Clogher

For other uses, see Clogher (disambiguation).
Clogher
Irish: Clochar

Cathedral Church of Saint Macartan
Clogher
 Clogher shown within Northern Ireland
Population 308 (2001 Census)
Irish grid referenceH538517
   – Belfast  59 miles 
DistrictDungannon and South Tyrone
CountyCounty Tyrone
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town CLOGHER
Postcode district BT76
Dialling code 028, +44 28
EU Parliament Northern Ireland
UK ParliamentFermanagh and South Tyrone
NI AssemblyFermanagh and South Tyrone
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Tyrone

Coordinates: 54°25′00″N 7°12′00″W / 54.416667°N 7.2°W

Clogher (from Irish: Clochar, meaning "stony place"[1]) is a village and civil parish in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Blackwater, 18 miles (29 km) south of Omagh. It stands on the townlands of Clogher Demesne and Clogher Tenements.[2] The United Kingdom Census of 2001 recorded a population of 309. The civil parish of Clogher covers areas of County Fermanagh as well as County Tyrone.[3]

History

The name Clochar refers to something made of stone ('Cloch' is the Irish word for 'stone' and can be anglicised as 'cloch', 'clogh' or 'clough');[4] probably on the site of the medieval monastery or a nearby ringfort.[5] Archaeological remains from before the 5th century have been found in the vicinity.[5] Clogher is said to have been the location of a gold-covered pagan oracle stone named Cermand Cestach.[6] The story goes that "Cloch-Ór (Golden Stone), may have been a ceremonial or oracle stone (see Cenn Cruaich and Omphalos) originally covered in gold sacred to the druids...given to Mac Cairthinn by an old pagan noble (Cairpre, the father of St Tigernach of Clones), who had harassed him in every possible way until the saint's patient love won the local ruler to the faith."[7] The stone is recorded as being "a curiosity in the porch of the Cathedral of Clogher" in the time of Annalist Cathal Maguire of Fermanagh in the late 15th century.[8] Tighernach of Clones, later succeeded St. Mac Cairthinn as Bishop of Clogher.[9][10]

Clogher has been a religious center since St. Patrick's time and likely before.[11] St. Aedh Mac Cairthinn of Clogher (c. 430–505 AD) an early disciple and companion of Saint Patrick[12] founded a monastery at the site, which later the Synod of Rathbreasail recognised as an episcopal see. The Cathedral Church of Saint Macartan in the village is now one of two cathedrals of the Church of Ireland diocese of Clogher; the other is at Enniskillen. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Clogher has its cathedral in Monaghan. The meetinghouse of Clogher Presbyterian church is outside the village in the townland of Carntall.

The "City of Clogher" was a rotten borough in the Parliament of Ireland in the gift of the Protestant bishop (often called Bishop's boroughs). The village also gives its name to the Barony of Clogher, one of the original four baronies of County Tyrone.

Transport

Clogher railway station (on the narrow gauge Clogher Valley Railway) opened on 2 May 1887, but finally closed on 1 January 1942.[13]

Clubs: Sport & Music

People

Education

Demographics

19th-century population

The population of the village decreased during the 19th century:[2][14]

Year 1841 1851 1861 1871 1881 1891
Population 702 558 389 242 225 273
Houses 109 94 79 51 61 59

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Clogher". Place Names NI. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Census of Ireland 1891". Enhanced Parliamentary Papers on Ireland. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  3. ↑ "Parishes of Northern Ireland". Public Record Office of NI. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  4. ↑ http://places.galwaylibrary.ie/asp/fullresult.asp?id=23666
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "16. Stone in Place Names". Ulster Place Names. Ulster Place-Name Society. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  6. ↑ http://en.vionto.com/show/me/Cermand+Cestach and http://www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-macartan-of-clogher-d-506-bishop/
  7. ↑ http://www.catholicireland.net/saintoftheday/st-macartan-of-clogher-d-506-bishop/
  8. ↑ Cermand Cestach
  9. ↑ http://celticsaints.org/2011/0404b.html
  10. ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=3W1IAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA405&lpg=PA405&dq=Tighernach+clogher&source=bl&ots=U4leAx8XfC&sig=rWhg0B6pAbM6F-U2Z_Tcj5XNMFA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=iGTpUMylN4ic8QSI04HICw&ved=0CFoQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=Tighernach%20clogher&f=false Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, Issues 49–52, page 405
  11. ↑ http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/world/clogher.html
  12. ↑ http://celticsaints.org/2007/0326a.html
  13. ↑ "Clogher station" (PDF). Railscot – Irish Railways. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  14. ↑ "Census of Ireland 1851". Enhanced Parliamentary Papers on Ireland. Retrieved 21 March 2013.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clogher.