Camlough
Encyclopedia
Camlough or Camloch is a small village
in County Armagh
, Northern Ireland
. It is near Bessbrook
and the slopes of the Ring of Gullion
. It had a population of 910 people in the 2001 Census
.
led an abortive IRA assault on the Royal Irish Constabulary
station in his home village of Camlough. In reprisal the newly formed Ulster Special Constabulary
burned Aiken's home and those of ten of his relatives in the Camlough area.
for further information.
On 19 May 1981, five British soldiers were killed in an Irish Republican Army
(IRA) landmine attack near Camlough, County Armagh. The soldiers had been travelling in an armoured vehicle when the bomb exploded. This attack was during the 1981 Irish hunger strike
in Maze (HM Prison)
, and near to the home of one of the hunger strikers, Raymond McCreesh
.
Two hundred swimmers from across Ireland took part in the challenge, but it was Paul McCann from outside Camlough who was the man to claim the record for the group at 12.45pm on Wednesday. The previous record was 480 km; Camlough set the record at 680 km.
(GAA). The village hosts two Gaelic football clubs, Carrickcruppen St Patrick's and Shane O' Neill's Camloch the original Camlough club, as well as the Craobh Rua Camloch hurling
club. Carrickcruppen have won four Armagh championships, and Shane O'Neills two.
Craobh Rua Camloch hurling club was established in 1991 in the Camlough and Bessbrook
areas of South Armagh. As hurling had not been played in the area in some forty years, the club received some help from Armagh Hurling Board
chairman, Jimmy Carlisle, who helped set up coaching courses for the children and their mentors. Over its first ten years the club has successfully fielded teams at under 12, under 14, under 16 and since 2010 at under 8, minor and senior levels. They play there home games at Dunster Park (Pairc an Dúnstér) on High Street, Derrymore.
In 2010 the Seniors reached the Junior Championship Final and subsequently made it to the semi-final of the Ulster championship. The Under 14s won the 2010 Championship and the Feile, and represented County Armagh
in the All Ireland Feile in Ennis
, where they reached the semi-final.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. It is near Bessbrook
Bessbrook
Bessbrook is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about three miles northwest of Newry and close to the main Dublin–Belfast road and rail line...
and the slopes of the Ring of Gullion
Ring of Gullion AONB
The Ring of Gullion is a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty . It is located in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, measures roughly 42 by 18 kilometres and comprises some 150 km² defined topographically by the hills of the Ring Dyke.This structure was the first Ring dike to be mapped,...
. It had a population of 910 people in the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
.
1920s
In December 1920, Frank AikenFrank Aiken
Frank Aiken was a commander of the Irish Republican Army and later an Irish politician. A founding-member of Fianna Fáil, Aiken was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1923 and at each subsequent election until 1973...
led an abortive IRA assault on the Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
station in his home village of Camlough. In reprisal the newly formed Ulster Special Constabulary
Ulster Special Constabulary
The Ulster Special Constabulary was a reserve police force in Northern Ireland. It was set up in October 1920, shortly before the founding of Northern Ireland. It was an armed corps, organised partially on military lines and called out in times of emergency, such as war or insurgency...
burned Aiken's home and those of ten of his relatives in the Camlough area.
The Troubles
Camlough is situated South Armagh, which was the most militarised region in Western Europe due to the history of the Troubles. The region has been a stronghold of support for the IRA, earning it the nickname "Bandit Country". See Provisional IRA South Armagh BrigadeProvisional IRA South Armagh Brigade
The South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army operated during the Troubles in south County Armagh. It was organised into two battalions, one around Jonesborough and another around Crossmaglen. By the 1990s, the South Armagh Brigade was thought to consist of about 40 members,...
for further information.
On 19 May 1981, five British soldiers were killed in an Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
(IRA) landmine attack near Camlough, County Armagh. The soldiers had been travelling in an armoured vehicle when the bomb exploded. This attack was during the 1981 Irish hunger strike
1981 Irish hunger strike
The 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
in Maze (HM Prison)
Maze (HM Prison)
Her Majesty's Prison Maze was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from mid-1971 to mid-2000....
, and near to the home of one of the hunger strikers, Raymond McCreesh
Raymond McCreesh
Raymond Peter "Ray" McCreesh was an Irish republican hunger striker and a volunteer in the South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army .-Background:...
.
World Record
A Guinness world record was broken by a team of intrepid swimmers at Camlough Lake in south Armagh on Wednesday 16 September 2009. The group beat the world record for a 'continuous long distance relay swim' after embarking on the world beating attempt over a week before.Two hundred swimmers from across Ireland took part in the challenge, but it was Paul McCann from outside Camlough who was the man to claim the record for the group at 12.45pm on Wednesday. The previous record was 480 km; Camlough set the record at 680 km.
Places of interest
- Ballykeel Dolmen and Cairn are south west of Camlough, at the western foot of Slieve Gullion. The dolmen is an example of a portal dolmen and is made up of two portal stones with a sill between, and a lower backstone supporting a huge capstoneCapstoneCapstone may refer to:* Coping , one of the finishing or protective stones that form the top of an exterior masonry wall or building* Capstone , a US government project about cryptographic standards...
.
