Donaghcloney or Donacloney ()Donaghcloney, Co Down
Placenames NI.Donaghcloney

Placenames Database of Ireland The Placenames Database of Ireland ( ga, Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann), also known as , is a database and archive of place names in Ireland. It was created by Fiontar, Dublin City University in collaboration with the Placenames Branch of ...

. is a

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 ...

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 orig ...

(of 300 acres) 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 authorit ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...

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 the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

. It lies on the

River Lagan The River Lagan (; Ulster Scots: ''Lagan Wattèr'') is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs 53.5 miles (86 km) from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. T ...

between

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...

and Dromore. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 1701. It is colloquially referred to as "The 'Cloney" by locals.

History

Early History

Donaghcloney was reputedly established 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 b ...

whilst travelling from

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

sometime in the 5th Century CE. A parish church was established overlooking the River Lagan, in what is today the village graveyard. One of the first recorded mention of the village's name was in papal registers dated to 1422 as ''Domhnachcluana''. The spelling changed frequently throughout the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, during which time a new bell was installed in the parish church. The parish church suffered damage during the

1641 Rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantation ...

and the Cromwellian campaign in Ireland. During the

Williamite War in Ireland 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 ...

, Donaghcloney was the site of a clash between forces belonging to

Frederick Schomberg Friedrich Hermann von Schönberg, 1st Duke of Schomberg, 1st Count of Mertola, (french: Frédéric-Armand; pt, Armando Frederico; 6 December 1615 – 1 July 1690) was a Marshal of France and a General in the English and Portuguese Army. He was ...

and

King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

. During this battle the parish church bell was thrown into the River Lagan. In the early 1800s it was recovered and installed in a church in nearby

Waringstown Waringstown is a large village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies southeast of Lurgan, within the parish of Donaghcloney, and the barony of Iveagh Lower, Lower Half. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 3,683 people. Over the years, ...

Linen Industry

Donaghcloney is a typical

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

village and has been linked to the Irish linen industry since at least 1742. By 1840 Donaghcloney boasted a large bleaching green which was turning out 8000 pieces of fabric annually. In 1866, William Liddell founded his linen company, headquartered at a new factory in Donaghcloney. William Liddell & Co. became the largest

Jacquard weaving The Jacquard machine () is a device fitted to a loom that simplifies the process of manufacturing textiles with such complex patterns as brocade, damask and matelassé. The resulting ensemble of the loom and Jacquard machine is then called a J ...

company in Ireland. At one point the company also owned a smaller mill at Banoge, on the outskirts of the village. Donaghcloney grew during this time due to the employment created by Liddell's factory as well as his philanthropic efforts. The company provided housing for its workers and in 1877 established the ''Factory Society for the Sick'' to help its employees' families cover funeral costs. It also built a church, a school, and a cricket pitch. By the 1900s the company was the largest producer of Damask Linen in the world and its products were being used in hotels and ocean liners across Europe. Notably, the linen used onboard RMS ''Titanic'' was produced in Donaghcloney. During the First and

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 opposi ...

, Donaghcloney Linen Factory served the war effort through production of airplane coverings, parachute harnesses, bullets, and munitions. In 1973 William Liddell & Co. merged with its long-time rival, William Ewart and Sons (founded in

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 Kingdom ...

in 1814), forming the Ewart Liddell Company. Donaghcloney Linen Factory continued production, and its products were used by

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the business. It became a di ...

Harrods Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to ot ...

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Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founde ...

, the

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Sa ...

, and The Ritz. It also supplied napkins and cushion covers for

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

planes and airport lounges. By 2000, the company's fortunes had changed and the Donaghcloney Linen Factory was outdated and in need of expensive modernisation. In 2001, it was acquired by the Baird McNutt Group, who closed the Donaghcloney Factory the following year. The factory lay derelict until the early 2010s, when it was demolished leaving only the chimney. File:Former factory gates, Donaghcloney (2) - geograph.org.uk - 3261645.jpg File:Former Ewart Liddell factory, Donaghcloney (2012-1) - geograph.org.uk - 3260731.jpg File:Disused Ewart Liddell Weaving Factory, Donaghcloney. - geograph.org.uk - 1628826.jpg File:Disused Ewart Liddell Weaving Factory, Donaghcloney. - geograph.org.uk - 1627400.jpg File:Disused Ewart Liddell Weaving Factory, Donaghcloney. - geograph.org.uk - 1627454.jpg File:Mill Pond at Ewart Riddell Weaving Factory, Donaghcloney - geograph.org.uk - 1627184.jpg File:Mill Pond at Ewart Liddell Weaving Factory, Donaghcloney. - geograph.org.uk - 1627182.jpg

Amenities & Services

Donaghcloney has a Nisa shop and petrol station, a

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional se ...

, a primary school, a children's' play-park, a

chippy Chippy or Chippie may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Chippy'' (album), an album of songs from a play of the same name. * ''Chippy'' (film), a 2017 Malayalam-language Indian film. * ''Chippy'' (2019 video game), a bullet hell video game de ...

