TYRONE INVENTORS

29/11/2013 by borderroamer

Christy & Martin Mallon, Killeeshil Photo: © Kevin McSorley

A South Tyrone filmmaker has helped to uncover five treasure troves of the area’s hidden history, including the story of how the achievements of two Killeeshil inventors changed the global quarry industry. Over the summer, cameraman Kevin McSorley captured the activities of history buffs from Caledon Regeneration Partnership, Donaghmore Historical Society, Killeeshil and Clonaneese Historical Society, South Lough Neagh Historical Society and the William Carleton Society.

His film was funded by the European Union’s PEACE III programme for PEACE and reconciliation through the ‘Shared History, Shared Future’ project, administered by Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council. It reveals the extraordinary story of how two men from Killeeshil, John Finlay and Sylvester Mallon, changed the course of the quarry engineering industry with inventions that are now used around the world. It also features a celebration of the legacy of literary genius William Carleton, born in the Clogher Valley, as well as the history of the Ulster Canal, and South Tyrone’s industrial heritage.

The film shows footage of Finlay and Mallon’s relatives describing the humble origins of both men, and how they were constantly dreaming up new inventions and enterprises on the backs of cigarette packets. The pair, who had great respect for each other, went on to set up factories and companies that employed large numbers of local people, and created the foundations for Tyrone’s world-class engineering industry. Nowadays, approximately 68 percent of the world’s mobile crushing machines is manufactured in the county.

The project was launched at Ranfurly House in February by the Mayor of Dungannon and South Tyrone. Dr Brian Lambkin, Director of The Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh, was the guest speaker. In June all five groups were represented at Caledon Courthouse during a visit by the Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall to see the work of Caledon Regeneration Partnership. The five historical societies shared with each other an awareness of their own fields of expertise and used it towards a shared understanding of our history and future.

Caledon Regeneration Partnership, formed in 1996, is a not for profit company whose make-up was and continues to be four community representatives, four Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Councillors and three representatives from Caledon Estates Company. In 1997 the Partnership obtained funding from PEACE 1 for the development of a Comprehensive Development Plan for Caledon village. The group has helped to regenerate much of the village including many historically important at-risk buildings, such as Mill Street cottages and the beam engine house at the former mill. Caledon Regeneration Partnership is actively involved in community building initiatives.

Donaghmore Historical Society was formed by a small group of people in 1983 and since then its numbers have swollen. It refurbished what was the National School and is now the Heritage Centre. It built a replica of the Donaghmore High Cross, put Donaghmore Living History on the worldwide web and has, in conjunction with the Heritage Centre, amassed the largest archive of townlands research material in Ireland. Plans are being made to digitize the entire archive and bring townlands research into the 21st century at the touch of a button by providing access to data, using the DHS website.

Killeeshil and Clonaneese Historical Society encourages its membership to take ownership, research, interpret and be informed of the shared history of the area. It is rich in industrial heritage, including the development of machinery for quarry engineering.

South Lough Neagh Historical Society is based on the south shore of Lough Neagh. It is an academically- based society, drawing support from the wider community in their continued search to examine and record the historical and cultural footprint of this diverse area. The project examining the past, present and future of the old Ulster Canal has proved to be both illuminating and beneficial to all the members who participated and their findings are another marker in the history of this old waterway.

The William Carleton Society was re-formed in 2011 and is a cross-community, cross-border group dedicated to promoting the works of the well-known Irish author from County Tyrone and his life and times. It seeks to use his stories of faction-fighting and sectarianism in 19th century Ireland as the basis for talks and discussions on history and literature and the lessons for modern-day society. Since 1992 it has run an annual summer school in the Clogher area, with leading authors, poets and historians among the contributors.

All five groups have contributed to a 100-page booklet, which was published on November at a reception at Ranfurly House in Dungannon on November 19th. The publication printed by Ecclesville Printing Services in Fintona was also funded through the PEACE III project and copies costing £5 will be available from the individual societies from next week. Arcella Films produced the hour-long DVD. For more information and any permission to publish the video pictures contact Kevin McSorley in Cabragh, Dungannon or email the societies. Copyright 2013.

