| Enniskillen | |
| Scots: Inniskillin[1] | |
| Irish: Inis Ceithleann | |
Enniskillen from the air (2005) |
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Enniskillen
Enniskillen shown within Northern Ireland |
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| Population | 13,599 (2001 Census) |
|---|---|
| Irish grid reference | H240440 |
| - Belfast | 88 miles (142 km) |
| District | Fermanagh |
| County | County Fermanagh |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | ENNISKILLEN |
| Postcode district | BT74, BT92-94 |
| Dialling code | 028 |
| Police | Northern Ireland |
| Fire | Northern Ireland |
| Ambulance | Northern Ireland |
| EU Parliament | Northern Ireland |
| NI Assembly | Fermanagh and South Tyrone |
| Website | www.enniskillen.com |
| List of places: UK • Northern Ireland • Fermanagh | |
Enniskillen (from Irish: Inis Ceithleann meaning "Ceithlenn's island") is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census. It is also the seat of local government for Fermanagh District Council, and is also the county town of Fermanagh as well as its largest town.
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The town's name comes from the Irish: Inis Ceithleann. This refers to Cethlenn, a figure in Irish mythology who may have been a goddess. It has been said that Ceithlenn got wounded in battle by an arrow and attempted to swim across the river but she never reached the other side. It has been anglicised many ways over the centuries — Iniskellen, Iniskellin, Iniskillin, Iniskillen, Inishkellen, Inishkellin, Inishkillin, Inishkillen, and so on.[2]
The town's oldest building is the Maguire's stone castle, built by Hugh the Hospitable who died in 1428.[3] An earthwork, the Skonce on the lough shore, may be the remains of an earlier motte. The castle was the stronghold of the junior branch of the Maguires.[4] The first water-gate was built around 1580 by Cú Chonnacht Maguire, though subsequent lowering of the level of the lough has left it without water. The strategic position of the castle made it important for the English to capture it in 1593 for their plantation plans which was achieved by a Captain Dowdall. Maguire then laid siege to it and defeated a relieving force at the Battle of the Ford of the Bicuits at Drumane Bridge. Although the defenders were relieved, Maguire was in possession of the castle from 1595–8 and it wasn't till 1607 that it was finally captured by the English.
Enniskillen and Derry were the two garrisons in Ulster that were not wholly loyal to James II, it was the last town to fall before the seige of Derry.
This was part of a wider campaign to bring the province of Ulster under English control; there had been a major siege of Enniskillen Castle in 1594.[3] The Plantation of Ulster followed during which the lands of the native Irish were seized and handed over to planters loyal to the English Crown. The Maguires were supplanted by William Cole, originally from Devon, who was appointed by James I to build an English settlement there.
Captain Cole was installed as Constable and strengthened the castle wall and built a "fair house" on the old foundation as the centrepoint of the county town. The first Protestant parish church was erected on the hilltop in 1627. The Royal Free School of Fermanagh was moved onto the island in 1643. The first bridges were drawbridges and permanent bridges were not installed before 1688.
By 1689 the town had grown significantly. During the conflict which resulted from the ousting of King James II by his Protestant rival, William III, Enniskillen and Derry were the focus of Williamite resistance in Ireland, including the nearby Battle of Newtownbutler.[4]
As a direct result of this conflict Enniskillen developed not only as a market town but also as a garrison, which became home to two regiments.
The current site of Fermanagh College (now part of the South West College) was the former Enniskillen Gaol, many people where tried and hanged here in the square during the times of public execution. Part of the old Gaol is still used by the college.
Enniskillen is the site of the foundation of two British Army regiments:
The town's name (with the archaic spelling) continues to form part of the title to The Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment).
The Remembrance Day Bombing (8 November 1987) was one of the most notable events of The Troubles. Eleven people were killed and hundreds injured as a result of a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb. One further person, Ronnie Hill, died after spending 13 years in a coma. The IRA later claimed that their target was a colour guard of British soldiers. At the same time as the Enniskillen bombing, the IRA also planted a bomb 20 miles away in Tullyhommon, near Pettigo, where the Boys' Brigade and the Girls' Brigade were due to participate in a Remembrance Day service. The bomb failed to detonate, preventing the further loss of innocent life. The Enniskillen bomb is acknowledged by some as a turning point in the Northern Ireland peace process.
