Donaghcloney
{{short description|Village in County Down, Northern Ireland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox UK place
| official_name = Donaghcloney
| irish_name = Domhnach Cluana
| scots_name =
| local_name =
| static_image_name = St. Patrick's Donaghcloney - geograph.org.uk - 75425.jpg
| static_image_caption = St Patrick's church
| map_type = Northern Ireland
| label_position = none
| coordinates = {{coord|54.419979|-6.260319|display=inline,title}}
| belfast_distance_mi = 23
| population = 1701
| population_ref = (2011 Census)
| irish_grid_reference = J129537
| unitary_northern_ireland = Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon
| country = Northern Ireland
|historic_county=
| post_town = CRAIGAVON
| postcode_area = BT
| postcode_district = BT66
| dial_code = 028
| constituency_westminster = Upper Bann
| constituency_ni_assembly = Upper Bann
| lieutenancy_northern_ireland = County Down
| website =
| hide_services = yes
}}
Donaghcloney or Donacloney ({{Irish derived place name|Domhnach Cluana|church of the meadow}})[https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/9b31e0501b744154b4584b1dce1f859b/page/Place-Name-Info/?data_id=dataSource_1-PlaceNames_Gazeteer_No_Global_IDs_3734:22500 Donaghcloney, Co Down]. Placenames NI.[https://www.logainm.ie/en/66376 Donaghcloney]. Placenames Database of Ireland. is a village, townland (of 300 acres) and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Lagan between Lurgan and Dromore. In the 2011 census it had a population of 1701. It is colloquially referred to as "The 'Cloney" by locals.
History
= Early history =
File:Old graveyard, Donaghacloney - geograph.org.uk - 350608.jpg
Donaghcloney was reputedly established by Saint Patrick whilst travelling from Saul to Armagh sometime in the 5th century CE.{{Cite web |title=Geograph:: The Bell Garden (2) Information Sign,... © P Flannagan |url=https://www.geograph.ie/photo/607015 |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=www.geograph.ie |language=en}} A parish church was established overlooking the River Lagan, in what is today the village graveyard.
One of the first recorded mention of the village's name was in papal registers dated to 1422 as Domhnachcluana. The spelling changed frequently throughout the Middle Ages, during which time a new bell was installed in the parish church. The parish church suffered damage during the 1641 Rebellion and the Cromwellian campaign in Ireland. During the Williamite War in Ireland, Donaghcloney was the site of a clash between forces belonging to Frederick Schomberg and King James II. During this battle the parish church bell was thrown into the River Lagan. In the early 1800s it was recovered and installed in a church in nearby Waringstown.
= Linen Industry =
Donaghcloney is a typical Ulster village and has been linked to the Irish linen industry since at least 1742.{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} Buildings{{!}} nidirect |url=https://apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/Buildings/buildview.aspx?id=14822&js=false |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=apps.communities-ni.gov.uk}} By 1840 Donaghcloney boasted a large bleaching green which was turning out 8000 pieces of fabric annually.{{Cite web |title=Donaghcloney, Down - genealogy heraldry and history |url=https://ukga.org/index.php?pageid=30570 |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=ukga.org}} In 1866, William Liddell founded his linen company, headquartered at a new factory in Donaghcloney. William Liddell & Co. became the largest Jacquard weaving company in Ireland.{{Cite web|url=http://www.liddell-international.com/about-us/|title = About us|date = 16 September 2013}} At one point the company also owned a smaller mill at Banoge, on the outskirts of the village.
Donaghcloney grew during this time due to the employment created by Liddell's factory as well as his philanthropic efforts. The company provided housing for its workers and in 1877 established the Factory Society for the Sick to help its employees' families cover funeral costs.{{Cite web |date=2020-08-05 |title=Celebrating 150 Years: A Timeline of the Liddell Brand |url=http://www.liddell-international.com/history-of-liddell/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805051147/http://www.liddell-international.com/history-of-liddell/ |archive-date=2020-08-05 |access-date=2022-09-20 }} It also built a church, a school, and a cricket pitch.
By the 1900s the company was the largest producer of Damask Linen in the world and its products were being used in hotels and ocean liners across Europe. Notably, the linen used onboard RMS Titanic was produced in Donaghcloney.{{Cite web|url=http://www.liddell-international.com/heritage/|title = Heritage|date = 16 September 2013}} During the First and Second World War, Donaghcloney Linen Factory served the war effort through production of airplane coverings, parachute harnesses, bullets, and munitions.
In 1973 William Liddell & Co. merged with its long-time rival, William Ewart and Sons (founded in Belfast in 1814), forming the Ewart Liddell Company. Donaghcloney Linen Factory continued production, and its products were used by Bloomingdale's, Harrods, Emirates, Qantas, the Savoy, and The Ritz. It also supplied napkins and cushion covers for Concorde planes and airport lounges.
By 2000, the company's fortunes had changed and the Donaghcloney Linen Factory was outdated and in need of expensive modernisation. In 2001, it was acquired by the Baird McNutt Group, who closed the Donaghcloney Factory the following year. The factory lay derelict until the early 2010s, when it was demolished leaving only the chimney.
File:Former factory gates, Donaghcloney (2) - geograph.org.uk - 3261645.jpg
File:Former Ewart Liddell factory, Donaghcloney (2012-1) - geograph.org.uk - 3260731.jpg
File:Disused Ewart Liddell Weaving Factory, Donaghcloney. - geograph.org.uk - 1628826.jpg
File:Disused Ewart Liddell Weaving Factory, Donaghcloney. - geograph.org.uk - 1627400.jpg
File:Disused Ewart Liddell Weaving Factory, Donaghcloney. - geograph.org.uk - 1627454.jpg
File:Mill Pond at Ewart Riddell Weaving Factory, Donaghcloney - geograph.org.uk - 1627184.jpg
File:Mill Pond at Ewart Liddell Weaving Factory, Donaghcloney. - geograph.org.uk - 1627182.jpg
Amenities and services
File:Pillar box, Donaghcloney - geograph.org.uk - 3132809.jpg
Donaghcloney has a Nisa shop and petrol station, a Post Office, a primary school, a children's play-park, a chippy, a Chinese takeaway, an off license, a pharmacist, a hairdresser, a butcher, and a café.