The above article is based on a news release I wrote for the Shared History, Shared Future project and was published in the Tyrone Times on November 22nd.

SHARED HISTORY BOOK

20/11/2013 by borderroamer

Shared History Shared Future booklet

ROYAL VISITORS IN CALEDON

26/06/2013 by borderroamer

Arrival of Prince of Wales & Duchess of Cornwall in Caledon

The border village of Caledon in County Tyrone was looking its best as it welcomed a royal visitor, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales who is on a two-day visit to Northern Ireland along with Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall. It’s a while since any member of the British royal family came here, although the area is the seat of the 7th Earl of Caledon, Lord Lieutenant for County Armagh, which lies on the other side of the River Blackwater and where some of his 5000 acre estate is situated. It adjoins two other estates, Tynan Abbey (Armagh) and Castle Leslie across the border in Glaslough, County Monaghan. Sir Shane Leslie and his parents would have been in contact with their Caledon neighbours, as well as the Stronges. Sir John Leslie arrived to meet the royal visitors and remind them of his family’s connection with Winston Churchill.

Detail on Gate

Entrance to Caledon Castle

Tynan Abbey was destroyed in an IRA gun and bomb attack on January 21st 1981. The elderly Sir Norman Stronge (86), a former Stormont Speaker, Ulster Unionist politician and former British Army officer, was shot dead along with his only son James, a former Grenadier Guards officer and Unionist MP who was also an RUC Reservist.

Entrance to Tynan Abbey estate

There are other reminders that this was one of the areas targeted by the IRA during the “troubles”. In the cemetery beside St John’s parish church, I came across the grave of an RUC Reservist Joshua Willis. The 35 year-old was killed when an IRA landmine containing at least 1000 lbs of explosives was detonated as his armoured patrol car passed along the Killylea Road outside Armagh. Two of his colleagues also died in the attack in July 1990. There was a fourth victim who was passing with a companion in another car, a Catholic nun, Sr Catherine Dunne of the St Louis sisters. She was based at Middletown. The IRA said the nun was the victim of ”unforeseen and fluke circumstances”. One of the nuns from Middletown was at a reception involving community groups who met the VIPs.

Grave of Reserve Constable Joshua Willis

Not far away on the road towards Aughnacloy there is a memorial erected by local people in memory of the three policemen who were killed. It is close to the site of the former RUC/PSNI barracks, which has now been demolished. The site has now been sold for redevelopment.

Site of former Police Station

Memorial to RUC Reservists

Prince Charles however was probably concentrating on other parts of this former mill village, where an extensive regeneration project has been carried out over the past few years, led by an enthusiastic committee. I wrote about the work of Caledon Regeneration project last April.

Caledon Regeneration Partnership was formed in 1994 to take forward a planned social, economic and environmental regeneration strategy for the County Armagh village. It is made up of representatives from the local community, local authority and Caledon Estates Company, which has an office in the main street.

Caledon Post Office, Main Street

One of the projects being undertaken is the restoration of a beam engine and engine house. Last year a total of £220,000 in funding was secured to finance the first phase. It is hoped that the engine will eventually be restored to a fully operational state, and become a tourist attraction for the area. The unique piece of equipment dates back to the early 1830s and is one of the earliest surviving steam engines in Ireland. It was once used to power the Caledon Flour Mill and then Caledon Woollen Mills.

Beam Engine, Caledon

In 1984 the village was designated as a Conservation Area and six years later, this was reviewed and the boundary extended. DoE (NI) Planning Service produced a Conservation Area Guide to accompany the original designation, which included design guidance intended to help protect the historic fabric of the village. In November 2001 a unique restoration scheme was officially opened by then Social Development Minister Nigel Dodds of the DUP.

Mill Terrace, Caledon

The £500,000 project involved the sympathetic restoration of a historic terrace of former mill houses and the implementation of an environmental improvement scheme in the Mill Street area of Caledon. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Mr Dodds said:-

“Caledon has a host of unique and beautiful buildings which represent an important part of our architectural heritage. The restoration work and the environmental improvements have made a very significant impact on the appearance and life of the village. The regeneration of towns and villages across Northern Ireland is an important priority for the Department for Social Development. The Mill Street project is an example of what can be achieved through partnerships between local communities, statutory agencies and funding bodies.”