For more information see The Troubles in Enniskillen, which includes a list of incidents in Enniskillen during the Troubles resulting in fatalities.
The Irish singer/songwriter Tommy Makem wrote a lighthearted song about the town, "Fare Thee Well, Enniskillen," covered by The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem and The Dubliners.
The Chieftains sing a song that mentions Enniskillen titled "North Amerikay".
Jim Kerr of Simple Minds was so moved by the results of the Enniskillen bombing in 1987 that he wrote new words to the traditional folk song "She Moved Through The Fair" and the group recorded it with the name "Belfast Child". The recording reached #1 in the UK Charts, Ireland and several other countries in 1989. The single was taken from the album "Street Fighting Years" and the single version was also published with the title "Ballad Of The Streets". The video to the song was shot in black and white and displays poignant footage of children and the destruction of the bombing.
The Irish language novel Mo Dhá Mhicí by Séamus Mac Annaidh is set in Enniskillen.
In the concert film of U2's Rattle and Hum, the town is mentioned by name. On the same day that some of the concert footage was being filmed, an IRA bomb killed eleven people at a Remembrance Day ceremony in Enniskillen (see Remembrance Day Bombing). During a performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday", which appears on the film, Bono condemned the violence in a furious mid-song rant in which he yelled, "Fuck the revolution." So powerful was the performance, that the band said they were not sure the song should have been used in the film, and after watching the film, they considered not playing it on future tours. After the film was released, the IRA were furious and threatened to kidnap Bono.
Enniskillen is classified as a "medium town" by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 10,000 and 18,000 people). On census day (29 April 2001) there were 13,599 people living in Enniskillen.
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
As with the rest of the British Isles, Enniskillen experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters. The nearest official Met Office weather station for which online records are available is at Lough Navar Forest,[5] about 8.5 miles North West of Enniskillen. Data has also more recently been collected from Enniskillen Airport/ St Angelo, under 4 miles to the North of the town centre, which should, in time, give a more accurate representation of the climate of the Enniskillen area.
The absolute maximum temperature is 29.8 °C (85.6 °F), recorded during July 2006[6]. In an 'average' year, the warmest day is 25.5 °C (77.9 °F)[7] and only 2.4 days[8] a year should rise to 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above. The respective absolute maximum for St Angelo is 29.4 °C (84.9 °F)[9]
The absolute minimum temperature is −12.9 °C (8.8 °F), recorded during January 1984[10]. In an 'average' year, the coldest night should fall to −8.2 °C (17.2 °F). Lough Navar is a frosty location, with some 76 air frosts recorded in a typical year.[11] It is likely Enniskillen town centre is significantly less frosty than this. The absolute minimum at St Angelo is −14.5 °C (5.9 °F), reported during the record cold month of December 2010.[12]
The warmest month on record at St Angelo was August 1995 with a mean temperature of 18.8 °C (65.8 °F)[13] (mean maximum 23.3 °C (73.9 °F), mean minimum 12.9 °C (55.2 °F), while the coldest month was December 2010, with a mean temperature of −1.8 °C (28.8 °F)[14] (mean maximum 2.9 °C (37.2 °F), mean minimum −5.9 °C (21.4 °F).
Rainfall is high, averaging over 1500mm. 212 days of the year report at least 1mm of precipitation, ranging from 15 days during April, May and June, to 20 days in October, November, December, January and March.
