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Brookeborough is a village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It was formerly known as Aghalun and lies between Enniskillen and Belfast just off the A4 trunk road, approximately five miles from the County Tyrone boundary. Its main steet is situated at .
It had a population of 517 people in the 2001 Census. The economy is heavily dependent on cattle & sheep farming. The village is within the parish of Aghavea which is within the Diocese of Clogher. The village has 5 places of Christian worship; a Roman Catholic Chapel, a Methodist Church (built in 1839), an Elim Pentecostal Church, a Church of Ireland Church and a Baptist Church; 3 public houses; and 2 primary (elementary) schools.
The Boer War memorial at the head of the town was carved by a local man named Harte in 1901. Behind it is the Lady Brooke Memorial Hall of the same date, a period building preserving all its original features including a clocktower and transverse stained glass window panels.
History
Aghalun was in the hands of the Maguire clan until the 1641 rebellion when it was given to the Brooke family. It is believed that Aghalun, which means field of the blackbirds, was the name given to the area because of a reputed fondness for blackbirds by Lady Maguire. The village was then named after Sir Henry Brooke who was granted the village in 1666 and settled in Colebrooke Park nearby.
On 31 December 1957 there was a well-known attack on Brookeborough Royal Ulster Constabulary barracks by the IRA, which marked the opening of its 1950s Border Campaign. This attack was led by Seán Garland, and Seán South and Fergal O'Hanlon, both the subjects of well-known Irish republican ballads, were shot dead during the attack.
Places of interest
- Colebrooke Park was recently renovated and refurbished by the present Viscount and Viscountess Brookeborough.
- Brookeborough Cycle Museum houses over sixty bicycles including an example of a Penny-farthing.
People
- John Armstrong - American Congressman
- Field Marshal Sir Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke - Soldier
- Basil Brooke, 1st Viscount Brookeborough - Prime Minister of Northern Ireland from 1943 until 1963
- Charitie Lees Bancroft - Hymn writer
- Bobby Hanvey - Photographer & Radio Broadcaster
- Fergal O'Hanlon- IRA volunteer killed in the Brookeborough Raid
- Seán South- IRA volunteer killed in the Brookeborough Raid
- Memorials to noted big game hunter, Sir Victor Brooke and to Field Marshal Lord Alanbrooke of World War II fame can be seen in St. Ronan`s Church of Ireland church.
Transport
The Clogher Valley railway, ran through the village from 1887 until its closure in 1944. The main road to Belfast bypassed the village in the mid 1960s.
2001 Census
Brookeborough is classified as a small village or hamlet by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with a population of between 500 and 1,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 517 people living in Brookeborough. Of these:
- 25.5% were aged under 16 and 16.8% were aged 60 and over
- 50.3% of the population were male and 49.7% were female
- 50.2% were from a Catholic background and 48.1% were from a Protestant background
- 7.0% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.
For further details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service
Trivia
In his youth Roy Carroll, the former Manchester United (and present West Ham United) goalkeeper played for the Brookeborough football team.
References
- The Brookeborough Story - Aghalun in Aghavea Ed. Jack Johnston.
- Culture Northern Ireland
External links
See also
"Brookeborough"