Drumlish () is a village in
County Longford
County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. It is on the
R198 road north of
Longford Town
Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of I ...
, close to the border with
County Leitrim
County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...
.
History
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of
ringfort
Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...
sites in Drumlish and its surrounding
townland
A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
s. The remains of a
portal tomb
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 Late Neolithic period (40003000 BCE) and ...
, known as the Melkagh Dolmen, lie approximately 2 km north of the village.
In 1621, King
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
* James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
* James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
* James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334†...
granted
Sir George Calvert two tracts of land in the
plantation of Longford, one around "Ulfeed" (now Elfeet near
Newtowncashel
Newtowncashel () is a village located near Lough Ree in County Longford, Ireland. Newtowncashel won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition in 1980.
History Name
Situated on the north-eastern shore of Lough Ree on the River Shannon, Newtowncashe ...
) and the other around "Dromlish" (corresponding to the modern townlands of Drumlish, Barragh Beg, Barragh More, Derawley, Greagh, Cartrongolan, Oghil, and Enybegs
). The tracts comprised the
manor of Ulfeed with Calvert as
lord of the manor
Lord of the manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...
.
In 1625 the Drumlish tract was separated from Ulfeed into the manor of Baltimore, and Calvert was promoted to the
Peerage of Ireland
The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...
, taking the title
Baron Baltimore
Baron Baltimore, of Baltimore, County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1625 and ended in 1771, upon the death of its sixth-generation male heir, aged 40. Holders of the title were usually known as Lord Baltimo ...
after the manor.
He later sold the land without having planted any English settlers there.
Close to the village of Drumlish is a late-18th to early-19th century mill complex, which operated as a corn milling business until the 1950s. Within the village is a monument to a local
Land War
The Land War () was a period of agrarian agitation in rural History of Ireland (1801–1923), Ireland (then wholly part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom) that began in 1879. It may refer specifically to the firs ...
resistance movement which, in 1881, successfully prevented the forced eviction of a number local tenants.
The village has grown in population significantly from the late 20th to the early 21st century, with an increase from 275 inhabitants as of the 1991 census to 429 by the 2006 census, and doubling again to 931 people as of the
2016 census.
Amenities
Businesses in Drumlish serve the surrounding hinterland, and there are a number of shops, a
Garda station, post office, and other services. The local Roman Catholic church, St Mary's, was built in 1907. Drumlish
national (primary) school, also named St Mary's, had an enrollment of more than 200 pupils as of 2019.
A music festival, the "Marquee in Drumlish", has been held annually in the village since 2009 and has hosted acts such as
Nathan Carter
Nathan Kane Tyrone Carter (born 28 May 1990) is a British-born Irish country music singer based in the UK and Ireland. He Nathan Carter discography, has released thirteen studio albums and six live albums as of December 2022, five of which pea ...
,
Ray Lynam,
Mundy,
Sharon Shannon
Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and Diatonic button accordion, melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, ''Sharon Shann ...
, and
Damien Dempsey
Damien Dempsey (born 9 June 1975) is an Irish singer and songwriter who mixes traditional Irish folk contemporary lyrics that deliver social and political commentaries on Irish society. Damien sings in his native, working-class accent in the Eng ...
.
Transport
Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...
route 463 (
Carrigallen–
Longford
Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of ...
) serves Drumlish on Mondays.
The nearest rail services are from
Longford railway station
Longford Railway Station serves the town of Longford in County Longford, Ireland.
Longford is the terminus of Iarnród Éireann's Dublin Connolly–Longford Commuter service, and is also a stop on the Dublin Connolly–Sligo InterCity service. ...
. There is a
Local Link bus service to Longford town.
Notable residents
*
Eddie Bohan, former senator
*
Declan Nerney, singer-songwriter
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
{{County Longford
Towns and villages in County Longford
Calvert family residences