Lislea ( , ) 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 ...

near

Slieve Gullion Slieve Gullion ( or ''Sliabh Cuilinn'', "Culann's mountain") is a mountain in the south of County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The mountain is the heart of the Ring of Gullion and is the highest point in the county, with an elevation of . At the ...

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 ...

, Northern Ireland. It is within the civil parish of Killevy and the historic barony of

Orior Upper Orior Upper (from ga, Airthir, the name of an ancient Gaelic territory) is a barony in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies in the south-east of the county and borders the Republic of Ireland with its southern boundary. It is bordered by ...

. Today it is within the

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (Irish: ''Comhairle Ceantair an Iúir, Mhúrn agus an Dúin'') is a local authority in Northern Ireland that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaces Down District Council and Newry and Mourne District ...

area. It borders the townlands of Ballard, Carricnagalliagh, Aghmakane, Duburren and Drumilly. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 84 people.

History

Lislea, along with the rest of South Armagh, would have been transferred to the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

had the recommendations of the

Irish Boundary Commission The Irish Boundary Commission () met in 1924–25 to decide on the precise delineation of the border between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, which ended the Irish War of Independence, provided for such a c ...

been enacted in 1925. On 18 May 1984, two 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 ...

were killed in a

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 ...

land mine attack.

Places of interest

At the centre of the village is the Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart.

Ballykeel Dolmen Ballykeel Dolmen is a neolithic tripod portal tomb and a State Care Historic Monument at the foot of the western flank of Slieve Gullion, above a tributary of the Forkhill river, in the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area, at grid ref: ...

, an ancient

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

on the Ballykeel Road, lies just outside the village. The Callan Valley river also flows through the heart of Lislea and is popular for its viewing points. There is also the premises of the former Lislea School and Post Office, as well as the site of the former Lislea linen mill which was built by Thomas Wynne.

Arts

A Drama Festival is held in the Old School House Theatre each year. It was founded in 1981 by Eugene Hannaway and has been held every year since. The Lislea Dramatic Players have won awards at many competitions. Every two years, Lislea hosts a three-week concert called the Townland Concerts. Every concert is hosted by a specific townland/s. The townlands are grouped as so: (1) Clarkhill, Levelamore, Carricknagallian, Doctor's Quarters and Longfield. (2) the Townland of Lislea (3) Anacloughmullion

References

Villages in County Armagh Townlands of County Armagh {{Armagh-geo-stub

History

Places of interest

Arts

See also

References