Tag Archives: Killeeshil & Clonaneese Historical Society

TYRONE INVENTORS

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Christy & Martin Mallon, Killeeshil Photo: © Kevin McSorley

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.

ROYAL VISITORS IN CALEDON

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Arrival of Prince of Wales & Duchess of Cornwall in Caledon

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

Detail on Gate

Entrance to Caledon Castle

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

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

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

Site of former Police Station

Memorial to RUC Reservists

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

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

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

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

William Carleton Society display

Killeeshil & Clonaneese Historical Society Display

Killeeshil & Clonaneese Historical Society Display

Caledon Regeneration Partnership

Caledon Regeneration Partnership

William Carleton Society & Donaghmore Historical Society

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

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.

ORANGE BANNERETTE IN TYRONE

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Fort Edward Bannerette, Aughintober LOL 37

Fort Edward Bannerette, Aughintober LOL 38

In April I wrote about the banners and sashes from orange and green traditions on display in an interesting exhibition “Walking the Colours” at Monaghan County Museum until the end of July. Tonight there was an unveiling of a new bannerette at Aughintober orange hall near Castlecaulfield in County Tyrone. The News Letter reports that it uses the description of the original banner dedicated to a former local lodge, Fort Edward Cavalry 677, which was formed from a local Yeomanry unit in 1798. The bannerette was commissioned by Raymond Cuddy, a pig farmer, who is a long-standing member of Aughintober LOL 38  and a past worshipful master and secretary, who gave some 20 years’ service as an officer with the lodge. The unveiling was carried out by the Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, Edward Stevenson.

Aughintober Orange Hall

Aughintober Orange Hall

The presentation of Fort Edward Cavalry’s original banner on July 12 1798 was recorded in the News Letter. This was discovered by Raymond Cuddy and fellow historian Jonathan Gray, who was born in Belfast but now lives in Castlecaulfield, following extensive research carried out over the past year. At tonight’s unfurling, which took  place in Aughintober Orange Hall, both Raymond and Jonathan Gray presented a talk on the Fort Edward Cavalry, tracing their origins in the Clonaneese volunteers, their relationship with Lower Clonaneese Presbyterian Church and their legacy in this area. The talk included the military career of their Captain, Waterhouse Crymble Lindsay. Raymond, who along with Jonathan is a member of Killeeshil and Clonaneese Historical Society, has plans to write a book about the legacy of the local lodge. The talk will be repeated next Wednesday 3rd July at 7:30pm at Ranfurly House in Dungannon.

Although tonight’s event is not part of the same programme, the Killeeshil and Clonaneese Historical Society is one of five groups including the William Carleton Society involved in the “Shared History, Shared Future” project supported by Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council. It recently held an open day at a former flax mill at Ennish near Lower Clonaneese church.

Bannerette unveiled by Grand Master

Bannerette unveiled by Grand Master

ENNISH FLAX MILL

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Howard Bennett at Ennish Scutch Mill

Harold Bennett at Ennish Scutch Mill

For over ten years Harold Bennett from County Tyrone has been devoted to preserving an important part of Ulster’s industrial heritage. Ennish Flax Mill between Aughnacloy and Dungannon is the third generation of his family to own the mill., which closed in 1950. In the early 2000s he decided to renovate the mill, a project which has taken considerable time, money and effort an is still a wok in progress. He has been supported in his efforts by the Killeeshil and Clonaneese Historical Society, which is currently undertaking a project on engineering in the area under the “Shared History, Shared Future” project, of which the William Carleton Society is a member.

Barbeque at Ennish Mill

Barbeque at Ennish Mill

Flax after scutching

Flax after scutching

An open day and barbeque was held at the mill to show it in operation and to give a younger generation an idea of how the mill operated. Ennish started off as a corn mill around 1770 and was owned by the Burges family of Parkanaur Manor near Castlecaulfield. In 1917 William S Bennett purchased the mill from Colonel YS Burges for £255. At that time the flax industry, which was important in Ulster in the 18th and 19th Centuries, was booming. The mill was converted to process flax, which was first scotched in October 1917.

