Donaghmore (pronounced ,

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Domhnach Mór'' (great church)) 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 to ...

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 ...

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 ...

, about five kilometres (3 mi) northwest 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 ...

. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,122 people. The village is beside the River Torrent, formerly known as the Torrent Flow.

History

Etymology

The name Donaghmore derives from the Irish words ''Domhnach Mór'', meaning "great church". This however is a shortened form of its original medieval name ''Domhnach Mór Magh Imchlair'' (also spelt ''in Clair''), the "great church in the plain of Imchlair", referring to the territory of the Fir Imchlair in which it lay. It was according to the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick founded by the saint for the Fir Imchlair.

The Troubles

For more information see The Troubles in Donaghmore, which includes a list of incidents in Donaghmore during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.

Demography

19th century population

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

21st century population

Donaghmore is classified as a Small Village by th
NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)
(i.e. with population between 500 and 1,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 947 people living in Donaghmore. Of these: *26.0% were aged under 16 years and 14.3% were aged 60 and over *46.6% of the population were male and 53.4% were female *89.2% 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 10.4% were from 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 ...

background For more details see
NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Places of interest

*Donaghmore Heritage Centre is a converted National School (1885) which preserves photographs, old school roll books, land registration ledgers, documents and artifacts of local interest. *The village also features a

high cross A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval traditi ...

which is six metres tall. It is one of

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 King ...

's finest early christian monuments. It is a composite of two crosses. The upper shaft and head dates from the 9th century. The composite cross is said to have been thrown down in the 17th century. It was discovered buried in the Torrent river and re-erected in 1776. *A stone pillar stands in the old graveyard to the memory of

Hugh O'Neill, 3rd Earl of Tyrone Hugh O'Neill ( Irish: ''Aodh Mór Ó Néill''; literally ''Hugh The Great O'Neill''; – 20 July 1616), was an Irish Gaelic lord, Earl of Tyrone (known as the Great Earl) and was later created ''The Ó Néill Mór'', Chief of the Name. O'Nei ...

, erected by one of his descendants. *The Rotharlann is unused currently, but it was busy in its heyday in the mid-1980s. Used mainly by the local cyclists, it also hosted discos that attracted youngsters from all over the country and was a local hot spot for "other" activities. A small campaign is gathering momentum to get the hall restored to its former glories. *Torrent Complex A complex of buildings where most activities take place such as GAA and more

Famous locals

Malachi Cush Malachi Cush, also recording as Malachi, (born 23 September 1980), is an Irish singer-songwriter from Donaghmore, a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Coming from a large musical family, he started singing and playing Irish tradi ...

, singer *

Niall McGinn Niall McGinn (born 20 July 1987) is a Northern Irish professional footballer, who plays for Scottish Championship club Dundee. McGinn has also played for Dungannon Swifts, Derry City, Celtic, Brentford, Aberdeen (two spells) and South Korea ...

, winger for

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and Northern Ireland *

James Dilworth James Dilworth (15 August 1815 – 23 December 1894) was a New Zealand farmer, investor, speculator and philanthropist. He was born in Donaghmore, County Tyrone, Ireland, on 15 August 1815 and attended the nearby Royal School, Dungannon, where ...

, farmer, investor, speculator and philanthropist

Sport

* Donaghmore St. Patrick's is the local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

club. * St Joseph's Grammar School have won 2 Nolan Cup and 1 Mallon Cup in Ulster College GAA. They won their first Ulster title (Nolan Cup) in the 2010 and their second in 2013 and in the same year won the Mallon Cup In u14's * Donaghmore F.C. is the local football club and play in the Mid-Ulster Division 1

Donaghmore 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 ...

Dungannon Middle Dungannon Middle (named after Dungannon town) is a barony in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It was created in 1851 with the splitting of the barony of Dungannon. It is bordered by Lough Neagh to the east and six other baronies: Dungannon Upper ...

and the

of Donaghmore and covers an area of 91 acres. The population of the townland increased slightly during the 19th century: In 1891, the village of Donaghmore, which stands in the townland of the same name, had an estimated area of 13 acres.

References

External links

Donaghmore Living History
{{authority control Villages in County Tyrone Civil parishes of County Tyrone Townlands of County Tyrone Barony of Dungannon Middle