Poyntzpass

Last updated

Poyntzpass
Poyntzpass Level Crossing at Dusk.jpg
The level-crossing at Poyntzpass
United Kingdom Northern Ireland adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location within Northern Ireland
Population552 (2011 census)
Irish grid reference J057394
•  Belfast 29.02 mi (46.70 km)
District
County
Country Northern Ireland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town NEWRY
Postcode district BT35
Dialling code 028
Police Northern Ireland
Fire Northern Ireland
Ambulance Northern Ireland
UK Parliament
NI Assembly
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
54°17′13″N6°22′19″W / 54.287°N 6.372°W / 54.287; -6.372

Poyntzpass (Irish : Pas Phoyntz / Pas an Phointe) [1] is a small village on the border between southern County Armagh and County Down in Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Ballymore and the historic barony of Orior Lower [2] within the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon area. It had a population of 552 people (228 households) in the 2011 census. [3] It was a part of the South Armagh constituency and is now part of the Newry and Armagh constituency.

Contents

The village covers the townlands of Tullynacross, Brannock, Federnagh and Loughadian. It includes five places of Christian worship; a Roman Catholic Church, a Church of Ireland Church, a Presbyterian Church, [4] a Baptist Church, and an Independent Church; 3 public houses; and 2 primary schools.

History

The second half of the village's name reflects the fact that, historically, it was one of a few crossing points across a marsh stretching 25 miles (40 km) from Lough Neagh to Carlingford Lough, following the course of a prehistoric glacial overflow channel. It was named after Lieutenant Charles Poyntz who fought a battle there against Hugh O'Neill, 3rd Earl of Tyrone in 1598.

From "Topographical Dictionary of Ireland" by Samuel Lewis, 1837:

"POYNTZPASS, or FENWICK'S PASS, a small town, partly in the parish of AGHADERG, barony of UPPER IVEAGH, county of DOWN, but chiefly in the parish of BALLYMORE barony of LOWER ORIOR, county of ARMAGH and province of ULSTER , 2¾ miles (S.W.) from Loughbrickland, to which it has a penny post; containing 660 inhabitants, of which number, 88 are in the county of Down. This place was an encumbered pass through bogs and woods, from the county of Down into that of Armagh, and from the O'Hanlons' to the Magennises' country: it derives its present name from this important military position having been forced, after a desperate action, by Lieut. Poyntz, of the English army, with a few troops, against a numerous body of Tyrone's soldiers, for which service he was rewarded with a grant of 500 acres [2 km²] in this barony: there are some remains of the castle that commanded the pass. At Drumbanagher are vestiges of the entrenchment surrounding the principal strong hold of the Earl of Tyrone, during his wars with Queen Elizabeth, called Tyrone's Ditches. Poyntz-Pass is now one of the most fertile and beautiful spots in this part of the country. To the south is Drumbanagher Castle, the handsome residence of Lieut.-Col. Maxwell Close, built in the Italian style, with a large portico in front; on an eminence above the town is Acton House, the elegant residence of C. R. Dobbs, Esq.; not far from which is Union Lodge, that of W. Fivey, Esq., in a beautiful demesne, bounded by the extensive waters of Lough Shark. That portion of the town which is in the county of Armagh was built about 1790, by Mr. Stewart, then proprietor, who procured for it a grant of a market and fairs; the former was never established, but the latter, held on the first Saturday in every month, are large and well attended, great numbers of cattle and sheep being sold. The town comprises 116 houses in one principal street, intersected by a shorter one. It contains the church for the district of Acton, a small neat edifice in the early English style, with a tower at the east front, built in 1789, and considerably enlarged and improved in 1829; a R. C. chapel, a school, and a constabulary police station."

A castle was once situated in Poyntzpass. Its remnants were visible until the middle of the 19th century, but there is now no trace of it other than in the name 'Castle Corner' by which a corner of William Street is sometimes known.

