Coalisland
| Coalisland | |
| Tyrone | |
|---|---|
 View from the north of the town | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | H841664 |
| Location: | 54°32’22"N, 6°42’2"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 4,917 (2001) |
| Post town: | Dungannon |
| Postcode: | BT71 |
| Dialling code: | 028 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Mid-Ulster |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Mid Ulster |
Coalisland is a small town in County Tyrone, a place of some of 4,917 souls as at the 2001 census. It stands 4 miles from Dungannon, close to Lough Neagh. As its name suggests, Coalisland was formerly a centre for coal mining.
History
On 24 August 1968, the Campaign for Social Justice (CSJ), the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA), and other Roman Catholic groups, held the first 'civil rights march' in Northern Ireland from Coalisland to Dungannon. The rally was officially banned, but took place and passed off without incident. The publicity surrounding the march encouraged other protesting groups to form branches of the NICRA.[1]
The Troubles
From 1969 to 2001, a total of 20 people were shot in or near Coalisland as part of the Troubles. The British Army killed a total of 8 people, 7 of whom were IRA members (see below) and one a bystander, and the IRA in turn killed 2 British soldiers, 3 RUC policemen, 3 UDR soldiers, 1 ex-UDR soldier, and 2 Roman Catholic civilians, all in separate incidents. The Ulster Volunteer Force was responsible for the murder of 1 man in the nearby town of Aughamullan.[2]
Transport
Canal
The town was served by a canal (the Coalisland Canal or Tyrone Navigation), although this is now derelict. A campaign for its restoration is underway. A separate navigation Dukart's Canal ran from the town to nearby coalpits.
Rail
Coalisland railway station was opened on 28 July 1897, closed for passenger traffic on 16 January 1956 and for goods traffic on 5 October 1959, finally closing altogether on 1 April 1965. There is no remains of the railway other than the bridge on the Londonderry road and an old goods shed and grown over platforms.[3]
Townlands
Coalisland sprang up in a townland called Brackaville and over time, the urban area spread into the neighbouring townlands, which include:[4]
- Annagher/Anagher (likely from Eanach Thoir meaning "eastern marsh")
- Brackaville (likely from Bréachmhaoil meaning "wolf hill")
- Derry (from Doire meaning "oak grove")
- Gortgonis (likely from Gort Gonaidh meaning "field of the firewood" or Gort Gabha an Easa meaning "smith's field near the waterfall")
- Gortnaskea (from Gort na Sceach or Gort na Sgeach meaning "field of the thorns")
- Lisnastrane (likely from Lios an tSruthan meaning "ringfort of the streamlet")
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Coalisland) |
References
- ↑ "A Chronology of the Conflict - 1968". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/othelem/chron/ch68.htm. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
- ↑ "CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) - List of Deaths". http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/chron/index.html=.
- ↑ "Coalisland station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-17.
- ↑ "Northern Ireland Placenames Project". http://www.placenamesni.org/Index.html. Retrieved 2010-05-30.