made history by winning the Tyrone Sen ...
is the local GAA club. *Tummery Athletic is the local
Soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club. * Dromore Ladies GFC Gaelic Football Club


Dromore townland

The townland 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
Omagh East Omagh East (named after Omagh town) is a barony in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is bordered by nine other baronies: Omagh West and Lurg to the west; Strabane Lower and Strabane Upper to the north; Dungannon Middle and Dungannon Upper to ...
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 Dromore and covers an area of 157 acres. The population of the townland (excluding Dromore village) declined during the 19th century:


Climate

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/
Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
).Climate Summary for Dromore
/ref>


See also

* Abbeys and priories in Northern Ireland (County Tyrone) * St. John's Business and Enterprise College *
List of civil parishes of County Tyrone In Ireland Counties are divided into civil parishes and parishes are further divided into townlands. The following is a list of parishes in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland: __NOTOC__ A Aghaloo, Aghalurcher, Arboe, Ardstraw, Artrea B Ball ...
*
List of townlands of County Tyrone This is a sortable table of the approximately 2,162 townlands in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.Irish Placenames Database
Retrie ...


References


Omagh District Council


External links


Dromore Parish Website
{{authority control Villages in County Tyrone Civil parishes of County Tyrone Townlands of County Tyrone Barony of Omagh East