Population ? (2001 Census) Post town DOWNPATRICK Local time Monday 2:33 PM Province Ulster | Sovereign state United Kingdom Postcode district BT30 Dialling code 028 | |
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Weather 16°C, Wind SW at 18 km/h, 60% Humidity | ||
Loughinisland (/ˈlɒxᵻnaɪlənd/ LOKH-in-EYE-lən(d), from Irish Loch an Oileáin, meaning 'lake of the island') is a small village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is between Downpatrick and Ballynahinch, about 21 miles (34 kilometres) south of Belfast.
Contents
- Map of Loughinisland Downpatrick UK
- History
- Places of interest
- People
- Sport
- Civil parish of Loughinisland
- Townlands
- References
Map of Loughinisland, Downpatrick, UK
History
The village grew up beside a lake, which has a small island on it. This island was the headquarters of the MacCartans, a Gaelic clan who ruled the surrounding territory of Kinelarty.
Three churches were built on this island between the 13th and 17th centuries. In 1659, following the Plantation of Ulster, there were 17 English/Scots and seven Irish Catholic families in Loughinisland.
In 1836 it is recorded that there was a school in Loughinisland.
Today, the village is home to a primary school and a Catholic church, bothed named 'St Macartan's'.
Loughinisland was relatively untouched by the Troubles. However, on 18 June 1994 it was the scene of the Loughinisland massacre. The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group, attacked The Heights public house with assault rifles, killing six Catholic civilians and wounding five. That evening, about 24 people had gathered there to watch the Ireland team playing in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, on television.
Places of interest
Loughinisland Churches are a group of three ruined churches in a cemetery on the island in Loughinisland Lake reached by a causeway. The churches range in date from the 13th century to the 17th century.
Annadorn Dolmen is on the north east shore of Loughinisland Lake, within sight of the Churches. The dolmen consists of a slightly displaced capstone covering a rectangular chamber of which three side stones survive.
People
Edward Gribben, a World War I flying ace credited with five aerial victories, was born in Loughinisland.
Sport
Loughinisland Gaelic Football Club has won the Down GAA Senior Football Championship on two occasions; 1975 and 1989. As well as a Down GAA Intermediate Football Championship and Ulster Intermediate Football Championship in 2015.
Civil parish of Loughinisland
The civil parish is in the historic barony of Kinelarty and contains the following villages:
Townlands
The civil parish contains the following townlands: