Caledon () is a small

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and

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 ...

(of 232 acres) in

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It is in the Clogher Valley on the banks of the River Blackwater, 10 km from

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

. It lies in the southeast of Tyrone and near the borders of

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

and

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

. It 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 ...

of Dungannon Lower and the

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Aghaloo. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 387 people. It is a designated conservation area. It was historically known as Kinnaird. ( Irish: ''Cionn Aird'', meaning "head/top of the height or hill".)

History

The old settlement of Kinard was burned in 1608 by the forces of Sir

Cahir O'Doherty Sir Cahir O'Doherty ( or ; 1587 – 5 July 1608) was the last Gaelic Irish chief of the O'Doherty clan, who in 1608 launched a failed rebellion against the English crown. O'Doherty was the eldest son of clan chief John O'Doherty, ruler of ...

during O'Doherty's Rebellion. Sir Henry Óg O'Neill, the main local landowner, was killed by the rebels. In 1967 the Gildernew family, began a protest about discrimination in housing allocation by 'squatting' (illegally occupying) in a house in Caledon. The house had been allocated by Dungannon Rural District Council to a 19-year-old unmarried

Ulster Protestant Ulster Protestants are an ethnoreligious group in the Irish province of Ulster, where they make up about 43.5% of the population. Most Ulster Protestants are descendants of settlers who arrived from Britain in the early 17th century Ulster Pl ...

woman, Emily Beattie, who was the secretary of a local

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

politician. Beattie was given the house ahead of older married

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

families with children. The protesters were evicted by officers of the

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the ...

, one of whom was Beattie's brother. The next day, the annual conference of the Nationalist Party unanimously approved of the protest action by Currie.

Caledon House

Caledon House was built in 1779 by James Alexander, a member of the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

for Londonderry, who had previously in 1778 bought the Caledon Estate. James Alexander was made Baron Caledon in 1790 and later Viscount Caledon in 1797. The House was begun in 1779 to designs by Thomas Cooley, but altered by John Nash in 1808–10.

Transport

Caledon railway station (on the narrow gauge Clogher Valley Railway) opened on 2 May 1887, but finally closed on 1 January 1942. Tynan and Caledon railway station on the mainline opened by the

Ulster Railway The Ulster Railway was a railway company operating in Ulster, Ireland. The company was incorporated in 1836 and merged with two other railway companies in 1876 to form the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). History The Ulster Railway was au ...

on 25 May 1858. In 1876 the Ulster Railway merged with other railway companies to become the

Great Northern Railway (Ireland) The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I), GNRI or simply GNR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway (INW), Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. Th ...

. The station was finally closed on 1 October 1957.

Education

Local schools include Churchill Primary School and St. Joseph's Primary School.

Demography

19th century population

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

21st century population

On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 387 people living in Caledon. Of these: *31.0% were under 16 years old and 16.2% were aged 60 and over; *47.9% of the population were male and 52.1% were female; *35.1% were from a Catholic community background *60.0% were from a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' community background.

Caledon townland

The village of Caledon is in a

of the same name. The townland is situated in the historic

of Dungannon Lower and the

of Aghaloo and covers an area of 232 acres. The population of the townland declined during the 19th century: The townland contains one Scheduled Historic Monument: a

Beam engine A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead Beam (structure), beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used b ...

(grid ref: H7581 4521).

People

* The village is home to the 7th Earl of Caledon and the Alexander family; previously, the village was home to Sir Felim O'Neill, the leader of the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

. *

John Foster McCreight John Foster McCreight, (1827 – 18 November 1913) was a jurist and the first premier of British Columbia. Early life McCreight was born in Caledon, County Tyrone, Ireland, to a well-established and well-connected family. After completing l ...

(1827–1913) was a jurist and the first

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

of the

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. He was born in Caledon to a well-established and well-connected family. * Brian McCoy (1942–1975), was a trumpet player with the Miami Showband. McCoy was one of the three band members killed when the group was ambushed at a bogus military checkpoint outside Newry by the Glenanne gang, an outfit composed of loyalist paramilitary, RUC officers, and members of the British military and security services. * Carla O'Brien, senior journalist with

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. She was previously a principal dancer with ''

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions J ...

''.

References

External links

Caledon Village website

{{authority control Villages in County Tyrone Townlands of County Tyrone Civil parish of Aghaloo