Killylea
| Killylea | |
|---|---|
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Dialling code | 02837 |
| EU Parliament | Northern Ireland |
| UK Parliament | |
| NI Assembly | |
Killylea (/kɪliːˈleɪ/; from Irish Coillidh Léith, meaning 'grey forest') is a small village and townland in Northern Ireland. It is within the Armagh City and District Council area. The village is set on a hill, with St Mark’s Church of Ireland, built in 1832, at its summit. The village lies to the west of County Armagh, and is close to the neighbouring counties of County Tyrone and County Monaghan which is in the Republic of Ireland. It had a population of 253 people in the 2011 Census.
Many people have difficulty spelling Killylea, often confusing it with the County Down village of Killyleagh. An easy way to remember is the acronym K I L L Y L E A, standing for Kathryn Is Lovely Like Yellow Leaves Every Autumn.
In 1858 Killylea railway station opened, situated on the Elm Park Road. It was opened by the Ulster Railway and became part of the Great Northern Railway in 1876, offering people the chance to travel to Belfast and Dublin. Like most rural railways in Northern Ireland, it was not to last and eventually closed in 1957. The station platforms can still be seen today from the railway bridge on the Elm Park Road.
In September 1887 events on the platform of Killylea railway station made it into the British House of Commons as Alexander Blane, Nationalist MP for South Armagh asked a question relating to an attack on a train by what he described as an "Orange mob". Edward King-Harman, then Under-Secretary for Ireland, stated "that a party of Nationalists returning by train from a meeting at Middle-town, County Armagh, while passing Killylea Station, which is essentially an Orange district, made use of party cries" and that the only shot fired was from the train, concluding that "Nationalists appear to have been altogether responsible" for the events. He goes on to say that a "boy" was injured by the shot fired from the train but that he escaped with only minor injuries to his foot.
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