Coalisland
| Coalisland | |
|---|---|
 View from the north of the town |
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| Coalisland shown within Northern Ireland | |
| Population | 4,917 (2001 Census) |
| Irish grid reference | H8366 |
| • Belfast | 35 miles (56 km) |
| District | |
| County | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DUNGANNON |
| Postcode district | BT71 |
| Dialling code | 028 |
| EU Parliament | Northern Ireland |
| UK Parliament | |
| NI Assembly | |
Coalisland is a small town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, with a population of 4,917 in 2001. Four miles from Lough Neagh, it was formerly a centre for coal mining.
On 24 August 1968, the Campaign for Social Justice (CSJ), the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA), and other groups, held the first civil rights march in Northern Ireland, from Coalisland to Dungannon. The rally was officially banned, but took place and passed off without incident. The publicity surrounding the march encouraged other protesting groups to form branches of the NICRA.
From 1969 to 2001, a total of 20 people were shot in or near Coalisland during the Troubles. The British Army killed a total of eight people, seven of whom were Provisional Irish Republican Army members and one a Catholic civilian, and the IRA in turn killed five British soldiers, three Royal Ulster Constabulary policemen, one ex-Ulster Defence Regiment soldier, and two Catholic civilians, all in separate incidents. The Ulster Volunteer Force was responsible for the murder of a Catholic civilian in the nearby town of Aughamullan.
The town was served by a canal (the Coalisland Canal or Tyrone Navigation), although this is now derelict. A campaign for its restoration is underway.
Coalisland railway station was opened on 28 July 1897, closed for passenger traffic on 16 January 1956 and for goods traffic on 5 October 1959, finally closing altogether on 1 April 1965. There are no remains of the railway other than the bridge on the Derry Road and an old goods shed and grown over platforms.
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Wikipedia