Fivemiletown
Fivemiletown
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 The Catholic church |
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| Fivemiletown shown within Northern Ireland | |
| Population | 1,356 (2008 estimate) |
| Irish grid reference | H445478 |
| • Belfast | 64 miles (103 km) |
| District | |
| County | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | FIVEMILETOWN |
| Postcode district | BT75 |
| Dialling code | 028 |
| EU Parliament | Northern Ireland |
| UK Parliament | |
| NI Assembly | |
Fivemiletown, known before the Plantation of Ulster as Ballylurgan (from Irish Baile na Lorgan, meaning 'settlement of the long ridge'), is a village and townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is 16 miles (26 km) east of Enniskillen and 26 miles (43 km) west-south-west of Dungannon, on the A4 Enniskillen-to-Dungannon road. Its population as of 2008 is estimated to be 1,356. The village is most famous for its creamery, which was begun as a cooperative in 1898 by Hugh de Fellonburg Montgomery. Fivemiletown Creamery originally made butter and milk, but now makes cheeses for the Irish market and for export across Europe and North America.
Fivemiletown's English language name comes from its location five Irish miles (1 Irish mile = 1.27 statute miles = 2044 m) from its nearest neighbours: Clogher, Brookeborough and Tempo.
The Clogher Valley Railway ran from Tynan, County Armagh, to Maguiresbridge, County Fermanagh, with Fivemiletown being one of its main stations. The old station house is still one of the landmarks in the village. The trains stopped at the Buttermarket on Main Street and the creamery to be loaded or unloaded with goods.
After the Second World War, the growth of road transport made railways almost redundant and when the Northern Ireland Government learned that the Clogher Valley Railway had operated as a loss for 27 years because of growing road transport, it recommended the shutting of the line. The last train ran on the last day of 1941, bringing to an end one of Fivemiletown's most characteristic features. It's said that a wake lasted for three days and three nights to mark the end of a narrow gauge in the area.
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Wikipedia