William Carleton Society display

Killeeshil & Clonaneese Historical Society Display

Caledon Regeneration Partnership

William Carleton Society & Donaghmore Historical Society

Caledon Regeneration is one of five groups taking part in the “Shared History, Shared Future” project under the Peace III programme run by Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council. They had a display at the Courthouse along with the William Carleton Society, Killeeshil and Clonaneese Historical Society, Donaghmore Historical Society and South Lough Neagh Historical Society, which is working on a project about the Ulster Canal. The historian Jack Johnston President of the William Carleton Society represented the group at the Caledon event along with Patron Sam Craig and Summer School Director Michael Fisher.

William Carleton Society Patron Sam Craig & Duchess of Cornwall

The Northern Ireland Office news release:-

On the second day of engagements (in Northern Ireland), TRH The Prince of Wales & The Duchess of Cornwall this morning visited the historical village of Caledon. They were accompanied by Lord Caledon and his wife, Lady Caledon.

TRHs visited Mill Street Cottage and they met with the owners of one of the refurbished cottages, Denver and Michelle Irvine. This is one of the first projects to be completed by the regeneration scheme which had lain idle since the early 1970s. The terraced two-story stone cottage, which was constructed around 1850 to house mill workers and their families, received Grade B1 listing in 1983 and are now the pride of this lovely village.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall then moved to the Beam Engine and Engine House which dates from the early 1830s and once powered a flour mill and subsequently a woollen mill. They are now all that remain of what was once a massive mill complex. TRHs were then presented to members of the Caledon Regeneration Partnership by the founding member, William Beattie. Following a short overview of the Beam Engine Conservation project, TRHs had the opportunity to view the Beam Engine. This engine is one of only eight beam engines to survive in Ireland, a rare example of 19th century steam engine technology

Prior to departing the Beam House, William Beattie invited HRH The Prince of Wales to unveil a plaque to officially open the complex.

TRHs then made the short journey to the centrepiece of the village – the Court House and Clock Tower. On arrival at the Courthouse they had the opportunity to meet with children and teachers from St Joseph’s and Churchill Primary Schools, as well as representatives of the Blackwater Regional Partnership, South Tyrone Historical Group, local church leaders and members of the Women’s Institute.

Prior to farewells, TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall were presented with a Food Hamper by two local school children.

CLOGHER VALLEY RAILWAY

25/04/2013 by borderroamer

CVR train in Main St Caledon (TG4 photo)

The picture shows a train from the Clogher Valley Railway in the Main Street of the border village of Caledon, County Tyrone. In the middle you can see the clock tower of the courthouse. The train is number 6, called Erne. It was built by Sharp, Stewart No. 3374 of 1887; 0-4-2 tank. It was in service until the railway closed on December 31st 1941 and was scrapped the following year. The other engines were Caledon (1), Errigal (2), Blackwater (3), Fury (4), Colebrooke (5) and Blessingbourne (7), built by Hudswell, Clarke & co.

Jack Johnston

The story of the railway was told at the restored Caledon courthouse this evening by Jack Johnston, who has written extensively about the history of the Clogher Valley. He illustrated the talk with slides, many of them black and white pictures of the operation of the railway which had been taken in the last century. Jack is also President of the William Carleton Society, one of five groups along with Caledon Regeneration Partnership, Donaghmore Historical Society, Killeeshil and Clonaneese Historical Society and South Lough Neagh Regeneration Association taking part in the EU Peace III-funded “Shared History, Shared Future” project.

CVR Coat of Arms

The 3ft gauge Clogher Valley Tramway was incorporated on 26th May 1884, the second project under the terms of the 1883 Act. It opened for traffic on 2nd May 1887 linking Tynan in County Armagh and Maguiresbridge in County Fermanagh, both on the broad gauge Great Northern Railway, a distance of 37 miles. The route covered the Clogher Valley in County Tyrone serving the towns of Caledon, Aughnacloy, Ballygawley, Augher, Clogher and Fivemiletown. The railway followed public roads for much of its length and ran down the main streets of Caledon and Fivemiletown.