, a

Chinese takeaway A Chinese restaurant is an establishment that serves a Chinese cuisine. Most of them are in the Cantonese style, due to the history of the Chinese diaspora and adapted to local taste preferences, as in the American Chinese cuisine and Canad ...

, an off license, a pharmacist, a hairdresser, a butcher, and a café. Donaghcloney Cricket Pavilion 2009 - geograph

There are

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 ...

, Elim Pentecostal,

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 sec ...

, and

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 n ...

churches as well as a

Gospel Hall Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

, Orange Hall, and a

Royal British Legion The Royal British Legion (RBL), formerly the British Legion, is a British charity providing financial, social and emotional support to members and veterans of the British Armed Forces, their families and dependants, as well as all others in ...

Sport

The village has a history of cricket playing over many generations with the ''Donaghcloney Mill Cricket Club'', founded in 1888. The Club is based in a B2-listed

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

cricket pavilion, located in the grounds of the former factory. ''Donacloney Football Club'', founded in 1890, have two men's teams both playing in the

Mid-Ulster Football League The Daily Mirror Mid-Ulster Football League, or simply referred to as the Mid-Ulster League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 9 divisions. These comprise two intermediate sections: the Intermediate A and Intermed ...

. The club's home pitch is in the village alongside the River Lagan.

Education

''Donaghcloney Primary School'' is the only educational establishment in the village, catering for approximately 280 pupils. It was formed in 1979 to replace three smaller local schools, formerly located at Fortescue, Blackskull, and Liddell. The nearest secondary schools are Banbridge High School,

Banbridge Academy Banbridge Academy is a grammar school in Banbridge, Northern Ireland, founded in 1786. the Principal is Robin McLoughlin, previously a headmaster of Grosvenor Grammar School. Mr McLoughlin succeeded Mr Raymond Pollock (1995-2014). Former head ...

Lurgan Junior High School Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a populatio ...

, and Dromore High School. Looking towards Donaghcloney from the junction of Drumlin Road and the Hall Road - geograph

Transport

Donaghcloney is served by the

Ulsterbus Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink, the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, which als ...

route 56, linking the village with Lurgan and

Banbridge Banbridge ( , ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the civil parish of Seapatrick and the historic barony of Iv ...

. It is situated on the B9 Road, connecting it with nearby Moira, as well as Dromore via the B2 and

and Banbridge via the

A26 A26 or A-26 may refer to: Roads * List of A26 roads Transportation * Douglas A-26 Invader, a light attack bomber built by Douglas * Aero A.26, a Czech reconnaissance aircraft of the 1920s * Focke-Wulf A 26, a German Focke-Wulf aircraft * Blekinge- ...

. The nearest railway stations are Moira and

, both around 6 miles away on the Belfast - Dublin mainline. Until 1956, the nearest station was Mullafernaghan on the Great Northern Railway's line from

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

via

Demographics

Donaghcloney is classified as a small village by th
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)

People

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British C ...

Robin "the Jackal" Jackson, former leader of 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 campaign ...

's (UVF) Mid-Ulster Brigade, was a notable resident of Donaghcloney up until his death of lung cancer at the age of 52 on 30 May 1998. At least fifty killings have been attributed to Jackson, according to Stephen Howe (in the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' magazine) and

David McKittrick David McKittrick (born 1949) is a Belfast-born journalist who has reported on Northern Ireland since 1971. Professional career McKittrick began his career as a reporter for the ''East Antrim Times''. He joined the ''Irish Times'' in 1973 as a r ...

(in his book ''Lost Lives'')."Killing Fields". ''New Statesman''. Stephen Howe. 14 February 2000. Retrieved 2 February 2011 * Bernard McQuirt, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previousl ...

in 1858.

Civil parish of Donaghcloney

The civil parish 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 ...

Iveagh Lower, Upper Half Iveagh Lower, Upper Half is the name of a barony in County Down, Northern Ireland. It was created by 1851 with the division of the barony of Iveagh Lower into two. It is bordered by five other baronies: Iveagh Upper, Lower Half to the south; Iv ...

and contains the following settlements: *Donaghcloney *

Townlands

The civil parish contains the following townlands: * Annaghanoon * Annaghmakeonan * Ballygunaghan * Ballynabragget * Banoge * Corcreeny * Cornreany * Donaghcloney * Lurgantamry * Magherana * Monree * Moygannon * Tullycarn * Tullyherron

References

External links

Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council WebsiteNorthern Ireland Neighbourhood Information ServiceThe Ewart OrganisationEwart Liddell in the 1990s VideoAerial photos of Donaghcloney Linen Factory in 1926
https://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/review-of-the-statistical-classification-and-delineation-of-settlements-march-2015.pdf] {{authority control Civil parish of Donaghcloney, Townlands of County Down Villages in County Down