Mullaghbrack, Mullabrack or Mullaghbrac () is a small

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 ...

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

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

. The village of Mullaghbrack is on the road between

Markethill Markethill is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is beside Gosford Forest Park. It had a population of 1,647 people in the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is availabl ...

and

Hamiltonsbawn Hamiltonsbawn or Hamilton's Bawn is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, five miles (8 km) east of Armagh. It lies within the civil parish of Mullabrack and the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council area. It had a popu ...

, just north of Gosford Forest Park. It had a population of 54 people (24 households) in the 2011 census, down from 75 people as of the 2001 census.

Geography

The

of Mullaghbrack () spans the historic baronies of Fews Lower and

Oneilland West Oneilland West (, the name of an ancient Gaelic district) is a barony in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is also called Clancann (''Clann Chana''), after the Mac Cana clan. It lies in the north of the county on the south-western shore of L ...

in County Armagh. There are at least 43

s in the civil parish, including smaller townlands like Crunaght () and slightly larger townlands like Drumnamether (). Larger settlements in the civil parish include

and

History

In the 5th century, a simple wooden church was built at Mullaghbrack, within the remains of an ancient earthen-ringed fort. This church is associated with the

Culdee The Culdees (; ) were members of ascetic Christian monastic and eremitical communities of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England in the Middle Ages. Appearing first in Ireland and then in Scotland, subsequently attached to cathedral or collegiate ...

Priors of Armagh, who are sometimes regarded as "the successors of

St Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being Brigid of Kildare and Columba ...

". The current

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

church in Mullaghbrack, St. John's Church, was largely rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries on the site of an earlier structure. Among the earliest monuments in the church is a plaque dated to 1638. The area was impacted during 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 ...

. Irish commander Féilim Ó Néill, on his march from

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

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 ...

in 1641, reputedly ordered Mulmory MacDonell "... to kill all the English and Scots within the parishes of Mullebrack, Logilly and Kilcluney". Among the properties destroyed in the Markethill area were the parish churches of Mullaghbrack and Kilcluney, Achesons Castle at Markethill and Hamilton's bawn. The rectors of Mullaghbrack (Reverend Mercer) and

Loughgilly Loughgilly ( ; or ''Loch Goilí'') is a small village, townland and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is on the main Armagh to Newry road, about halfway between the two. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area. I ...

(Reverend Burns) were both killed.

Sport

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 ...

(GAA) club is O'Donovan Rossa's (), founded in 1903 as the Shamrocks; it disappeared in the 1930s but was reformed under its present name in 1953. The high point in the club's history was its winning the

Armagh Junior Football Championship The Armagh Junior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition contested by lower-tier Armagh GAA clubs. The Armagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association has organised it since 1925. The national media covers the co ...

in 1983.

People

Lord William Beresford Lieutenant-Colonel Lord William Leslie de la Poer Beresford (20 July 1847 – 30 December 1900) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that ...

(William Leslie de la Poer Beresford; 1847–1900), born in Mullabrack, received the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

during the

Anglo-Zulu War The Anglo-Zulu War was fought in present-day South Africa from January to early July 1879 between forces of the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom. Two famous battles of the war were the Zulu victory at Battle of Isandlwana, Isandlwana and th ...

References

{{coord, 54.320, -6.530, display=title, region:GB_scale:10000 Villages in County Armagh Townlands of County Armagh Civil parishes of County Armagh