Dungannon
Irish Place|
name = Dungannon |
gaeilge = Dún Geanainn |
crest image = Dungannonarms.PNG |
motto = |
map image = NorthernIrelandDungannon.png |
pin coords = left: 97px; top: 95px |
north coord = 54.31 | west coord = 6.46 |
area = | elevation = |
province = Ulster |
county =
County Tyrone | NI district =
Dungannon and South Tyrone |
population = 11,139 |
census yr = 2001 |
web = www.dungannon.gov.uk |}}
Dungannon (
Dún Geanainn in
Irish) is a
town in
County Tyrone in
Northern Ireland. It had a population of 11,139 people in the
2001 Census. Dungannon has won the Best Kept Town award on several occasions. It contains the headquarters of the
Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council.
At one stage Dungannon was the capital of
Ireland in the early 1600's due to the fact that the King of Ireland Hugh O'Neill situated there. Dungannon was one corner of the infamous
murder triangle during the Troubles.
An interesting feature of the town is the former
Police barracks at the top right hand corner of the market square which is quite unlike any other barracks of a similar vintage in Ireland. The unusal design of this building is apparently due to a mix up with the plans in
Dublin which meant Dungannon got a station designed for the
Khyber Pass in
Afghanistan and they got a standard Irish barracks, complete with a traditional Irish fireplace.
The once thriving
linen industry has largely been replaced by
glass-blowing, and the
Tyrone Crystal factory is a major visitor attraction in Northern Ireland. Dungannon also has brick making industry using
Coalisland fireclay. Dungannon has large numbers of migrant workers employed locally in factories including
Moy Park and
Dungannon Meats. The majority of these workers come from Portuguese backgrounds, East Timor, Poland and Lithuania.
*
Aughamullan Primary School*
Bush Primary School*The
Royal School Dungannon is one of the oldest schools in
Ireland. It was one of several royal schools chartered in
1608 by
King James I with the intended purpose "that there shall be one Free School at least appointed in every County, for the education of youth in learning and religion." These schools provided an English style education to the sons of landed
settlers in Ireland, most of whom were of
Scottish or
English descent. A royal charter of May 13
1614 records the appointment of John Bullingbroke as the first Headmaster.
*St. Patrick's Academy is one of top three ranked Grammar schools in Northern Ireland for academic success. The school has numerous sporting achievements, including two MacCrory Cups and a Hogan Cup, as well as success in
Gaelic football, ladies football,
hurling and
soccer.
Dungannon has also achieved much sporting success within its history. It was one of the first towns in Ireland to form a
rugby club, probably due to the Royal School.Dungannon's rugby team's most recent success was sharing the Ulster Senior League title with
Ballymena. They were also the first Ulster club to win the All Ireland League
At least one player from Dungannon is listed in the first ever Irish side. The rugby club was founded in
1873, was the sixth club in Ireland and a founder member of the
IRFU. Despite being a
rugby union club since inception it's official title is Dungannon Football Club. This was in common with other clubs, such as the now defunct North of Ireland club from
Belfast, who were founded prior to the formal division of the different styles of football into Association (
soccer) and rugby. The town also has connections to
New Zealand rugby. The Earl of Ranfurly presented the
Ranfurly Shield to the NZRFU.
The town has also achieved much success in Gaelic games,
Gaelic football and hurling. Dungannon has produced many footballers, especially for the Tyrone County Team, who won the All-Ireland Gaelic Football Championship in
2003 and
2005. The local GAA club is Thomas Clarke's Dungannon GFC (Thomáis Uí Chléirigh Dún Geanainn).
One of Dungannon's most famous sons is
Thomas J. Clarke, the first signatory of the 1916 Proclamation of the Irish Republic (Poblacht na hÉireann as gaeilge).Clarke was one of the main leaders and key figures in the 1916
Easter Rising and was executed by the British on May 3rd at the age of 59 for his role in the rising. Dungannon GAA club is named after him.
Dungannon is the birthplace of professional
golfer Darren Clarke, and TV presenter Adrian Logan.
Dungannon is classified as a Medium Town by the
NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 10,000 and 18,000 people). On Census day (
29 April 2001) there were 11,139 people living in Dungannon. Of these:
*24.0% were aged under 16 years and 17.8% were aged 60 and over
*47.4% of the population were male and 52.7% were female
*57.6% were from a
Catholic background and 40.3% were from a
Protestant background
*3.7% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.
Dungannon now has a thriving immigrant population - many of which work within the local food processing industry
For more details see:
NI Neighbourhood Information Service*
Dungannon Life*
A Flavour of Tyrone - Dungannon*
List of towns in Northern Ireland*
List of villages in Northern Ireland
