Drumquin - (Droim Caoin) "Pleasant Ridge"
Drumquin village nestles on the banks of the Drumquin River (Fairywater) one of the tributaries of the Foyle catchment area in the shelter of a circle of heather-clad hills in West Tyrone.
It has a population of approximately 700. A few miles southwest is County Fermanagh and a few miles due west or northwest is County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.
In 1802 the countryside around Drumquin was described as "one continued
scene of dreary mountains". However the traveller did point out that forty
years before that it had been heavily wooded. Great hopes were held out at
that time that a rich coal mine would be opened at Drumquin and a canal
opened to transport the coal.
The name itself is Gaelic as is the parish name of Langfield and the
multitude of townland names which get many kinds of amusing renderings from
newly-installed parish priests, ministers and officials. Take for example
Bomacatall, Broughlish, Curraghamulkin, Annaghalough and Unshinagh. One
wonders how the media would deal with these when lesser ones are mauled out
of recognition.
The population of the area does not present the same homogeneity as the
place names, for the people are a mixture of Gaelic and Planter stock, with
a reputation for neighbourliness and harmonious relations in difficult times
as well as good. It is a country of Turners and Quinns, of O'Kanes and
Netherys, of Boyds and Gormleys, of McCannys and Alexanders.
The land was at the time of the Plantation a gift to Sir John Davies, in
1617, who built Castle Curlews, later called Castle Kirlish, the remains of
which can be seen in the present townland of that name. His agent was a man
called Bradley, one of whose family was responsible in later times for the
building of the fine stone house so evident in the village today. It is
interesting to note that this Castle Kirlish was joined to Castlederg Castle
by a straight causeway which was seven miles long. Traces of this causeway
could still be observed in 1837.
Places with historical or mythological connotations are the Giant's Stone on
Dooish Mountain, Dunaree fort, Carrickaness Massrock, The Shelling Hill,
Burrell's Folly, and just outside the boundary are the Neolithic Stone
Circle at Drumskinney and the Massrock at Corraduine just over the crest of
the Pigeon Top. One mile west of the village are the ruins of Lackagh
Church, a rectangular structure with Jacobean windows and close by is
Lackagh Holy Well. The old interdenominatinal graveyard at Lisky would
provide a mine of social information to the keen observer and incidentally,
it includes the remains of a church which accommodated the worship of both
Catholics and Protestants at different hours, before the present Langfield
Church became available for Catholics.
Those who are acquainted with the works of noted Irish writer Benedict Kiely
will be aware of the numerous occasions on which he writes about the
Drumquin district, with which he has family connections on his mother's
side. A Donegal man, Patrick McGill, whose works highlighted the plight of
Irish migratory workers in Scotland, was hired for the ususal six months
period in the Dooish hills.
The economic life of the area depends on farming - stock farming mainly,
since the land generally is best suited to that. The calf sales at Drumquin
Mart in the autumn are a major feature of the farm year and buyers are
attracted from many parts of the north and south. Another long-standing
feature of the Drumquin landscape and economy has been lime-burning, from a
variety of quarries and in a multiplicity of kilns, the remains of which are
dotted here and there around the countryside. Today the industry consists
largely in the supply of ground limestone and roadstone. Otherwise, the
economy of the area is greatly dependent on its proximity to the County town
of Omagh.
For the visitor or returned emigrant the village Fair Green is a sight to
delight the one and astonish the other, with it's curvaceous terracing and
facilities for tennis, handball and squash. From being the village eyesore
it has now become really "fair" and really "green".
In the wider context, Lough Bradan forest and Slavin scenic area have a lot
to offer the casual visitor and indeed Lough Bradan itself, the source of
Drumquin's water supply, can also be a source of peace, fresh air and rainbow trout.
This article was from a local tourist magazine that is now out of print.
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DRUMQUIN, a market - town, in the parish of East Longfield, barony of OMAGH, county of TYRONE, and province of ULSTER, 7 miles (W.N.W) from Omagh, on the river Roe, and on the nearest road from Londonderry to Enniskillen; containing 406 inhabitants. It consists of one street and some detached houses, which, with the exception of a few of recent erection, are indifferently built and thatched; and was founded by Sir John Davis, about 1617, under the name of Clonaghmore, on which he located 16 British families.
He also built castles at Kerlis and at Gavelagh, on the Derg, at which latter place he had another grant of 2000 acres: and between the two castles constructed an excellent road, seven miles in a straight line over mountains and bogs, which in several places still remains perfect. There is a daily penny post to Omagh. The market, on Thursday, is well supplied with provisions and yarn;
and fairs are held on Jan 17th, March 21st, May 2nd, June 9th, Aug 15th, Sept 17th, Nov 9th, and Dec 12th, for general farming stock; those held in March and June are large and well attended. Here are a meeting-house for Presbyterians, in connection with the Synod of Ulster, a large male and female school, and a dispensary.Description from Samuel Lewis Topographical Dictionary
Road to a Drumquin Farmhouse View From a Drumquin Hillside
Scenes of Drumquin Co Tyrone Northern Ireland