Drumnacanvy is a small village

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...

 and townland

Townland

A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...

 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 lies 3km east-southeast

Boxing the compass

Boxing the compass is the action of naming all thirty-two points of the compass in clockwise order. Such names are formed by the initials of the cardinal directions and their intermediate ordinal directions, and are very handy to refer to a heading in a general or colloquial fashion, without...

 of Portadown

Portadown

Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...

. It is a dormitory settlement comprising mainly residential housing. The village is situated within the Green Belt and is set within undulating hills, with land to the west becoming progressively flatter. It is within the Craigavon Borough Council

Craigavon Borough Council

Craigavon Borough Council is a local council in counties Armagh, Down and Antrim, in Northern Ireland. The headquarters of the council is in Craigavon, on the shores of Lough Neagh, a new town built between Lurgan and Portadown. The council area includes the large towns of Lurgan and Portadown, as...

 area.

The village also covers small parts of Drumlisnagrilly and Ballynaghy townlands.

2001 Census

Drumnacanvy is classified as a small village or hamlet by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 500 and 1,000). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 915 people living in Drumnacanvy. Of these:

• 27.1% were aged under 16 years and 13.8% were aged 60 and over
• 48.7% of the population were male and 51.3% were female
• 7.8% were from a Catholic
  Catholic
  The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
  
   background and 90.1% were from a Protestant
  Protestantism
  Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
  
   background
• 7.2% were born outside 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...
  
   and 0.8% were from an ethnic group other than white.
• 0.8% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed

The majority, with 78.7% of households, were one family households.
For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Poem

The following poem is set in Drumnacanvy, based on the Night of the Big Wind

Night of the Big Wind

The Night of the Big Wind was a severe European windstorm which swept without warning across Ireland on the night of January 6 - January 7, 1839, causing severe damage to property and several hundred deaths; 20% to 25% of houses in north Dublin were damaged or destroyed, and 42 ships were wrecked...

:

It came and it came and it came,

Like all the devil's bellows loosed out of hell,

Howlin' and screamin' and cuttin' an callin.'

It came and came, and came upon Drumnacanvy.


The day a-fore was flat calm and quiet

Not a rush or bush or wisp of smoke

Either swayed or wafted, and words spoke in whispers.

A grave foreboding' ta them that lived in Drumnacanvy


Just after the children were pit ta' bed

The breeze first and then the wind started blowin'

Tossing and gusting and comin' on steady.

Soon all was a blur and a whirl around Drumnacanvy.


The fire was clamped doon and the lights pit out

As that winter night's gale gathered in.

A storm they were sure off, but sure it might pass

Pass bye and over the homes of Drumnacanvy.


But nay sleep was had for ony that night,

As the devil's wind kept churnin'

Screechin' in over bog and field

Reaching and tearing at the very heart of Drumnacanvy


Fear gripped all like the devil's own grip

As now this screeching terror bate them.

Takin' the very thatch frae o'er their heeds

Twain thrashed wi' the haggard com of Drumnacanvy


Who might say in this life he has ever met his maker,

Or indeed has ever crossed the path of Satan's works of evil.

That night as terror took its stand

Both were met on common ground, by the people of Drumnacanvy


At dawn of day when shaken men surveyed the scenes around

Only desolation, inhabitation, and sure starvation

Was seen across the measured ground

Where once stood the homes and barns and farms of Drumnacanvy.


Aye! Surely the devil fought that night wi' The God of heaven

And God stayed not his mighty hand in torrent, rain, and thunder.

Never again does common man want to see their titanic struggles,

As he thinks upon the all forlorn, that plundered land of Drumnacanvy.