Loughinisland ( , ) is a small village 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 ...

in County Down,

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 is between Downpatrick and Ballynahinch, about 21 miles (34 kilometres) south of

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 ...

History

The village of Loughinisland grew up in the townland of Tievenadarragh, beside a lake which has a small island on it. This island was the headquarters of the McCartan clan who were powerful from 11th century to 16th century, ruling over the surrounding territory of

Kinelarty Kinelarty () is a former Irish district and barony in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies east of the centre of the county, and is bordered by five other baronies: Iveagh Upper, Lower Half to the west; Lecale Upper to the south and south-eas ...

.PlaceNames NI
/ref> The village is known for its three churches that were built on this island between the 13th and 17th centuries. Ruins of the churches and a cemetery can still be seen. In addition to its parish churches, in 1836 it was recorded that there was a school in Loughinisland. Again, today, the village is home to a primary school and a Catholic church, both named 'St Macartan's'. Memento Loughinisland

Loughinisland was relatively untouched by

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 ...

. However, on 18 June 1994, it was the scene of the

Loughinisland massacre The Loughinisland massacre O'Brien, Brendan. ''The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin''. Syracuse University Press, 1999. Page 314. took place on 18 June 1994 in the small village of Loughinisland, County Down, Northern Ireland. Members of the ...

, when two members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a

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 ...

paramilitary group, attacked O'Toole's Pub with assault rifles, killing six Catholic civilians and wounding five. That evening, about 24 people had gathered in the pub to watch the television broadcast of the Ireland football team playing in the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States ...

. As the BBC reported on the 18th anniversary in their 2012 articl
''Players wear black armbands in memory of Loughinisland tragedy''
'The FAI said it was "particularly poignant" because the shootings n 1994happened while the victims were watching Ireland vs Italy during World Cup USA.'

Places of interest

Loughinisland Churches The Loughinisland Churches are the remains of three ruined churches in Loughinisland, County Down, Northern Ireland, dating from the 13th to the 17th centuries. They are situated in Tievenadarragh townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; ...

are a group of three ancient ruined churches in a cemetery on the island in Loughinisland Lake, reached by a causeway. The earliest recorded reference is to a parish church on the site in 1306. The Middle Church is the oldest, probably from the 13th century. The large North Church was built in the 15th century, probably to replace the Middle Church, and continued in use until 1720. The smallest is the South (MacCartan's) Church, the elaborately carved west door of which has the date 1636 and initials PMC for Phelim MacCartan. Annadorn (11), October 2009

The ancient monument of

Annadorn Dolmen Annadorn Dolmen is a dolmen sited at the Buck's Head near Loughinisland, in the townland of Annadorn. Nearby you can find the old Annadorn school and post office in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the north-east shore of Loughinisland Lak ...

is on the north east shore of Loughinisland Lake, within sight of the Churches. The

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 some ...

, some 3,500 years old, consists of a slightly displaced capstone covering a rectangular chamber of which three side stones survive. It is thought that it may be the remains of a passage tomb. It was upon the capstone of this monument that Thomas Russell, one of the co-founders of the Society of United Irishmen, stood to urge the people of Loughinisland to join the unsuccessful Emmett Rising of 1803. However whilst hiding in Dublin he was arrested. He was sent to Downpatrick Gaol where he was executed by hanging and was then beheaded, on 21 October 1803. He was 35 years of age. MADDEN(1888) p370 THOMAS RUSSEL

People

Edward Gribben Edward Gribben was a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories. He became a lieutenant-colonel in the Territorial Army between the wars, returning to the RAF in World War II, and rising to the rank of squadron leader. Biography ...

, a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

credited with five aerial victories, was born in Loughinisland. * Emma Rogan, a Sinn Féin member of the Northern Ireland Assembly since June 2017, is from Loughinisland

Sport

Loughinisland Gaelic Football Club has won the Down GAA Senior Football Championship on two occasions; 1975 and 1989. As well as a Down GAA Intermediate Football Championship and Ulster Intermediate Football Championship in 2015. Players from the club have won Senior All Ireland Gaelic Football Championships with Down in 1960, 1991 & 1994.

Civil parish of Loughinisland

The civil parish is 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 ...

and contains the following villages: *Loughinisland * Clough * Seaforde

Townlands

The civil parish contains the following townlands: * Annadorn * Ardilea * Ardtanagh * Castlenavan * Claragh * Clough * Creeghduff * Cumran * Drumanaghan (also known as Drumulcaw) * Drumanakelly * Drumcaw *

Drumgooland Drumgooland is a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is situated mainly in the historic barony of Iveagh Upper, Lower Half, with one townland in the barony of Iveagh Lower, Lower Half. Settlements The civil parish contains the follo ...

* Drumroad * Drumulcaw (also known as Drumanaghan) * Dunnanew * Dunturk * Farranfad * Knocksticken * Naghan *

Scrib SCRIB, also known as Scribble, SCRIBL, or Scribbled homolog (Drosophila), is a scaffold protein which in humans is encoded by the ''SCRIB'' gene. It was originally isolated in Drosophila melanogaster in a pathway (also known as the Scribble compl ...

* Seaforde Demesne * Seavaghan * Tannaghmore * Tievenadarragh

References

More Images of Loughinisland

St-Macartan's-Loughinisland.jpg St-Macartan's-Interior.jpg St Macartans Modern Graveyard 2012.jpg The-Lake-of-the-Island.jpg Ruined-church-Loughinisland-Lake.jpg Loughinisland Churches, March 2010 (08).JPG Loughinisland Churches, March 2010 (09).JPG Loughinisland Churches cemetery, March 2010 (07).JPG Loughinisland (13), October 2009.JPG Loughinisland (05), October 2009.JPG Loughinisland Lake boathouse, March 2010.JPG

External links

Loughinisland GFC
{{Authority control Villages in County Down