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Caledon, County Tyrone

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Caledon
Mill Street, Caledon
Caledon is located in Northern Ireland
Caledon
Caledon
Location within Northern Ireland
Population522 (2021 Census)
Irish grid referenceH755453
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townCALEDON
Postcode districtBT68
Dialling code028
UK Parliament
NI Assembly
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Tyrone
54°21′00″N 6°49′59″W / 54.35°N 6.833°W / 54.35; -6.833

Caledon (/ˈkælɪdɪn/) is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is in the Clogher Valley on the banks of the River Blackwater, 10 km west of Armagh, near the border with the Republic of Ireland. In the 2021 Census it had a population of 522 people.[citation needed] It is a designated conservation area. Caledon was originally called Kinaird (from Irish Cionn Aird 'head/top of the hill'), until renamed in 1779 after Caledon House.[1]

History

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The village was the site of a castle of the O'Neills of Kinard, a Gaelic clan.[1] During the Nine Years' War (1594–1603), this small branch of the O'Neills served on the side of the Crown. They were rewarded by having their land at Kinard granted to them directly by the Crown, outside of Tyrone's overlordship.[2] In 1608, the castle and settlement of Kinard were burned by the forces of Sir Cahir O'Doherty, during O'Doherty's Rebellion. Sir Henry Óg O'Neill and his son Turlough McHenry O'Neill were killed by the rebels.[3]

During the early 17th century Plantation of Ulster, the area was colonized by settlers from Britain. Felim O'Neill of Kinard, son of Turlough McHenry, was the main leader of the Irish Rebellion of 1641.

In 1967 the Gildernew family, began a protest about discrimination in housing allocation by 'squatting' (illegally occupying) in a house in Caledon. The house had been allocated by Dungannon Rural District Council to a 19-year-old unmarried Ulster Protestant woman, Emily Beattie, who was the secretary of a local Ulster Unionist Party politician. Beattie was given the house ahead of older married Catholic families with children.[4] The protesters were evicted by officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, one of whom was Beattie's brother. The next day, the annual conference of the Nationalist Party unanimously approved of the protest action by Currie.[5]

Caledon House

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Caledon, from, A series of picturesque views of seats of the noblemen and gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland (1840)

Caledon House was built in 1779 by James Alexander, a member of the Irish House of Commons for Londonderry, who had previously in 1778 bought the Caledon Estate. James Alexander was made Baron Caledon in 1790 and later Viscount Caledon in 1797. The House was begun in 1779 to designs by Thomas Cooley, but altered by John Nash in 1808–10.[6] The village of Kinaird was renamed Caledon after the house and estate. The name "appears to be from Caledonia, an archaic Roman name for Scotland".[1]

Transport

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Caledon railway station (on the narrow gauge Clogher Valley Railway) opened on 2 May 1887, but finally closed on 1 January 1942. Tynan and Caledon railway station on the mainline opened by the Ulster Railway on 25 May 1858. In 1876 the Ulster Railway merged with other railway companies to become the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). The station was finally closed on 1 October 1957.[7]

Education

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Local schools include Churchill Primary School and St. Joseph's Primary School.[citation needed]

Sport

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Caledon Rovers F.C. are the local football team of Caledon. They play in the Mid-Ulster Football League.[8] Established in 1998, they have had trophy success, having lifted the Armstrong Cup in 2017.[9]

Demography

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19th century population

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The population of the village decreased during the 19th century:[10][11]

Year184118511861187118811891
Population1046999825579562703
Houses183172155120131151

21st century population

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On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 387 people living in Caledon. Of these:

  • 31.0% were under 16 years old and 16.2% were aged 60 and over;
  • 47.9% of the population were male and 52.1% were female;
  • 35.1% were from a Catholic community background
  • 60.0% were from a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' community background.

Caledon townland

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The village of Caledon is in a townland of the same name. The townland is in the historic barony of Dungannon Lower and the civil parish of Aghaloo and covers an area of 232 acres.[12] The population of the townland declined during the 19th century:[13][14]

Year18511861187118811891
Population2828382516
Houses551074

The townland contains one Scheduled Historic Monument: a Beam engine (grid ref: H7581 4521).[15]

People

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References

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  1. 1 2 3 "Caledon, Co Tyrone". PlaceNames NI. Northern Ireland Place-Name Project.
  2. ↑ Casway 1984, p. 60"His reward was a knighthood and a regranting of his Kinard estate outside of Hugh's jurisdiction."
  3. ↑ McCavitt 2002, p. 144"Thus Sir Henry Og O'Neill's settlement at Kinard was attacked. The town was burned and Henry Óg was killed."
  4. ↑ Dwyer, T. Ryle (4 October 2008). "The spark that lit the Troubles is still smouldering in the embers". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 15 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  5. ↑ "A Chronology of the Conflict – 1968". Conflict Archive on the Internet (CAIN). Archived from the original on 6 August 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  6. ↑ O'Neill, B (ed). (2002). Irish Castles and Historic Houses. London: Caxton Editions. p. 25.
  7. ↑ "Caledon and Tynan stations" (PDF). Railscot – Irish Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 March 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  8. ↑ "Mid Ulster Football League". www.midulsterfootballleague.co.uk. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  9. ↑ Reporter, Staff (3 August 2017). "Battle of the Rovers sees Caledon out on top to win Armstrong Cup". Armagh I. Retrieved 17 November 2025.
  10. ↑ "Census of Ireland 1851". Enhanced Parliamentary Papers on Ireland. Retrieved 22 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  11. ↑ "Census of Ireland 1891". Enhanced Parliamentary Papers on Ireland. Retrieved 22 March 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  12. ↑ "Townlands of County Tyrone". IreAtlas Townland Database. Archived from the original on 28 June 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  13. ↑ "Census of Ireland 1851". Enhanced Parliamentary Papers on Ireland. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  14. ↑ "Census of Ireland 1891". Enhanced Parliamentary Papers on Ireland. Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2012.
  15. ↑ "Scheduled Historic Monuments (to 15 October 2012)" (PDF). NI Environment Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2013. Retrieved 29 December 2012.

Sources

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