Fivemiletown is a village 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 ...

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. It is 16 miles (26 km) east of

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 ...

and 26 miles (43 km) west-south-west of

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 the ...

, on the A4 Enniskillen-to-Dungannon road. Fivemiletown's population was 1,243 at the 2011 Census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th
Open Government Licence v3.0
© Crown copyright. The village is most famous for its creamery, which was begun as a cooperative in 1898 by Hugh de Fellonburg Montgomery. Fivemiletown Creamery originally made butter and milk, but now makes cheeses for the British and Irish market, and for export across Europe and North America.

Name

Fivemiletown's name comes from its location five

Irish mile Irish measure or plantation measure was a system of units of land measurement used in Ireland from the Plantations of Ireland, 16th century plantations until the 19th century, with residual use into the 20th century. The units were based on "E ...

s (1 Irish mile = 1.27 statute miles = 2044 m) from its nearest neighbours:

Clogher Clogher () is a village and civil parish in the border area of south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 5.8 miles from the border crossing to County Monaghan. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne and ...

, Brookeborough and

Tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

. The original Irish name of the

of Fivemiletown was ''Baile na Lorgan'' - ‘townland of the long ridge’ - anglicised as Ballynalurgan. Previous names for the town of Fivemiletown were Mount Stewart, from Sir William Stewart who founded it in 1619 and Blessingbourn from the name of the nearby residence of Colonel Montgomery, the proprietor of the area in the early 19th century.

History

The

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 ...

ran from

Tynan Tynan (PlaceNamesNI - Tynan
) is a

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 ...

, to

Maguiresbridge Maguiresbridge is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The village is named after the bridge over the Colebrooke River, first built by the local Maguire family about 1760. The village is 8 miles from Enniskillen and 3 miles fr ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

, with Fivemiletown being one of its main stations. The old station house is still one of the landmarks in the village. The trains stopped at the Buttermarket on Main Street and the creamery to be loaded or unloaded with goods. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the growth of road transport made railways almost redundant and when the Northern Ireland Government learned that the Clogher Valley Railway had operated as a loss for 27 years because of growing road transport, it recommended the shutting of the line. The last train ran on the last day of 1941, bringing to an end one of Fivemiletown's most characteristic features.

The Troubles

Incidents in Fivemiletown during

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

resulting in two or more deaths: *12 December 1993 – Andrew Beacom (46) and Ernest Smith (49), both

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 ...

members 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 ...

(RUC) from the RUC base at

, were ambushed and shot dead by members of the

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 republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reun ...

's East Tyrone Brigade while on patrol in their civilian-type car along Main Street after midnight. A British Army

Lynx helicopter The Westland Lynx is a British multi-purpose twin-engined military helicopter designed and built by Westland Helicopters at its factory in Yeovil. Originally intended as a utility craft for both civil and naval usage, military interest led to t ...

received automatic fire while chasing the perpetrators.

Geography

Halfway between Fivemiletown 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 ...

northwest, lies Murley Mountain. This mountain rises to a peak of above sea level and marks the western edge of the Clogher Valley. On the summit is the Lendrums Bridge wind farm, one of the biggest in Northern Ireland, with 20 wind turbines. Another ten are planned for the neighbouring Hunter's Hill. Murley Mountain's location is lonely and exposed, especially to prevailing southwesterly winds. This makes it a prime site for wind-generated power. The River Blackwater runs through counties Tyrone and Armagh, as well as

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 ...

. The source of the Blackwater is to the north of Fivemiletown. There are also several small lakes around the village which draw many anglers.

Transport

*The narrow gauge Clogher Valley Railway ran through the village from 1887 until 1942. The train originally had a top speed of . Fivemiletown railway station opened on 2 May 1887 and was shut on 1 January 1942. *The A4 is the main route into Fermanagh (and on to

County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...

) from the

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

direction. Running from the end of the M1 at Dungannon, the section through the Clogher Valley is the lowest standard on the whole route. While towns and villages along the A4 in Fermanagh were generally bypassed years ago, the A4 runs straight through the middle of three Tyrone villages:

Augher Augher (from ga, Eochair meaning "edge/border") is a small village in south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies just 6 miles to the County Monaghan Border and is 16 miles south of Dungannon. It is situated in the historic barony of Clog ...

, Clogher and Fivemiletown. These are now the only non-bypassed settlements on the road. The largest of these, Fivemiletown, will be bypassed. The village currently has a one-way system to cope with the heavy traffic on the narrow main street, but this stalls long-distance traffic and is a big inconvenience to residents of the village. The new road will be built to 2+1 standard, meaning that there will be one lane in one direction, with two in the opposite direction to permit overtaking. On longer routes, such as this one, the overtaking lane usually alternates giving an overtaking opportunity to traffic in each direction. The scheme will complement a 2+1 scheme completed on the A4 outside Fivemiletown in 2004.

Sport and leisure

*Clogher Valley Golf Club *Clogher Valley Rugby Football Club * Fivemiletown United Football Club

Music

*Cavanaleck Pipe Band *Fivemiletown Accordion Band *Fivemiletown Pipe Band *Murley Silver Band *Pride Of Fivemiletown Flute Band (disbanded) *Fivemiletown Boyne Defenders (disbanded)

Education

* Fivemiletown Nursery School * Fivemiletown College * St. Mary's Primary School * Fivemiletown Primary School * Kids R Us Cross Community Playgroup

Religion

*Aghintaine

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

Church *Aughintaine

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church *Bell

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

Church *Cavanaleck Presbyterian Church *Clogher Valley Free Presbyterian Church *Fivemiletown Independent Methodist Church *Fivemiletown Methodist Church *Kiltermon

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

*St John's Church of Ireland *St Mary's Roman Catholic Church

Demography

Fivemiletown 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 Fivemiletown Settlement was 1,243, accounting for 0.07% of the NI total. Of these: *19.23% were aged under 16 and 18.25% were aged 65 and over *48.75% of the population were male and 51.25% were female *23.17% were from a Catholic background and 72.0% were from a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' background

References

{{authority control Villages in County Tyrone