Donaghmore (pronounced , Irish: ''Domhnach Mór'' (great church)) is a

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 ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

, about five kilometres (3 mi) north-west 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 16,282 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2021 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Counci ...

. 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 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 ...

background and 10.4% were from a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

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 (, , ) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval tradition in Ireland and Britain of raising large sculpted stone crosses, usually outdoors. Th ...

which is six metres tall. It is one of

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

'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. The west face of the cross has Old Testament scenes while the east face has a crucifixion scene and New Testament scenes on the shaft. *A stone pillar stands in the old graveyard to the memory of

Hugh O'Neill, 3rd Earl of Tyrone Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of ''Hugo (name), Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name, given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...

, 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

Notable people

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 association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward. McGinn has also played for Dungannon Swifts F.C., Dungannon Swifts, Derry City F.C., Derr ...

, winger for

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

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; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

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 Uppe ...

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