File:Donaghcloney Cricket Pavilion 2009 - geograph.org.uk - 1628699.jpg
There are Methodist, Elim Pentecostal, Church of Ireland, and Presbyterian churches as well as a Gospel Hall, Orange Hall, and a Royal British Legion.
= Sport =
The village has a history of cricket playing over many generations with the Donaghcloney Mill Cricket Club, founded in 1888.{{Cite web |title=About {{!}} Donaghcloney Cricket & Recreation Club, Village Cricket in Northern Ireland |url=http://www.donaghcloneycc.co.uk/about/ |access-date=2022-09-20 |language=en}} The club is based in a B2-listed Edwardian cricket pavilion,{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} Buildings{{!}} nidirect |url=https://apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/Buildings/buildview.aspx?id=14823&js=false |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=apps.communities-ni.gov.uk}} located in the grounds of the former factory.
Donacloney Football Club, founded in 1890, have two men's teams both playing in the Mid-Ulster Football League.{{Cite web |title=Mid Ulster Football League |url=https://www.midulsterfootballleague.co.uk/Teams/donacloney |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=www.midulsterfootballleague.co.uk}} The club's home pitch is in the village alongside the River Lagan.
= Education =
Donaghcloney Primary School is the only educational establishment in the village, catering for approximately 280 pupils. It was formed in 1979 to replace three smaller local schools, formerly located at Fortescue,{{Cite web |title=Schools |url=http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~rosdavies/genealogy/WORDS/Schools.htm#d |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=freepages.rootsweb.com}} Blackskull, and Liddell.{{Cite web |title=Donaghcloney, Liddell Memorial School, St Patrick - Gloine - Stained glass in the Church of Ireland |url=https://www.gloine.ie/search/building/3565/donaghcloney |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=www.gloine.ie}}
The nearest secondary schools are Banbridge High School, Banbridge Academy, Lurgan Junior High School, and Dromore High School.
= Transport =
Donaghcloney is served by the Ulsterbus route 56, linking the village with Lurgan and Banbridge. It is situated on the B9 Road, connecting it with nearby Moira, as well as Dromore via the B2 and Lurgan and Banbridge via the A26.
The nearest railway stations are Moira and Lurgan, both around 6 miles away on the Belfast - Dublin mainline. Until 1956, the nearest station was Mullafernaghan on the Great Northern Railway's line from Lisburn to Newcastle via Banbridge.
Demographics
Donaghcloney is classified as a small village by the [http://www.nisra.gov.uk/ Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)].
class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan="2" |Census Year ! rowspan="2" |Total Population ! colspan="2" |Age (%) ! colspan="2" |Sex (%) ! colspan="4" |Religious background (%) ! rowspan="2" |Unemployed (%) ! rowspan="2" |Sources |
Aged under 16
!Aged over 60 !Male !Female !Protestant !Catholic !Other !None |
---|
2001 (29 Apr)
|972 |21.8 |21.9 |48.6 |51.4 |93.5 |4.0 |0.5 |2.0 |2.5 |
2011 (27 Mar)
|1701 |25.4 |15.2 |48.5 |51.5 |84.2 |7.1 |0.8 |7.9 |12 |
2021 (21 Mar)
|1977 |23 |10 |50 |50 |78 |7 |>1 |15 |2 |
People
- Loyalist Robin "the Jackal" Jackson, former leader of the Ulster Volunteer Force's (UVF) Mid-Ulster Brigade, was a notable resident of Donaghcloney up until his death of lung cancer at the age of 52 on 30 May 1998. At least fifty killings have been attributed to Jackson, according to Stephen Howe (in the New Statesman magazine) and David McKittrick (in his book Lost Lives)."Killing Fields". New Statesman. Stephen Howe. 14 February 2000. Retrieved 2 February 2011{{cite book |last1=McKittrick |first1=David |title=Lost Lives: The Stories of the Men, Women, and Children who Died as a Result of the Northern Ireland Troubles |date=1999 |publisher=Mainstream |isbn=978-1-84018-227-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PIvaAAAAMAAJ |language=en |page=724}}
- Bernard McQuirt, recipient of the Victoria Cross in 1858.
Civil parish of Donaghcloney
The civil parish is situated in the historic barony of Iveagh Lower, Upper Half and contains the following settlements:{{cite web|title=Donaghcloney|url=http://www.thecore.com/seanruad/|website=IreAtlas Townlands Database|access-date=18 May 2015}}
- Donaghcloney
- Waringstown
=Townlands=
The civil parish contains the following townlands:
{{div col|colwidth=15em}}
- Annaghanoon
- Annaghmakeonan
- Ballygunaghan
- Ballynabragget
- Banoge
- Corcreeny
- Cornreany
- Donaghcloney
- Lurgantamry
- Magherana
- Monree
- Moygannon
- Tullycarn
- Tullyherron
{{div col end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/search?keywords=donaghcloney&country=global&year=all Aerial photos of Donaghcloney Linen Factory in 1926][https://www.nisra.gov.uk/sites/nisra.gov.uk/files/publications/review-of-the-statistical-classification-and-delineation-of-settlements-march-2015.pdf]
{{County Down}}
{{authority control}}