The railway had a dismal financial performance throughout its lifetime, belying the glowing picture of returns painted in its prospectus. Nevertheless the Company had extremely ambitious plans for expansion aimed at providing access to the port of Newry and connections with the Cavan and Leitrim line. None came to fruition however and the CVR remained a local line.

The Clogher Valley Railway lay within the six counties of Northern Ireland when partition occurred in 1922. The new government in Belfast recommended the takeover of the CVR by the broad gauge Great Northern Railway. The GNR refused to do this and the CVR retained its independence. In 1927 however the directors were replaced by a Committee of Management appointed by Tyrone and Fermanagh county councils.

Clogher Valley Railway (TG4 picture)

The Committee did much to revitalise the line with more and speedier services. In 1932 a pioneering articulated passenger diesel railcar built by Walkers of Wigan was delivered, along with a diesel tractor unit which could tow a coach or a few wagons. These were successful in cutting costs and speeding up the service but could only postpone the inevitable end of the basically uneconomic line. For almost all of its existence the railway made a loss and it needed a subsidy from local ratepayers. The greatest profit ever made by the company was in 1904, only £791.

Plaque on ceremonial wheelbarrow: cutting first sod in 1885.

It was around this time that my great-grandfather John McCann J.P., an auctioneer in Aughnacloy, became a director of the railway. He served on the board for a number of years, under the chairmanship of Hugh de Fellenberg Montgomery of Blessingbourne, Fivemiletown, I still have a season ticket belonging to him.

CALEDON AND ITS REGENERATION

24/04/2013 by borderroamer

Caledon Courthouse

For many years during the troubles in Northern Ireland the border village of Caledon in County Tyrone looked shabby, with many derelict and unused buildings along the main street. It looks very different nowadays, as the restored courthouse building testifies.

Caledon Estate Office

The Caledon Regeneration Partnership was formed in 1994 to take forward a planned social, economic and environmental regeneration strategy for the County Armagh village. It is made up of representatives from the local community, local authority and Caledon Estates Company, which has an office in the main street.

Beam Engine House, Caledon

William Beattie of Caledon Regeneration Partnership said he believed the beam engine is unique in these islands:- “There are only about eight beam engines in Ireland, and this one is the only one which has a housed engine, making it a very important piece of industrial archaeology. This is the only relic remaining of Caledon’s once famous mill industry, which produced quality woollen garments until the 1930s. The mill, which was built in the early 1800s, was demolished in 1985. During the summer, wood and coal was used to power the beam engine, when the water-flow was not strong enough to move the wheel. The hope is to get the engine functioning again, and to create a viable tourism attraction which will also faithfully record the history of the village”, he said.

In addition a Grade B listed property, a former worker’s building on the Caledon Estate, which has lain derelict for years, has received funding worth £30,000 under the Historic Buildings Grant-Aid Scheme.

Caledon estate was bought from the seventh Earl of Cork for £94,400 in 1776 by James Alexander (later first Earl of Caledon), an East India Company Nabob. The Earls of Cork and Orrery had only acquired the estate by marriage from the Hamilton family in 1738, but during the forty years of ownership, they had made it into a by-word for fashionable landscape design, complete with a gate lodge decorated with statues and Latin epigrams, a hermitage and a bone house.

Gate Lodge Caledon Estate

Sphinx Statue at Gate Lodge

Detail on Gate

Pediment Relief: Coat of Arms

Caledon Regeneration is one of five groups taking part in the “Shared History, Shared Future” project under the Peace III programme run by Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council. On Thursday evening (25th April) at 7pm, the historian Jack Johnston of the William Carleton Society will give a talk on the Clogher Valley Railway. The narrow gauge line ran through the main street of the village until its closure in 1941.