| Climate data for Lough Navar Forest 126m asl 1971-2000, extremes 1960- (Weather station 8.5 miles (14 km) North West of Enniskillen) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 13.0 (55.4) |
15.4 (59.7) |
20.0 (68.0) |
23.2 (73.8) |
26.1 (79.0) |
28.8 (83.8) |
29.8 (85.6) |
28.0 (82.4) |
23.2 (73.8) |
19.5 (67.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
13.8 (56.8) |
29.8 (85.6) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 6.4 (43.5) |
7.0 (44.6) |
8.9 (48.0) |
11.5 (52.7) |
14.5 (58.1) |
16.6 (61.9) |
18.3 (64.9) |
18.1 (64.6) |
15.6 (60.1) |
12.2 (54.0) |
8.8 (47.8) |
7.0 (44.6) |
12.08 (53.74) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 0.3 (32.5) |
0.5 (32.9) |
1.4 (34.5) |
2.2 (36.0) |
4.3 (39.7) |
7.4 (45.3) |
9.7 (49.5) |
9.2 (48.6) |
7.1 (44.8) |
5.1 (41.2) |
2.1 (35.8) |
1.2 (34.2) |
4.21 (39.57) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −12.9 (8.8) |
−10.5 (13.1) |
−11.6 (11.1) |
−7.3 (18.9) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−2.4 (27.7) |
1.0 (33.8) |
0.2 (32.4) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
−7.2 (19.0) |
−8.4 (16.9) |
−12.8 (9.0) |
−12.9 (8.8) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 163.38 (6.4323) |
123.19 (4.85) |
136.81 (5.3862) |
93.85 (3.6949) |
87.4 (3.441) |
93.39 (3.6768) |
101.37 (3.9909) |
117.45 (4.624) |
123.94 (4.8795) |
155.7 (6.13) |
157.26 (6.1913) |
169.1 (6.657) |
1,522.84 (59.9543) |
| Source no. 1: YR.NO[15] | |||||||||||||
| Source no. 2: Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute[16] | |||||||||||||
"The Diamond" is the town square. It is located directly beside the Town Hall.[17][18]
In recent years, Enniskillen has hosted an array of international events, most notably, stages of the World Waterski World Cup annually from 2005 to 2007, at the Broadmeadow.[19] Despite its success, Enniskillen was not chosen as a World Cup Stop for 2008.
Also, a Pro wakeboard competition, 'Wakejam', took place between July 27 and July 29, 2007, where top riders from around the world, as well as local riders, took part in the event, hosted by Erne Wakeboard Club (EWC).
In January 2009, Enniskillen hosted the ceremonial start of Rally Ireland 2009, the first stage of the WRC FIA World Rally Championship 2009 Calendar.
Enniskillen Airport is the host venue for Heli Challenge: The Premier Helicopter Championship]. Heli Challenge is an international competition, which tests the skill of some of the best helicopter pilots from across the British Isles. Enniskillen Airport has hosted Heli Challenge in 2009 & 2010. Heli Challenge will return in August 2011.
May 2009 saw the first International Seaplane Festival take place at the Share Centre in Lisnakea, as part of the Fermanagh Seaplane Festival, 10 Seaplanes from across Europe arrived to celebrate the beauty of the Fermanagh Loughs. The day before the festival a number of planes landed in the town of Enniskillen (Dramatic footage of it can be seen on You Tube).
For the past two years, Enniskillen has played host to the Ireland Horizons Unlimited Travelers Meeting, an event that draws motorcyclists from across the country and across Europe. The 2010 HU Ireland meeting raised £506 for Motorcycle Outreach, through the sale of raffle tickets and the generous donation of prizes.
The following are former or current residents of the town.
There are numerous schools and colleges in and around the Enniskillen area, from primary level to secondary level, including some further education colleges such as the technical college.
Railway lines linked Enniskillen with Derry from 1854, Dundalk from 1861, Bundoran from 1868 and Sligo from 1882.[20] By 1883 the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) absorbed all the lines except the Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway, which remained independent throughout its existence. In October 1957 the Government of Northern Ireland closed the GNR line, which made it impossible for the SL&NCR continue and forced it also to close.[21]
Enniskillen has an extensive bus service; both Ulsterbus and Bus Éireann serve Fermanagh through the main bus station in Enniskillen.
Enniskillen has a World War II-era airport, Enniskillen/St Angelo Airport. The airport had scheduled flights in the past, but now serves mainly private traffic. The town is on the main A4/N16 route linking Belfast and Sligo, and on the main Dublin to Ballyshannon route, the N3/A46/A509.
Enniskillen is twinned with Bielefeld, Germany. Enniskillen was originally twinned with Brackwede – a Bielefeld suburb – where the Inniskillen Dragoon Guards were stationed at the end of World War II; however, this suburb was incorporated into Stadt Bielefeld in 1973, the city with which Enniskillen is now officially twinned.
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