Lisnaskea
| Lisnaskea | |
| Fermanagh | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | H364336 |
| Location: | 54°15’0"N, 7°26’31"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 2,960 (2011) |
| Post town: | Enniskillen |
| Postcode: | BT92 |
| Dialling code: | 02867 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Fermanagh and Omagh |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Fermanagh and South Tyrone |
Lisnaskea is a village in Fermanagh; the county's biggest village, exceeded only by the county town, Enniskillen. Its name is from Lios na Scéithe, meaning 'Fort of the shield'.[1]
The village sits mainly in the townland of Lisoneill, with some areas in the townland of Castle Balfour Demesne, both in the Barony of Magherastephana.[1] It had a population of 2,960 people at the 2011 Census.
Nearby is the site where the Maguires were crowned as kings and chiefs of Fermanagh, Sciath Ghabhra.
The town developed after the Plantation of Ulster and is built around the long main street. At the middle, the old market place contains a high cross (H364340)[2] from an early monastery.
Buildings here from the 19th century include the former market house, corn market and butter market.[3] The Castle Park Leisure Centre is situated just off the main street.[4]
History
North of the village, in the townland of Cornashee,[1] is a large burial mound within a round enclosure, which is a scheduled monument. This is believed to be Sciath Ghabhra (Skeagoura), the coronation place of the Maguires, who were kings and chiefs of Fermanagh.[5] Nearby is another ringfort known as Lios Uí Néill (Lisoneill). The name Lisnaskea may be a combination of the 'lis' element of Lisoneill and 'skea' from Skeagoura.[1]
There is also evidence of a much earlier ringfort (with radiocarbon dates of 359–428 AD) in the townland of Castle Balfour Demesne,[6] suggesting the area was inhabited from a very early date. The ruins of the old monastery, associated with St Ronan, who died sometime before 635 AD, are to the west of the town.[7]
In 1618, during the Plantation of Ulster, Castle Balfour was built by James, Lord Balfour, to whom these lands were granted by the King. Its remains are just off the Main Street of Lisnaskea.[8]
In the Irish Rebellion of 1641, it was noted that: "At Lissenskeah they hanged, or otherwise killed, above 100 persons, most of them of the Scottish nation".[9] The castle was altered in 1652 and damaged in 1689, but remained inhabited into the 19th century. It was restored and conserved in the 1960s and 1990s.[10]
The village came under the control of the Earls of Erne in 1821. They established the market in the town while bolstering and controlling development around the high street.
Lisnaskea railway station opened on 26 August 1858 and was shut on 1 October 1957.[11] The station was opened by the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway, later named the Irish North Western Railway. In 1876 it became part off the Great Northern Railway.
The Workhouse
Lisnaskea Poor Law Union was formally declared on 27 June 1840, and in August Sir Arthur Brooke was elected Chairman. The workhouse was built (at a total cost of over £6,400) on a six-acre site to the south of Lisnaskea purchased from Lord Erne to accommodate 500 inmates, the first of whom were received on 25 February 1843. During 1846, the number of inmates rose from 263 to 817 by the end of the year.
In 1847, additional accommodation was erected for 130 inmates. In the early 1920s, during the Troubles of that time, the workhouse was used to house soldiers of the Royal Hampshire Regiment. The workhouse later resumed its operation until 1940 when it was used for men of the 8th Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters. The inmates were transferred to Enniskillen, and in 1948 to Armagh. Eventually, part of the workhouse was used for a time as the headquarters of Lisnaskea Fire Brigade. Later, the buildings were adapted for a mixture of residential and commercial use.[12][13]
A large iron pot, said to have held 300 gallons of gruel, rested at one time in its gardens.[3] In July 2011, part of the upper floor of the building was completely gutted in a fire, believed to be malicious.[14]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Lisnaskea) |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lisnaskea - Placenames NI
- ↑ Department of the Environment (NI) (1987). Historic Monuments of Northern Ireland. Belfast: HMSO. pp. 152–153.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sanderson, Ernest (1976). Discover Northern Ireland. Belfast: Northern Ireland Tourist Board. p. 152. ISBN 0-9500222-7-6.
- ↑ "Castle Park Leisure Centre". http://www.fermanagh.gov.uk/sports-and-leisure/castle-park-centre.html. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ↑ FitzPatrick, Elizabeth. Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland C. 1100-1600. Boydell Press, 2004. pp.84-85
- ↑ Stout, Matthew (1997). The Irish Ringfort. Dublin: Four Courts Press. pp. 18, 28.
- ↑ "Lisnaskea Conservation Area". 2006-11-09. http://www.planningni.gov.uk/index/policy/supplementary_guidance/conservation/conservation_map/conservation_lisnaskea.htm. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ↑ Flanagan, Laurence (1992). A Dictionary of Irish Archaeology. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. pp. 50–51.
- ↑ Parliamentary Memoirs of Fermanagh and Tyrone, from 1613 to 1885
- ↑ "Castle Balfour". Archived from the original on 2 April 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140402020206/http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/05_pl_monuments_co_fermanagh.pdf. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
- ↑ "Lisnaskea station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 28 October 2007.
- ↑ "Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh". http://www.workhouses.org.uk/Lisnaskea/. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ↑ "Lisnaskea Workhouse". http://www.lisnaskeaworkhouse.org/history.html. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- ↑ "Community saddened at workhouse fire". Fermanagh Herald. 27 July 2011. http://fermanaghherald.com/2011/07/community-saddened-at-workhouse-fire/. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
