Seskinore
| Seskinore | |
| Tyrone | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | H483635 |
| Location: | 54°31’3"N, 7°15’15"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 157 (2011) |
| Post town: | Omagh |
| Postcode: | BT78 |
| Dialling code: | 028 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Fermanagh and Omagh |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
West Tyrone |
Seskinore or Seskanore is a small village and townland in Tyrone, two and a half miles north-east of Fintona and six miles south-east of Omagh. The village had a population of 162 in the 2001 Census.
Geography
The name 'Seskinore' is derived from the Gaelic Seisceann Mhór, which means "big marsh/bog",[1] and the area to the north on the way to Omagh is characterised by lowland raised bog. Pike's Province of Ulster (1909) described the area thus: "The country is undulating with bogs in parts which make hunting difficult".[2]
Seskinore Forest, a mile north of the village, is a mixed broadleaf and coniferous woodland which dates from at least 1833.
History
Little is known about the origins of the village but there is proof that it existed in the early part of the 17th century when at least two of its inhabitants were listed as paying hearth tax.
Following the marriage of Mary Perry to Alexander McClintock in 1781, the village became the family seat of the McClintock family, who had settled in Ulster in 1597 from Argyllshire. The McClintock family were enthusiastic huntsmen and in 1860 they established the "Tyrone Hunt", which was renamed the "Seskinore Hunt" in 1886.[3]
Churches
Even though it is a small village, Seskinore has three churches:
- Church of Ireland: Seskinore Parish Church
- Presbyterian: Seskinore Presbyterian Church
- Roman Catholic: St Malachy's Church
The Presbyterian church holds the distinction of being the oldest church in the village, having been built c. 1827. The congregation here was called Newtownparry after the original name of the village. The General Assembly in 1898 granted a request that the name be changed to Seskinore Presbyterian Church.
The Church of Ireland church is also known locally as the Chapel of Ease as it was built as a chapel of ease to the Parish Church at Clogherny. It was previously a school house on the McClintock Estate, situated at the junction of the Beragh and Omagh Roads, served as a place of worship for members of the Church of Ireland in the Seskinore area for the greater part of the 19th Century. In 1890 the McClintock family built the present church. It has a fine picturesque woodland setting.
The Roman Catholic Church was originally a dwelling house. It was purchased in 1839 by the Roman Catholic Community and enlarged and fitted out as a place of worship. Extensive repairs were carried out c.1906 and it has remained substantially unchanged since.
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Seskinore) |
References
- ↑ Seskinore - Placenames NI
- ↑ Seskinore Hunt Template:Webarchive
- ↑ "McClintock Genealogy". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. 1944-04-25. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mcclintock/.