Events
- Feile Chamlocha is the annual festival held in Camlough in the summer months including Camlough Festival and the Crooked Lake Triathlon
Sports
Camlough is famous for its links with the Gaelic Athletic AssociationGaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
(GAA). The village hosts two Gaelic football clubs, Carrickcruppen St Patrick's and Shane O' Neill's Camloch the original Camlough club, as well as the Craobh Rua Camloch hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
club. Carrickcruppen have won four Armagh championships, and Shane O'Neills two.
Craobh Rua Camloch hurling club was established in 1991 in the Camlough and Bessbrook
Bessbrook
Bessbrook is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about three miles northwest of Newry and close to the main Dublin–Belfast road and rail line...
areas of South Armagh. As hurling had not been played in the area in some forty years, the club received some help from Armagh Hurling Board
Armagh GAA
The Armagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Armagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Armagh...
chairman, Jimmy Carlisle, who helped set up coaching courses for the children and their mentors. Over its first ten years the club has successfully fielded teams at under 12, under 14, under 16 and since 2010 at under 8, minor and senior levels. They play there home games at Dunster Park (Pairc an Dúnstér) on High Street, Derrymore.
In 2010 the Seniors reached the Junior Championship Final and subsequently made it to the semi-final of the Ulster championship. The Under 14s won the 2010 Championship and the Feile, and represented County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
in the All Ireland Feile in Ennis
Ennis
Ennis is the county town of Clare in Ireland. Situated on the River Fergus, it lies north of Limerick and south of Galway. Its name is a shortening of the original ....
, where they reached the semi-final.
Education
- St. Malachy's Primary School
- St Paul's High School, BessbrookBessbrookBessbrook is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about three miles northwest of Newry and close to the main Dublin–Belfast road and rail line...
2001 Census
Camlough is classified as a Small Village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 500 and 1,000 people). On Census day (April 29, 2001) there were 910 people living in Camlough. Of these:- 27.6% were aged under 16 years;
- 12.6% were aged 60 and over;
- the average age was 31.8 years (NI average age 35.8 years);
- 46.5% of the population were male and 53.5% were female;
- 98.8% were from a Catholic Community Background;
- 1.2% were from a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' Community Background;
- 9.7% were born outside Northern Ireland; and
- 0.0% were from an ethnic group other than white.
Notable residents
- Frank AikenFrank AikenFrank Aiken was a commander of the Irish Republican Army and later an Irish politician. A founding-member of Fianna Fáil, Aiken was first elected to Dáil Éireann in 1923 and at each subsequent election until 1973...
, prominent IRA figure during the War of IndependenceIrish War of IndependenceThe Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
and later becoming a Fianna Fáil TD and Minister for External Affairs in the Republic of Ireland - Eugene O'CallaghanEugene O'CallaghanEugene O'Callaghan was a priest in the Archdiocese of Armagh, ordained on 21 June 1913. Having served as curate in Armagh City for a period, he was then appointed as Administrator of the Cathedral parish of Armagh. He was responsible for building the parish church of St Malachy's in that city...
, Roman Catholic Bishop of Clogher 1943–1969 - Conor MurphyConor MurphyConor Terence Murphy is an Irish republican Sinn Féin politician.According to An Phoblacht, Murphy first became involved with the Irish Republican Army during the 1981 hunger strikes...
, Sinn Féin Member of Parliament for Newry and Armagh - Malachy Hamill, Turtle Wrestler
- Eamon CollinsEamon CollinsEamon Collins was a Provisional Irish Republican Army activist in the late 1970s and 1980s. He turned his back on the organisation in the late 1980s and later co-authored a book called Killing Rage telling of his experiences in the IRA...
, IRA 'Supergrass' - Raymond McCreeshRaymond McCreeshRaymond Peter "Ray" McCreesh was an Irish republican hunger striker and a volunteer in the South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army .-Background:...
, IRA Volunteer who died after 61 days on hunger-strike in 1981. - Patsy (Bán) McParland, Gaelic Football Manager
- Paddy QuinnPaddy Quinn (Irish republican)Patrick Quinn was a volunteer with the 1st Battalion, South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army who took part in the 1981 Irish hunger strike.-Early life:...
, volunteer within the 1st Battalion, South Armagh Brigade of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) who took part in the 1981 Irish hunger strike1981 Irish hunger strikeThe 1981 Irish hunger strike was the culmination of a five-year protest during The Troubles by Irish republican prisoners in Northern Ireland. The protest began as the blanket protest in 1976, when the British government withdrew Special Category Status for convicted paramilitary prisoners...
. - Tomás Ó Fiaich, Irish Roman Catholic Cardinal, Archbishop of Armagh and the Primate of All Ireland.
- Andrew BrittonAndrew BrittonAndrew Paul Vine-Britton was a British-born spy novelist who immigrated to the United States with his family at age seven. He published his first novel at age 23, his books were translated for international sales, and have been posted on the extended New York Times bestseller list.-Early...
, authorAuthorAn author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:... - Aodh Ó Luaois, Uachtarán Comhaltas Uladh de Chonradh na Gaeilge (Hugh Lewis President Irish Language Movement in Ulster 1978- 1980)
- Seamy Lennon, Entrepreneur
- Marty Lynch, Shanes Senior Manager, adopted as a Camlough Man.