CVR train in Main St Caledon (TG4 photo)

SHARED HISTORY: SHARED FUTURE

28/02/2013 by borderroamer

Shared History: Shared Future Launch

“Shared History: Shared Future” brings together six historical, literary and regeneration groups from South Tyrone in a cross-community project delivered by Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council through the Peace III phase 2 programme financed by the European Union. It was launched at the Hill of the O’Neill and Ranfurly House Visitor Centre in Dungannon by the Mayor of Dungannon and South Tyrone, Councillor Phelim Gildernew. Brian Lambkin, Director of The Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh, was the guest speaker.

Mr Lambkin gave an informative talk on comparative local history: what do we tell the children? He spoke about the significance of townlands, the smallest unit in civil administration, and said they were the key to a better understanding of any local area. He hoped there would be a synergy between the various groups and that their projects would have a wider value in the areas of tourism and genealogy.

The Shared History Shared Future Project is funded through the European Union’s Peace & Reconciliation Fund and delivered by the South West Peace Cluster and Dungannon & South Tyrone Borough Council. The project was awarded over £25,000 to develop an interlinked schedule of activities over the coming months. It promises to be a very interesting and informative project which encapsulates figures of literary importance such as William Carleton right through to the social history of local engineering and entrepreneurship of John Finlay and Sylvester Mallon, pioneers in quarry engineering to exploring the history of our waterways and townlands.

The project is made up of six societies who have come together to share with each other and with the wider community an awareness of their own fields of expertise and use it towards a shared understanding of our history and future. The groups are:-

O’Neill Country Historical Society;

Caledon Regeneration Partnership;

William Carleton Society;

Donaghmore Historical Society;

Killeeshil and Clonaneese Historical Society;

South Lough Neagh Regeneration Association.

During the evening, each group gave an overview of their origins and the focus of previous work. While maintaining the individuality of each of their projects all agree that the contribution to this project enhances and increases awareness of who they are and what they are about.

Brian Lambkin & O’Neill Country Historical Society

The O’Neill Country Historical Society, represented by Art Daly from Benburb, was established in 1985. Their aim is to research, record and publish the history of the area along the valley of the River Blackwater straddling the border between counties Armagh and Tyrone. The group promote knowledge and understanding of this area’s heritage and folklore through publications, lectures and seminars and interact with other local historical groups and bodies with a view to promoting interest in our history.

Caledon Regeneration Partnership was established in 1996 and comprises representation from the local community, Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council and Caledon Estates Company. William Beattie outlined how the Partnership actively promote the conservation and protection of the built and natural heritage of the area and have undertaken a number of major restoration projects within Caledon Village. The restoration of the Caledon Beam Engine Complex is currently underway. Caledon Regeneration Partnership are actively involved in a number of community projects. Caledon Village Allotments were opened in 2011. Chairman Jim Brady said “the Partnership are delighted to join together with like-minded groups across the region in this exploration of our cultural and industrial heritage”.

Pat Boyle & Jim Cavanagh

The William Carleton Society is a cross-community, cross-border group which is dedicated to promoting the works of the well-known Irish author from County Tyrone and his life and times. The Chair, Jim Cavanagh, explained how it seeks to use his stories of faction-fighting and sectarianism in 19th Century Ireland as the basis for talks and discussions on history and literature and the lessons for modern-day society. By discussing issues such as sectarianism the Society hopes to open up a meaningful debate and an educative process around this issue, which is still relevant to the current situation in Northern Ireland. Its main event is a four-day annual international summer school in Clogher in the first week of August . This year’s is the 22nd since its inception in 1992.

The Society will be organising a cross-community concert in Fivemiletown Methodist Hall with the Murley Silver Band and Monaghan Gospel Choir on Wednesday August 7th. On the previous evening, August 6th, there will be a cross-community walk “in the footsteps of Carleton”, followed by music from the diferent traditions. There will also be a series of talks in the coming months including one by Dr Paddy Fitzgerald on the “Ulster English” and two others given by members of the Society about Carleton and the Clogher Valley area. Although Carleton grew up in the Clogher area and one of the places he lived at Springtown still survives, “Carleton’s Cottage”, he spent most of his life in Dublin, where he changed his religion to Anglicanism. In January, members of the Society in Tyrone held a study trip to Dublin to visit Sandford Church of Ireland in Ranelagh, where he worshipped. They also visited his grave at Mount Jerome cemetery, where Precentor Noel Regan from St Macartan’s Cathedral in Clogher led a prayer and summer school director Michael Fisher laid flowers to mark the 144th anniversary of his death.