Mill Wheel at Ennish

Mill Wheel at Ennish

Up to 1944 the mill was driven by the mill wheel but because of dry seasons there was insufficient water to turn the wheel. The then owner, William Bennett’s son Hugh John, was obliged to instal an engine to drive the mill. It was installed by AS McKee & Sons of Cranslough, who also carried out a number of renovations in order to accommodate the new engine. Farmers came from surrounding areas such as Crilly, Minteburn, Rehaghey, Brantry, Newmills, Clonavaddy and Castlecaulfield to get their flax scutched. After flowering and ripening in July, the farmers pulled the flax by hand and then soaked it in a water-filled dam for one to two weeks to ret (break down the outer coating). It was then spread on a field to dry before being taken to the mill.

Scutching handles behind the berths

Scutching handles behind the berths

The mill has seven “berths”, the space in front of each flax handle where the scutchers worked. Sometimes they worked in pairs. The first was a “buffer”, who took the rough off the flax, the second was the “cleaner”, who completed the scutching. Good flax could be scutched into long, strong fibres, which could eventually be turned into fine linen cloth. When the scotching was finished, the flax was taken to Union Street in Cookstown for inspection and if it passed the grading process, it was then taken to a linen mill in Belfast and woven int linen fabric. The poorer quality flax containing many shorter fibres was called “tow” and was less valuable. Any cloth made from it was rough and inferior. Usually the mill owner kept the tow as payment or part payment for the scutching.

Ennish Flax Mill

Ennish Flax Mill

Scutching: a dusty process

Scutching: a dusty process

The waste from scutching known as “shoves” or “shows” was a cheap and popular fuel on the hearths of mill workers. A properly lit fire of shoves would burn for hours, emitting an intense heat. It must have been difficult for the seven scutchers working in a confined space and with the noise of the machinery as well as the dust. Harold’s demonstration gave an idea of what conditions must have been like for them, but this picture was with only one blade in action!

According to the mill records for 1945, the workforce consisted of six scutchers, three strickers, one roller and a handyman, whose job it was to remove the shoves from behind the handles. Scutchers were paid by the number of stones scutched and in a good week would earn between £3 and £4. The roller was on a set wage of £2.14.6 and the strickers earned £2.10.0 a week. In 1918 scutchers were paid a bounty of £6.0.0. to secure their services for the next scutching season. The details are taken from an information leaflet kindly provided by Harold Bennett.

Thresher in action

Thresher in action

This is one of only three such flax mills still remaining in Northern Ireland. Another one is at Gorticashel near Gortin, also in Tyrone. The scutching  demonstration was complemented by a display of threshing in the adjoining field. The straw was brought in for the occasion. The thresher carried the name “Boyd” and appeared to come from Maghera.

While researching the history of the linen industry, I discovered a newspaper cutting from the USA which shows that even before the new engine was installed at Ennish, the linen industry was in decline. The Delmarva Star from Wilmington in Delaware carried a report on March 3rd 1935 (p.22) headlined: “Shortage of Flax Threatens Ulster Makers of Linen: Numbers of Mills Face Necessity of Closing Down: Prices Have Made Unexpected Rise“. The news from Belfast (March 2) states that:-

“Ulster’s world-famed linen industry today finds itself menaced by an acute shortage of its necessary raw material, flax.

Unless the crisis in the industry is overcome within the next few months, numbers of linen mills in Northern Ireland will be faced with the necessity of closing down.

The outstanding reason for the present crisis is a shortage of flax from Soviet Russia. The linen mills of Northern Ireland, which employ about 85,000 workers, are dependent on Soviet Russia for more than 90 per cent of their raw materials. The Soviet Union itself is the world’s biggest flax producer, growing between 90 and 95 per cent of the world’s total flax supply.

In recent months Germany has bought ever-increasing quantities of Russian flax to take the place of wool and cotton which it has been unable to import owing to exchange restrictions. At the same time the Soviet Union itself has begun to absorb large quantities of its own raw flax to manufacture in its new factories.

The result of these unexpected developments has been a leap upwards in the price of flax. Ulster linen manufacturers state that they have only sufficient flax on hand to meet the needs of the next four or five months, after which they expect the cost of flax to be so prohibitive that it will be impossible to produce linen goods in Northern Ireland at economic prices.

With a steep rise in the price of linen goods expected the next few months, it is understood that United States and other foreign importers of Irish linen have made large purchases in Belfast before prices soar still higher“.