Moy

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Moy
Gaelic: An Mhaigh
Tyrone
Location
Grid reference: H8456
Location: 54°26’49"N, 6°41’31"W
Data
Population: 2,129  (2011)
Post town: Dungannon
Postcode: BT71
Dialling code: 028
Local Government
Council: Mid-Ulster
Parliamentary
constituency:
Fermanagh and South Tyrone

Moy is a large village and townland in Tyrone, adjacent to the border with County Armagh. It is situated about five miles south-east of Dungannon and beside the smaller village of Charlemont. Charlemont is on the east bank of the River Blackwater and Moy on the west; the two are joined by Charlemont Bridge, over the river, which here forms the border between the counties of Tyrone and Armagh. The 2011 Census recorded a population of 2,129.[1]

History

Moy (mostly known by locals as "The Moy") was laid out in the 1760s for the Volunteer Earl – the patriot and aesthete James Caulfield, 1st Earl of Charlemont (1728-1799) – opposite Charlemont Fort across the Blackwater. The formal rectangular market place, with lawns and horse-chestnut trees, was inspired by the square at Bosco Marengo in Lombardy, admired by the young earl during his grand tour of Europe. The houses lining the village square are mostly mid-18th century, though all four churches (Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist) are later. Moy used to hold a great horse fair, held once a month and lasting a whole week.

Former railway

The Portadown – Dungannon section of the Portadown, Dungannon and Omagh Junction Railway (PD&O) opened in 1858.[2] Its nearest station to Moy was optimistically called Trew and Moy, although it was at Trew Mount over two miles north of Moy. In 1876 the PD&O became part of the new Great Northern Railway.[3] The Ulster Transport Authority took over the line in 1958[4] and closed it in 1965.[5]

Places of interest

Moy features a cast-iron gate and screen set up in the 19th century to provide the grand entrance to the now-vanished Roxborough Castle. The richly modelled metalwork is thought by some to have been the work of the company of the celebrated Dublin iron-founder Richard Turner, best known for his conservatories in Dublin, Belfast and Kew Gardens. Turner designed a conservatory for the house c. 1850.[6]

Sport

Moy has a long history of horse riding and Gaelic games.

Schools

  • Moy Regional Primary School
  • St John's Primary School

References

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Moy)
  1. Area Profile of Moy - Based on 2001 Census Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  2. Hajducki, S. Maxwell (1974). A Railway Atlas of Ireland. Newton Abbott: David & Charles. map 8. ISBN 0-7153-5167-2. 
  3. Hajducki, op. cit., page xii
  4. Hajducki, op. cit., page xiii
  5. Baker, Michael H.C. (1972). Irish Railways since 1916. London: Ian Allan. pp. 155, 209. ISBN 0 7110 0282 7. 
  6. http://dia.ie/works/view/60610/building/CO.+TYRONE%2C+ROXBOROUGH+CASTLE