On 3 March 1998, 26-year old Catholic Damian Trainor and 34-year old Presbyterian Philip Allen, were shot dead during a Loyalist Volunteer Force gun attack on the Railway Bar in Poyntzpass. [5] [6]

Demography

On census day in 2011 (27 March 2011), there were 552 people living in Poyntzpass. [3] Of these:

Sport

The local Gaelic football club, named in honour of the rapparee, is Redmond O'Hanlon's (Cumann Réamainn Uí Anluain). Created around 1960, it became inactive in 1970 but was revived in 1977. It currently competes at Junior level in county competitions [7]

Transport

Poyntzpass straddles the main Belfast-Dublin railway line, and has a Northern Ireland Railways railway station. Poyntzpass railway station opened on 6 January 1862. [8]

The Newry Canal which flows through Poyntzpass follows the Armagh/Down border and was one of the first major canals to be constructed in Britain or Ireland. However, it never really fulfilled its promise to bring industry and prosperity and has been derelict since the 1940s. Its summit level is one mile (1.6 km) from the village at Acton Lake (Lough Shark).

Education

There are two primary schools in the area:[ citation needed ]

Notable people

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Armagh</span> County in Northern Ireland

County Armagh is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 1,327 km2 (512 sq mi) and has a population of 194,394 as of the 2021 census. County Armagh is known as the "Orchard County" because of its many apple orchards. The county is part of the historic province of Ulster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Down</span> County in Northern Ireland

County Down is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of 961 sq mi (2,490 km2) and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the north, the Irish Sea to the east, County Armagh to the west, and County Louth across Carlingford Lough to the southwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Monaghan</span> County in Ireland

County Monaghan is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 65,288 according to the 2022 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tandragee</span> Village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland

Tandragee is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is built on a hillside overlooking the Cusher River, in the civil parish of Ballymore and the historic barony of Orior Lower.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ó hAnluain</span> Family name

The Ó h-Anluain family was an agnatic extended family comprising one of a string of dynasts along the Ulster-Leinster border. Depending on the advantage to the clan, the Chief of the Name—The O'Hanlon—supported either the Earl of Tyrone or authorities within the English Pale. During the 15th century, ties were close with the famed Earls of Kildare. Frequently, members of the clan would fight on both sides during a rebellion. Some would be outlawed; others pardoned; some ending up on the winning side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newry railway station</span> Railway station in County Armagh, Northern Ireland

Newry railway station serves Newry and Bessbrook in Northern Ireland. The station is located in the northwest of Newry, County Armagh on the Dublin-Belfast line close to the Craigmore Viaduct. It is the most southerly railway station in Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acton, County Armagh</span> Human settlement in Northern Ireland

Acton is a hamlet and townland of 22 acres in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, about a half mile north of Poyntzpass. It is situated in the civil parish of Ballymore and the historic barony of Orior Lower and within the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area. It had a population of 72 people in the 2011 Census.

Count Redmond O'Hanlon, was a 17th-century Irish tóraidhe or rapparee; an outlawed member of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland who still held to the code of conduct of the traditional chiefs of the Irish clans.

Poyntz may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aughanduff</span> Village in Ulster, Northern Ireland

Aughanduff is a small village and townland in the civil parish of Forkhill, in the former barony of Orior Upper, and County of Armagh, Northern Ireland. The townland is roughly co-existent with Upper and Lower Aughanduff Mountains, both of which form part of the Ring of Gullion geological formation, which has been described as the most spectacular example of a ring-dyke intrusion in Ireland or Britain, and was the first ring dyke in the world to be geologically mapped. Aughanduff has been populated since prehistoric times and has been recorded as a distinct district since at least the early 1600s. The area's history is both well documented and reflects its location both in rural Ireland and on the borderlands of the Pale, the Plantation of Ulster, and latterly Northern Ireland; indeed, part of the district's northern boundary was proposed for forming part of the northern border of the Irish Free State by the Irish Boundary Commission in its final report of 1925. The Boundary Commission's report was never implemented and today, the area remains within Northern Ireland, some five miles from the border with the Republic of Ireland. Part of the area has been designated by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency as an Area of Special Scientific Interest, and the district lies within the Ring of Gullion Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oneilland West</span> Barony in County Armagh, Northern Ireland

