Ederny

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Coordinates: 54°31′57″N 7°39′31″W / 54.5325°N 7.6585°W / 54.5325; -7.6585
Ederny
Irish: Eadarnaidh
Ederny

 Ederny shown within Northern Ireland
Population 554 (2001 Census)
Irish grid reference H221649
    - Belfast  83 miles 
District Fermanagh
County County Fermanagh
Country Northern Ireland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town ENNISKILLEN
Postcode district BT93
Dialling code 028, +44 28
EU Parliament Northern Ireland
UK Parliament Fermanagh and South Tyrone
NI Assembly Fermanagh and South Tyrone
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Fermanagh

Ederny[1][2] or Ederney (from Irish: Eadarnaidh, meaning "middle-place")[1][2] is a small village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 554. Ederny lies in the Glendarragh River Valley close to Lower Lough Erne and Kesh. It is 83 miles (134 km) from Belfast, over 100 miles (160 km) from Dublin and about 16 miles from both Omagh and Enniskillen. Ederny and its hinterland (the Glendarragh Valley area) boast a population of several thousand.[3]

Public transport

Ulsterbus route 194 serves Ederny with one daily journey in each direction except Sundays, linking it to Irvinestown, Enniskillen and Pettigo. Route 83A provides a link to Omagh on Mondays & Thursdays only.[4]

History

Local historian Leo Mulligan MBE details that at the time of the Plantation there was a settlement of significance at Ederny when the land grant (titled "Edernagh") was given to Captain Thomas Blennerhassett of Norfolk in 1610. He created the Manor of Edernagh on a 450 acres (1.8 km2) demesne and a court baron on the shores of Lough Erne, which he later named Castle Hassett. He also established the new village of Ederny (Edernagh).[2][5][6] By 1797, the settlement is recorded in the Topographia Hibernica as Ederny Bridge and "fair days" were held there.[3][7]

Local attractions

Glendarragh Valley Inn is stated as providing hotel style accommodation, bed & breakfast and fine dining in a large award winning licensed restaurant. The Inn is conveniently positioned geographically for tourists to take advantage of the stunning scenery of the Glendarragh River Valley and the Fermanagh Erne Lakelands with its lakes, tree covered landscapes and islands including many monuments and a wealth of wildlife.[8][9]

One of the principal buildings in the village is Ederny Townhall or Ederny Market House as it was first known, was established about 1839 under the instruction Rev.Wm West and was designed by the renowned Dublin-based architect, W D Butler. Originally, there were three bays on the ground floor which housed an open arcade. An upper floor was often used as a hall for social events as well as a school classroom. During a reconstruction in the late 1880s, the open arches were built-up and the building modernised into a two-storey three-bay building.[10]

Ederny Townhall
Some of the standing stones at Drumskinny, Ederny

The main front has a single large arch flanked by small windows at the ground floor and three windows at the upper floor. There is a simple pediment with a circular plaque which now houses the village clock. The side elevation has a single large arch at the lower level and a fine Venetian window at the upper level. In the early part of the 20th century the ground floor was still in use as a market place before being leased to Gracey’s of Enniskillen for an egg packaging depot. The upper floor was used for various uses from the late 1880s to the middle of the 1990s as a school classroom and as theatre and entertainment venue and was the location for Ederny’s first cinema. A separate first floor room was used for meetings by the Masonic lodge. By the late 1980s, the building had become an eyesore having been mostly derelict for several decades. It was taken over by Fermanagh District Council and redeveloped for community use following some local lobbying. Today it is fully operational as a village community centre accommodating for and providing facilities and services for the community.[3]

Another interesting landmark is Drumskinny stone circle. Drumskinny (from Irish Droim Scine, meaning "knife ridge") is the site of a stone circle in the townland of Drumskinny, near Ederny.[11] The historic site is easily accessed and consists of 39 stones set in a circle. The arrangement is supposed to be related to the seasons, moon and sun. The site dates from the Bronze Age.[12][13]

Notable people

  • Michael Barrett (the last man to be publicly hanged in Britain)[14]
  • Father Joe McVeigh (priest and civil rights activist)[15]

2001 Census

Ederny is classified as a small village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 500 and 1,000). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 554 people living in Ederny. Of these:

  • 25.3% were aged under 16 years and 16.8% were aged 60 and over
  • 51.8% of the population were male and 48.2% were female
  • 84.8% were from a Catholic background and 14.4% were from a Protestant background
  • 9.4% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

See also

  • Market Houses in Northern Ireland

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Placenames Database of Ireland - Ederny
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Placenames NI: Ederny
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 History of Ederney
  4. ↑ http://www.translink.co.uk/Services/Ulsterbus-Service-Page/
  5. ↑ Names in the Land Grants in Northern Ireland p277
  6. ↑ Thomas Blennerhassett
  7. ↑ Topographia Hibernica 1797
  8. ↑ Glendarragh Valley Inn
  9. ↑ Ederney Community Development Limited
  10. ↑ A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland by Samuel Lewis
  11. ↑ (3)/ Logainm Place Names Database - Drumskinny
  12. ↑ History of Ederney
  13. ↑ Environment and Heritage Service NI - State care Historic Monuments. Retrieved 2007-09-16.
  14. ↑ Hickey, D.J. & Doherty, J.E., A Dictionary of Irish History, page 26. Gill and Macmillan, Dublin, 1980. ISBN 0-7171-1567-4
  15. ↑ McVeigh, Joe. Taking a Stand: Memoir of an Irish Priest. Mercier Press, 2009. ISBN 1-85635-593-4

External links

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