Kilrea

For other uses of "Kilrea", see Kilrea (disambiguation).
Kilrea
Irish: Cill Ria
 Kilrea shown within Northern Ireland
Population 2,724 (2011 Census)
DistrictCauseway Coast and Glens
CountyCounty Londonderry
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town COLERAINE
Postcode district BT51
Dialling code 028
EU Parliament Northern Ireland
UK ParliamentEast Londonderry
NI AssemblyEast Londonderry
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
County Londonderry

Coordinates: 54°58′00″N 6°35′00″W / 54.966667°N 6.583333°W / 54.966667; -6.583333

Kilrea (pronounced /kɪlˈreɪ/ kil-RAY, from Irish: Cill Ria, meaning "church on the hill")[1][2] is a village, townland and civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It gets its name from St. Patrick's Church of Ireland, which sits on Church Street looking over the town. It is near the River Bann, which marks the boundary between County Londonderry and County Antrim. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 2,724 people.[3] It is situated within Causeway Coast and Glens district.

History

There is a tradition that St Patrick visited the area during the fifth century, a story repeated recently in the book 'The Fairy Thorn' produced by Kilrea local historians. During the Plantation of Ulster Kilrea and the surrounding townlands were granted to the Worshipful Company of Mercers by King James I for settlement.[4] Their headquarters in Ulster were at nearby Movanagher on the banks of the River Bann. Today Kilrea is a market town and commercial centre of the surrounding district. The village is centred on 'The Diamond' which includes the town's War Memorial erected in honour of Kilrea men killed in the Great War.[5] The village is featured in the Orange song, Sprigs of Kilrea. It is also mentioned in the song Kitty the rose of Kilrea by The Irish Rover band.

The Troubles

Festival of the Fairy Thorn

A feature of Kilrea is its 'Fairy Thorn' tree in the grounds of First Kilrea Presbyterian Church. It is the focal point of the annual summer cross-community festival in the town.[6]

People

Railways

Kilrea railway station was opened by the Derry Central Railway on 18 February 1880.[8] It was taken over by the Northern Counties Committee in September 1901.

The station closed to passengers on 28 August 1950 by the Ulster Transport Authority.

Sport

Bann Bridge at Kilrea

Education

Religion

First Kilrea Presbyterian Church
Drumnagarner Catholic church.

2011 Census

Kilrea is classified as an Intermediate Settlement by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e., with population between 2,250 and 4,500 people). On Census day (22 March 2011) there were 2,724 people living in Kilrea. Of these:

For more details see the match of location name: @Exact Match Of Location Name: Kilrea@4?

See also

References

  1. ↑ Placenames NI
  2. ↑ Placenames Database of Ireland
  3. ↑ match of location name: @Exact Match Of Location Name: Kilrea@4?
  4. ↑ Lewis's Topographical Directory of Ireland, 1837
  5. ↑ Ulster War Memorials
  6. ↑ Kilrea, Coleraine Northern Ireland Tourist Board website
  7. ↑ Everest climber is welcomed home - BBC News
  8. ↑ "Kilrea station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2012-04-29.
  9. ↑ Kilrea Parish - Derry Diocese, Ireland
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