Newtownbutler

Newtownbutler
Fermanagh
The former Lanesborough Arms, Newtownbutler
Location
Grid reference:	H418261
Location:	54°10’55"N, 7°21’40"W
Data
Population:	970  (2011)
Dialling code:	028
Local Government
Council:	Fermanagh and Omagh
Parliamentary constituency:	Fermanagh and South Tyrone

Newtownbutler or Newtown Butler is a small village in Fermanagh, in the south-east corner of the county, near Lough Erne, the border with County Monaghan, and the town of Clones. It is surrounded by small lakes and bogland. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 970 people.

History

Newtownbutler began to be built as a Plantation village in the early 18th century. It was built within the townland of Aghagay. Originally known as Newtown, it was renamed Newtownbutler when Theophilus Butler was created Baron of the area in 1715.

The local terrain was the undoing of some of the Jacobite forces in 1689 in the Battle of Newtownbutler. A Williamite force of less than a thousand Enniskillen troops captured or killed three thousand of James II’s troops here after they had got lost in an unmarked bog.

Newtownbutler railway station opened on 26 June 1858 and finally closed on 1 October 1957.

There were 13 deaths in and around Newtownbutler during the Troubles.

About the village

Crom Castle stands close to the shores of Upper Lough Erne, with its estate about it down to the lough shore, just three miles from Newtownbutler. The estate was established in the early 17th century during the Plantation of Ulster. Crom Estate is owned by the Crichton family, Earls of Erne and is leased to the National Trust for public use. The estate covers over 1,900 acres of woods, parkland and wetland and is one of Ireland's most important nature conservation areas with the largest surviving area of oak woodland in Northern Ireland. The wealth of wildlife at Crom is highlighted by the presence of two rare butterflies - the purple hair-streak and leptidea sinapis. Pine marten are found here, and the largest herony in Ireland. The Crom Estate is also one of the most important sites in Northern Ireland for bats, with all eight regional species recorded on the estate.

There are many attractive buildings on the estate, including Crom's Old Castle (in ruins) and the romantic folly, Gad Island Tower (Crichton Tower) and Farmyard. The present day Crom Castle was built in 1820, built in a style that would in a late reign be known as the 'Victorian style'. The castle was designed by the architect Edward Blore, who was also responsible for sections of Buckingham Palace.

Crom Castle

The parish currently has two pubs, An Chead Chumann and Mulligans Bar and Lounge which regularly host an array of events and attract crowds in from across the county. The Lanesborough Arms Hotel (formerly Reilly's Bar) was another well-known public house in the village, but it closed in 2004. The traditional bar was removed and transferred to the Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh. The village also has two supermarkets, two takeaways, a butchers, a chemists, a credit union, a church and parish hall, an orange hall, a community centre, GAA grounds and a large community playpark.

Neary runs the Ulster Canal, now abandoned. Occasionally plans surface, as from Waterways Ireland, to restore the canal from Lough Erne to Clones, County Monaghan.

Society and sport

Sport

• Gaelic football: Newtownbutler First Fermanagh GAA

Marching bands

According to the Ulster Bands Forum there are six marching bands operating in Newtownbutler and round about.

• From Newtownbutler:
  • Feaugh Pipe Band
  • Loughkillygreen Accordion Band
  • Newtownbutler Flute Band
  • Wattlebridge Accordion Band
• From Magheraveely
  • Magheraveely Flute Band

Orange Lodges

According to The Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, Newtownbutler District No.1 is the largest district in County Fermanagh with ten men's lodges and one women's lodge The District covers the wards of Newtownbutler and Rosslea. Five lodges operate within Newtownbutler and its immediate surrounding area. These are: LOL 184 Newtownbutler; LOL 391 Wattlebridge; LOL 854 Loughkillygreen; LOL 1219 Crom Castle; and LOL 1320 Feaugh.

There are also three Royal Black Preceptory lodges operating in the Newtownbutler area: RBP 154 Newtownbutler; RBP 204 Loughkillygreen; RBP 811 Drummully

Other

• Newtownbutler Community Development Association
• Newtownbutler Together
• Newtownbutler Comhaltas
• Galloon and Drummully Mothers Union
• NTB Bowling Club
• NTB Badminton Club
• St Marys Youth Club
• Scouts and Girl Guides Clubs (Beavers, Cubs, Rainbows and Brownies)
• Matt Fitzpatrick 1916 Society
• NTB Historical Society
• Newtownbutler Playgroup

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Newtownbutler)