Oneilland West is a barony in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is also called Clancann, after the Mac Cana clan. It lies in the north of the county on the south-western shore of Lough Neagh and the border of County Tyrone. Oneilland West is bordered by five other baronies: Armagh to the west; Dungannon Middle to the north-west; Oneilland East to the north-east; Orior Lower to the south-east; and Kinelarty to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orior Lower</span> Place in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Orior Lower is a barony in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies in the east of the county and borders County Down with its eastern boundary. It is bordered by seven other baronies: Fews Upper to the south-west; Fews Lower to the west; Oneilland West to the north-west; Oneilland East to the north; Iveagh Lower, Lower Half to the north-east; Iveagh Upper, Upper Half to the east; and Orior Upper to the south. A small enclave of Orior Lower resides in the east of Orior Upper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orior Upper</span> Place in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom

Orior Upper is a barony in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies in the south-east of the county and borders the Republic of Ireland with its southern boundary. It is bordered by five other baronies in Northern Ireland: Fews Upper and an enclave of Fews Lower to the west; Orior Lower to the north; Iveagh Upper, Upper Half to its west, which is divided in two by the Lordship of Newry. It also borders two baronies in the Republic of Ireland: Dundalk Lower and Dundalk Upper to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iveagh Upper, Upper Half</span> Barony in County Down, Northern Ireland

Iveagh Upper, Upper Half is the name of a barony in County Down, Northern Ireland. It was created by 1851 with the division of the barony of Iveagh Upper into two. It lies to the west and south of the county, split in half by the Lordship of Newry. It is bordered by six other baronies: Mourne to the south; Iveagh Upper, Lower Half to the east; Iveagh Lower, Lower Half and Iveagh Lower, Upper Half to the north; and Orior Lower and Orior Upper to the west.

Ballymore is a civil parish and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Orior Lower.

Federnagh is a townland of 234 acres in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Ballymore and the historic barony of Orior Lower.

Druminargal is a townland of 389 acres in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Ballymore and the historic barony of Orior Lower, near Poyntzpass.

Brannock is a townland in Poyntzpass, County Armagh. It comes from the Irish name Bran Cnoc which translates as Hill of the Raven. It is situated in the Barony of Orior Lower and the Parish of Ballymore. A number of well-known local families and people were from, or lived in, Brannock such as MacCulla, Calvert, McComb, McGivern, Morrow, Alexander and Mackle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerrettspass</span> Village in Northern Ireland

Jerrettspass is a small village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, beside the River Blackwater, that forms the border with County Down. It is situated in the townland of Kilmonaghan, in the civil parish of Killevy and the historic barony of Orior Lower, approximately 4 miles north of the city of Newry. It lies within the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.

References

  1. ↑ "Pas an Phointe/Poyntzpass". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Poyntzpass". IreAtlas Townlands Database. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Census 2011 Population Statistics for Poyntzpass Settlement". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Retrieved 8 June 2021. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
  4. ↑ https://www.facebook.com/CFPPresbyterianChurches [ user-generated source ]
  5. ↑ http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/sutton/chron/ NI Conflict Archive on the Internet
  6. ↑ "2 Killed in Ireland Attack". AP NEWS. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
  7. ↑ Armagh GAA website Archived 2012-08-27 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "Poyntzpass station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
  9. ↑ The Green Republic on Amazon Books
  10. ↑ William Robert MacDermott, F. Watters; Before I Forget, Issue 1, 1987.
  11. ↑ Poyntzpass and the American Civil War, R. Morrow; Before I Forget, Issue 15, 2019
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.