Enniskillen, County Fermanagh

Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' 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 13,823 at the 2011 Census. Enniskillen Castle was built in the 15th century as a stronghold of the Maguires, before coming under English control in the early 17th century. The castle and town were expanded during the Plantation of Ulster. It was the seat of local government for the former Fermanagh District Council, and is the county town of Fermanagh.

Toponymy

The town's name comes from the ga, Inis Ceithleann. This refers to Cethlenn, a figure in Irish mythology who may have been a goddess. Local legend has it that Cethlenn was wounded in battle by an arrow and attempted to swim across the River Erne, which surrounds the island, but she never reached the other side, so the island was named in reference to her. It has been anglicised many ways over the centuries – ''Iniskellen'', ''Iniskellin'', ''Iniskillin'', ''Iniskillen'', ''Inishkellen'', ''Inishkellin'', ''Inishkillin'', ''Inishkillen'' and so on.

History

The town's oldest building is Enniskillen Castle, built by Hugh (Maguire) the Hospitable who died in 1428. An earthwork, the Skonce on the shore of Lough Erne, may be the remains of an earlier motte. The castle was the stronghold of the junior branch of the Maguires. The first watergate was built around 1580 by Cú Chonnacht Maguire, though subsequent lowering of the level of the lough has left it without water. The strategic position of the castle made its capture important for the English in 1593, to support their plans for the control of Ulster. The castle was besieged three times in 1594–95. The English, led by a Captain Dowdall, captured it in February 1594. Maguire then laid siege to it, and defeated a relieving force at the Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits at Drumane Bridge on the Arney River. Although the defenders were relieved, Maguire gained possession of the castle from 1595 to 1598 and it was not finally captured by the English until 1607.

This was part of a wider campaign to bring the province of Ulster under English control; the final capture of Enniskillen Castle in 1607 was followed by the Plantation of Ulster, during which the lands of the native Irish were seized and handed over to planters loyal to the English Crown. The Maguires were supplanted by William Cole, originally from Devon, who was appointed by James I to build an English settlement there.

Captain Cole was installed as Constable and strengthened the castle wall and built a "fair house" on the old foundation as the centre point of the county town. The first Protestant parish church was erected on the hilltop in 1627. The Royal Free School of Fermanagh was moved onto the island in 1643. The first bridges were drawbridges; permanent bridges were not installed before 1688.

By 1689 the town had grown significantly. During the conflict which resulted from the ousting of King James II by his Protestant rival, William III, Enniskillen and Derry were the focus of Williamite resistance in Ireland, including the nearby Battle of Newtownbutler.

Enniskillen and Derry were the two garrisons in Ulster that were not wholly loyal to James II, and it was the last town to fall before the siege of Derry. As a direct result of this conflict, Enniskillen developed not only as a market town but also as a garrison, which became home to two regiments.

The current site of Fermanagh College (now part of the South West College) was the former Enniskillen Gaol. Many people were tried and hanged in the square during the times of public execution. Part of the old Gaol is still used by the college. Enniskillen Town Hall was designed by William Scott and completed in 1901.

Military history

Enniskillen is the site of the foundation of two British Army regiments:
* Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers
* The Inniskillings (6th Dragoons)

The town's name (with the archaic spelling) continues to form part of the title to The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment). Enniskillen Castle features on the cap badge of both regiments.

The Troubles

Enniskillen was the site of several events during The Troubles, the most notable being the Remembrance Day bombing in which 11 people were killed. Bill Clinton opened The Clinton Centre in 2002 on the site of the bombing. The Provisional Irish Republican Army claimed responsibility for the attack.

Alleged sexual abuse and assault

In 2019, at least nine men reported to the police and the press and said in public forums that, in the 1980s and 90s, when they were children, they were repeatedly molested and raped by a paedophile ring of at least 20 men in the Enniskillen area. Investigations are continuing.

