Desertmartin
Encyclopedia
Desertmartin (ˈdɛzərt'martn) 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...

 in County Londonderry
County Londonderry
The place name Derry is an anglicisation of the old Irish Daire meaning oak-grove or oak-wood. As with the city, its name is subject to the Derry/Londonderry name dispute, with the form Derry preferred by nationalists and Londonderry preferred by unionists...

, 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 is four miles from Magherafelt
Magherafelt
Magherafelt is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,372 people recorded in the 2001 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of County Londonderry and is the social, economic and political hub of the area...

, at the foot of Slieve Gallion
Slieve Gallion
Slieve Gallion is a mountain in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. By road, it is from Moneymore, from Cookstown, and from Magherafelt. It is the eastern limit of the Sperrin Mountains range...

. In the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....

 Desertmartin greater area had a population of 1,276. It had a population of 2257 in 1837 and 3101 in 1910. It lies within Desertmartin parish, Magherafelt District Council
Magherafelt District Council
Magherafelt District Council is a district council in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. Council headquarters are in Magherafelt. The Council area stretches from Lough Neagh and the River Bann in the east and into the Sperrin Mountains in the west and is divided by the Moyola River. It covers...

, barony of Loughinsholin. Neighbouring settlements include Draperstown
Draperstown
Draperstown is a village in the Sperrin Mountains of County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,638 people in the 2001 Census.-Name:...

, Magherafelt
Magherafelt
Magherafelt is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,372 people recorded in the 2001 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of County Londonderry and is the social, economic and political hub of the area...

, Moneymore
Moneymore
Moneymore is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,369 in the 2001 Census.It is an example of a Plantation village in Mid-Ulster. It was the first town in Ulster to have piped water.-Geography:...

, and Tobermore
Tobermore
Tobermore is a small village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is located two and a half miles south of Maghera and five miles west of Magherafelt. Tobermore lies within the civil parish of Kilcronaghan and is part of Magherafelt District Council...

.

History

When County Coleraine was created in 1585, its administration was meant to be carried out in the town of Coleraine. However, the jail and courthouse were built in Desertmartin, the middle of the Barony of Loughinsholin, which then lay in neighbouring County Tyrone. After the Flight of the Earls
Flight of the Earls
The Flight of the Earls took place on 14 September 1607, when Hugh Ó Neill of Tír Eóghain, Rory Ó Donnell of Tír Chonaill and about ninety followers left Ireland for mainland Europe.-Background to the exile:...

 the escheated land was transferred to County Coleraine. The enlarged county was renamed County Londonderry.

Religious buildings

  • St Patrick's, townland of Keenaght (Roman Catholic
    Roman Catholic Church
    The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

    ) (Old Chapel).
  • St Patrick's, townland of Keenaght (Roman Catholic
    Roman Catholic Church
    The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

    ) (New Chapel).
  • St. Mary’s, townland of Coolcalm (Roman Catholic
    Roman Catholic Church
    The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

    ) Church and adjacent Parochial House are landmark buildings.
  • Church of the Nazarene
    Church of the Nazarene
    The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged from the 19th century Holiness movement in North America with its members colloquially referred to as Nazarenes. It is the largest Wesleyan-holiness denomination in the world. At the end of 2010, the Church of the...

     (a branch of the denomination of the same name based on Wesleyan
    Wesleyanism
    Wesleyanism or Wesleyan theology refers, respectively, to either the eponymous movement of Protestant Christians who have historically sought to follow the methods or theology of the eighteenth-century evangelical reformers, John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley, or to the likewise eponymous...

     tradition).
  • St. Comgall's Church (Church of Ireland
    Church of Ireland
    The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...

    ) is a visually and historically significant building and a local landmark. It occupies the site of an older Medieval
    Middle Ages
    The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

     church and is a listed building.

Schools

  • St. Columb's Primary School (Roman Catholic
    Roman Catholic Church
    The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

    )
  • Desertmartin Primary School
  • Knocknagin Primary School (Roman Catholic
    Roman Catholic Church
    The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

    )

Slieve Gallion

Desertmartin lies on the foot of Slieve Gallion
Slieve Gallion
Slieve Gallion is a mountain in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. By road, it is from Moneymore, from Cookstown, and from Magherafelt. It is the eastern limit of the Sperrin Mountains range...

, on the eastern edge of the Sperrin Mountains. It has two peaks: the southwestern peak at Glenarudda Mountain and Tintagh Mountain reaches a height of 528 metres (1,730 ft), and is the 397th highest peak in Ireland; the northeastern peak reaches a height of 496 metres (1,630 ft), and is the 469th highest peak in Ireland; it is also the easternmost mountain-top in the Sperrins.

Transport

Desertmartin railway station between Magherafelt
Magherafelt
Magherafelt is a small town in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,372 people recorded in the 2001 Census. It is the biggest town in the south of County Londonderry and is the social, economic and political hub of the area...

 and Draperstown
Draperstown
Draperstown is a village in the Sperrin Mountains of County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,638 people in the 2001 Census.-Name:...

 opened on 20 July 1883, shut for passengers on 1 October 1930, and shut altogether on 3 July 1950.

People

Tom Paulin
Tom Paulin
Thomas Neilson Paulin is a Northern Irish poet and critic of film, music and literature. He lives in England, where he is the GM Young Lecturer in English Literature at Hertford College, Oxford.- Life and work :...

 (b. 1949) is a major Northern Irish poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, essayist, editor and lecturer, who has written a poem entitled Desertmartin.

Sport

  • St. Martin's Desertmartin Gaelic Athletic Association St Martin's GAA Club
    Desertmartin GAC
    St. Martin's GAC Desertmartin is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Desertmartin, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of the Derry GAA and currently cater for Gaelic football and Ladies' Gaelic football....

    .
  • Desertmartin Football club.
  • Desertmartin has a world famous motocross track at which big motocross events are held, including the BYMX and the British Motocross Championship. The Motocross Grand Prix of Ireland was held at Desertmartin motocross race track in September 2005.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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