Clogher

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]

For other uses, see Clogher (disambiguation).

Clogher

Cathedral Church of Saint Macartan
Clogher
Location within Northern Ireland
Population717 (2011 Census)
Irish grid referenceH538517
• Belfast59 miles
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCLOGHER
Postcode districtBT76
Dialling code028
UK Parliament
NI Assembly

History
See also: Bishop of Clogher

Clogher is home to the provincial office in Northern Ireland for the congregation of the Sisters of Mercy[4] (Roman Catholic order of nuns). The Mercy Order employed some of their nuns at St Macartan's Primary School. However, the school was actually founded by the Sisters of St Louis in the 1930s[5] due to the high demand for primary Catholic education in the Clogher area. The Sisters of Mercy also had ownership of the St Macartan's nursing and dementia care home.[6] The sisters of Saint Louis left Clogher in the 1970s and the Mercy Order continued their work. However, In the late 1980s the Sisters of Mercy were phased out of the school and retired from the job of teaching at St Macartan's SChool due to falling numbers of nuns and as a newer curriculum had been introduced in Northern Ireland it meant they needed more qualifications. They have since severed most ties with the St Macartan's Convent School[7] but still live in the Convent of Mercy on the Ballagh Road, Clogher, next to the St Macartan's nursing home.

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');[8] probably on the site of the medieval monastery or a nearby ringfort.[9] Archaeological remains from before the 5th century have been found in the vicinity.[9] Clogher is said to have been the location of a gold-covered pagan oracle stone named Cermand Cestach.[10][11] 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."[11] 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. Tighernach of Clones, later succeeded St. Mac Cairthinn as Bishop of Clogher.[12][13]

Clogher has been a religious center since St. Patrick's time and likely before.[14] St. Aedh Mac Cairthinn of Clogher (c. 430–505 AD) an early disciple and companion of Saint Patrick[15] 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. 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.[16]

Clogher also has Ulsterbus services to Omagh and on the 261/X261 between Belfast and Enniskillen.

Sport

Clogher Cricket Club plays in the NCU Senior League. The local Gaelic Athletic Association club is An Clochar Éire Óg.

Education

The local primary schools include Carntall Primary School (which has a Protestant ethos) and St. Macartan's Convent Primary School (established by the Sisters of Saint Louis and has a Roman Catholic ethos).[4][7]

Demography

19th-century population

The population of the village decreased during the 19th century:[2][17]

Year184118511861187118811891
Population702558389242225273
Houses1099479516159

2011 Census

On Census Day (27 March 2011) the usually resident population of Clogher Settlement was 717 accounting for 0.04% of the NI total.

  • 97.63% were from the white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic group;
  • 54.67% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 42.96% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion; and
  • 42.12% indicated that they had a British national identity, 28.87% had an Irish national identity and 27.62% had a Northern Irish national identity.

Respondents could indicate more than one national identity

On Census Day 27 March 2011, in Clogher Settlement, of the population aged 3 years old and over:

  • 15.81% had some knowledge of Irish;
  • 3.66% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots; and
  • 7.61% did not have English as their first language.

People

See also

References
  1. "Clogher". Place Names NI. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
  2. "Census of Ireland 1891". Enhanced Parliamentary Papers on Ireland. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  3. "Parishes of Northern Ireland". Public Record Office of NI. Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2012.
  4. http://sistersofmercy.ie
  5. stmacartanspsclogher.com
  6. http://www.geograph.ie/photo1033506
  7. http://www.stmacartanspsclogher.com
  8. "Information From O'Donovan's Field Name Books : Clogh". Places.galwaylibrary.ie. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  9. "16. Stone in Place Names". Ulster Place Names. Ulster Place-Name Society. Archived from the original on 14 December 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  10. "Cermand Cestach". En.vionto.com. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  12. "Celtic and Old English Saints - 4 April". Celticsaints.org. 31 December 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  13. Cornwall, Royal Institution of (1906). "Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall - Royal Institution of Cornwall". p. 405. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  14. "Clogher". Infoplease.com. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  15. "Celtic and Old English Saints - 26 March". Celticsaints.org. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
  16. "Clogher station" (PDF). Railscot – Irish Railways. Retrieved 16 September 2007.
  17. "Census of Ireland 1851". Enhanced Parliamentary Papers on Ireland. Retrieved 21 March 2013.
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