Donaghmore Historical Society’s Townlands project is dedicated to the importance of these geographical divisions of land that have existed for thousands of years, long before towns and villages developed. They are a most important element of our heritage. Since the Post Office ceased using town lands in the early 1970s and introduced road names instead, there has been a steady decline in the awareness of our town lands by all of us but more especially by the younger generations. Members of Donaghmore Historical Society intend to study a number of townlands in the parish of Donaghmore to find things like the acreage, the meaning of the name and any other features of interest and to chart the changes that have taken place in them over the past two hundred years.

Patricia Bogue outlined how they intend to research all available records of the people who lived in the townlands and to record all their findings in book form. The aim of the publication will be to help genealogists and family history researchers seeking information about the many emigrants from the parish, living in all parts of the world. To help raise awareness of townlands in the new generations, the group also intend to involve schools from the parish in the project.

Killeeshil and Clonaneese Historical Society described how it was formed in March 2009 from the coming together of people throughout the areas of Killeeshil and Clonaneese, Co. Tyrone who have a keen interest in local history. Richard Knox said the Society’s aims are to broaden the knowledge of the area’s long and wonderful history and to provide a mechanism whereby local people and those from further afield can access this knowledge through literature, talks & events and the internet.

The Society is keen to promote the fact that the area has a rich shared history which should be enjoyed by everyone and as such the Society’s ethos is cross-community. If you would like to become a member of the Society please contact the Secretary or come along to the various events they will be holding in the coming months through the Shared History Shared Future Project.

Six Groups in Shared History Project

Like the other five members in the project, the South Lough Neagh Regeneration Association is a voluntary cross-community group. It aims to attract and encourage investment in the economic, social and environmental well-being of the southern shores of Lough Neagh; to generate activity, employment, enthusiasm and pride in the community. They are interested in the area of the “Derrys”: covering Derrymacash, Derryadd, Derrytrasna, Derryinver, Derrylard, The Birches, Maghery, Derryloughan and Derrytresk.

Local historian Tommy Glenny told the launch that the group plans to make a video about the walkways of the defunct Ulster Canal, which once played an important role in transportation in the area. There are plans by Waterways Ireland to restore part of the canal, which linked Lough Neagh through Monaghan and Clones with Upper Lough Erne in County Fermanagh, as part of a tourism project. The group takes a special interest in the stretch between Maghery and Benburb and will be holding events in May on the old canal towpath.

The PEACE III Programme is part-funded by the European Union (€225 million from the EU with further national contributions of €108 million) through its Structural Funds Programme. The four Councils of Cookstown, Dungannon and South Tyrone, Fermanagh and Magherafelt came together to manage the PEACE III Programme for Measure 1.1 – ‘Building Positive Relations at a Local Level’ across the four Council areas. This area is referred to as the South West Cluster. The full title of the PEACE III Programme is the EU Programme for Peace and Reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland. The programme is available in Northern Ireland and the Border Counties of the Republic of Ireland and covers the period 2007-2013.

The four Councils of the South West Cluster were allocated a budget of £3,461,440 for Phase I of the PEACE III Programme (2007-2010) and a further allocation of £3,461,743 has been awarded to deliver Phase II of the Programme for the period 2011-2013. The Phase II Action Plan has been developed after extensive consultation with local stakeholders and analysis of the needs of communities across the the South West Cluster.

Michael Fisher's News

Tag Archives: Caledon Regeneration Partnership

TYRONE INVENTORS

SHARED HISTORY BOOK

ROYAL VISITORS IN CALEDON

CLOGHER VALLEY RAILWAY

CALEDON AND ITS REGENERATION

SHARED HISTORY: SHARED FUTURE

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: