Maghery

Maghery (from Irish: an Machaire, meaning "the plain") is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies on the southwest shore of Lough Neagh, near Derrywarragh Island, in the northwest corner of the county. As it sits between the estuaries of the rivers Blackwater and Bann (which are only two miles apart), Maghery was of strategic significance in the past.

In the 2001 Census Maghery had a population of 201 people. It lies within the Craigavon Borough Council area.

Name

Maghery is a shortening of the older name Magherygreenan, which is anglicized from Irish: Machaire Grianáin.

Maghery Christian Heritage Site

In the Maghery area there is a tradition of an ancient road between Armagh and Coney Island known as St Patrick's Trail, which in the past facilitated travel through Armagh to the north and the south of the county via causeways. Various stretches of this trail have also been identified in the neighbouring townland of Derrylileagh as well as a number of others in the locality.

Significant events

Eleanor Campbell, sworn: –Resides in Maghery and keeps a public house; it is near the Blackwater foot, near the quay; was there on Monday the 22nd November last, between 11 and 12 o’clock, as near as she can recollect; was out standing before the door; a great number of men came down across the fields and attacked the house; four men attacked the four windows; deponent then went into the house for fear of her life; the windows were smashed, sashes and all; they attacked deponent’s two daughters in her house, to beat and abuse them; two young men of the party came in, and one of them fired a gun in the house up at the deponent’s son, who was on the loft and had made a noise to come down when he saw the men going to abuse his sister; the skirts of the deponent’s son’s coat appeared as if they had been perforated with shot from the gun; it might have been done with slugs; four or five men then attacked the deponent herself with bayonets, and threatened to take her life if she would not give up a gun which they said she had; they swore deponent on her hand and by the five crosses to tell where it was, and deponent had to send out for it; they got it, and took it away.

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