Miscellaneous

* The Enniskillen Dragoon is a famous Irish folk song associated with the Inniskilling Dragoons Regiment. Tommy Makem wrote additional verses and renamed the song Fare Thee Well, Enniskillen.
* The Chieftains sing a song that mentions Enniskillen titled "North Amerikay".
* Jim Kerr of Simple Minds was so moved by the horror of the Enniskillen bombing in 1987 that he wrote new words to the traditional folk song " She Moved Through The Fair" and the group recorded it with the name "Belfast Child". The recording reached No. 1 in the UK Charts, Ireland and several other countries in 1989. The single was taken from the album '' Street Fighting Years''; the single version was released on the "Ballad of the Streets" EP. The video to the song was shot in black and white and displays poignant footage of children and the destruction of the bombing. Similarly, U2 held a concert the same day as the bombing; during a performance of their song "Sunday Bloody Sunday", singer Bono passionately condemned the bombing, stating "fuck the revolution" in his mid-song speech. The footage is included in U2's rockumentary ''Rattle and Hum''.
* Neil Hannon also mentions Enniskillen in his song "Sunrise".
* Bill Fay also mentions Enniskillen in his song ''In Human Hands''.
* The Guardian noted that residential areas including Cooper Crescent and Chanterhill Road - inner suburbs just North of the town centre - were the 'poshest' with much of the fine housing stock located outside of the town centre.
* The Irish language novel ''Mo Dhá Mhicí'' by Séamus Mac Annaidh is set in Enniskillen.

Demography

On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 13,823 people living in Enniskillen (5,733 households), accounting for 0.76% of the NI total and representing an increase of 1.6% on the Census 2001 population of 13,599. Of these:

* 19.76% were aged under 16 years and 15.59% were aged 65 and over;
* 51.80% of the usually resident population were female and 48.20% were male;
* 61.62% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic Christian faith and 33.55% belong to or were brought up in various 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' denominations
* 35.59% indicated that they had a British national identity, 33.77% had an Irish national identity and 30.35% had a Northern Irish national identity (respondents could indicate more than one national identity)
* 39 years was the average (median) age of the population
* 13.03% had some knowledge of Irish (Gaelic) and 3.65% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots

Climate

Enniskillen has a maritime climate with a narrow range of temperatures and rainfall. The nearest official Met Office weather station for which online records are available is at Lough Navar Forest, about northwest of Enniskillen. Data has also more recently been collected from Enniskillen/St Angelo Airport, under north of the town centre, which should in time give a more accurate representation of the climate of the Enniskillen area.

The absolute maximum temperature is , recorded during July 2006. In an 'average' year, the warmest day is and only 2.4 days a year should rise to or above. The respective absolute maximum for St Angelo is

The absolute minimum temperature is , recorded during January 1984. In an 'average' year, the coldest night should fall to . Lough Navar is a frosty location, with some 76 air frosts recorded in a typical year. It is likely that Enniskillen town centre is significantly less frosty than this. The absolute minimum at St Angelo is , reported during the record cold month of December 2010.

The warmest month on record at St Angelo was August 1995 with a mean temperature of (mean maximum , mean minimum , while the coldest month was December 2010, with a mean temperature of (mean maximum , mean minimum .

Rainfall is high, averaging over 1500 mm. 212 days of the year report at least 1 mm of precipitation, ranging from 15 days during April, May and June, to 20 days in October, November, December, January and March.

The Köppen climate classification subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate).

Places of interest

Churches

There are four churches in the town centre. These are:
* St. Macartin's Cathedral (Church of Ireland) - This church dates from 1840. It was built on the site of an earlier Plantation church.
* St. Michael's Church (Catholic) - This church dates from 1875 although an earlier church on the site dates from 1803.
* Enniskillen Methodist Church - This church opened in 1867. It has a Palladian facade.
* Enniskillen Presbyterian Church - The current church was erected in 1897 although there is evidence of a building dating back to 1700.
There are several other churches outside the town centre.

Historic Buildings

Some of these buildings are outside the town.
* Castle Coole