Inniskeen

Inniskeen, officially Inishkeen (Irish: Inis Caoin, meaning "peaceful island"),[2][3] is a small village and parish in County Monaghan, Ireland, close to the County Louth and County Armagh borders. It is located about 17 km from Dundalk, 12 km from Carrickmacross, and 5 km from Crossmaglen.

Inishkeen Inis Caoin
Village
Inniskeen village centre
Inishkeen Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 54°00′00″N 6°35′35″W
Country	Ireland
Province	Ulster
County	County Monaghan
Elevation	57 m (187 ft)
Population  (2016)[1]	273
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1 (IST (WEST))

History

Round Tower, Inniskeen

This territory had been inhabited from the late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age. Rock art carvings (Petroglyphs) have been discovered in adjoining townlands (including Drumirril) dating to 3000 BC. Cup and ring markls with concentric circles are the main inscriptions.[4] They have been excavated by UCD School of Archaeology.[5] Finds on the site ranged from late Neolithic to the early Christian period. These included ancient cooking places known as Fulachta Fiadh. Unlike Newgrange the carvings are on the bedrock and not part of a constructed monument. It is not open to public viewing, A Bronze Age cyst grave was also discovered in Inniskeen Glebe townland.

A monastery was founded here in the 6th century by Saint Daigh MacCarell which was burned in 789, plundered by the Vikings in 948, and burned a second time in 1166. The bottom third of the round tower remains. In this drumlin country many of the hill tops have hill forts and associated souterrains which date from the late Iron Age or early Christian era. The country was part of McMahon Clann territory who displaced Carrolls in the 9th century as the dominant force in the area.

Norman Motte, Candlefort, Inniskeen

The arrival of the Normans saw the construction of a motte-and-bailey in the 13th century. The motte is still standing. The arrival of the Augustinian order of monks saw the construction of a new monastery of that order as a branch of the Abbey at Louth. One section of its wall remains adjoining the graveyard in the field adjoinhing the Motte.

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex was granted the Barony of Farney, including Inniskeen, by Queen Elizabeth I of England in the late 16th century. These lands devolved to Viscount Weymouth. The Marquess of Bath sold this estate to the tenants in the 1880s under the land Acts.

In 1806, the first record of Hurling/Football in Inniskeen as Monaghan beat Louth in a match that is celebrated in the Irish poem Iommain Iniis Chaoin.

The GNR(I) Inniskeen railway station opened on 1 April 1851, closed for passenger traffic on 14 October 1957 and finally closed altogether on 1 January 1960.[6] It was on the Dundalk to Enniskillen line was a junction for the Carrickmacross line.

More recently, during The Troubles in Northern Ireland, because it is adjacent to Crossmaglen, some people were involved with the Provisional IRA campaign.

Patrick Kavanagh Centre

The Patrick Kavanagh Centre is set up to commemorate the poet Patrick Kavanagh. The Centre houses exhibitions outlining Kavanagh's lifestory and local history. It is located in the former St Mary's Church, a former Catholic church, in whose adjoining graveyard Kavanagh and his wife are buried.[7]

Sports clubs

Inniskeen's Gaelic Athletic Association club is called the Inniskeen Grattans. It was founded in 1883 predating the founding of the GAA in 1884.[8] Its jersey colours are red and green. The club opened a new stadium in 2008. They won the first County Championship, in August 1888. They later played Cavan champions Maghera Mac Finns in the first Ulster final in Drogheda which ended in a draw, but won the replay December making it the first ever Ulster S.F. champions. It won the Senior Championship Final also in 1905, 1938, 1947 and 1948. In 2005 the club won the Monaghan (beating Doohamlet) and Ulster Intermediate Club Football Championships after def. In the Monaghan Championship defeating Doohamlet in Clontibret and in Ulster, defeating Glenswilly in Enniskillen. The club were defeated in the Senior Hurling Shield final by Clontibret in Monaghan. Inniskeen was represented by Fergal Duffy when Monaghan won the National League Div. 2 in Croke Park. In 2006 Inniskeen won the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Championship by defeating Caherlistrane GAC ar Croke Park.

Inniskeen Pitch & Putt club has an 18-hole course on the banks of the Fane.

People

• Patrick Kavanagh (1904–1967), regarded as one of the foremost Irish poets of the 20th century, was born and grew-up in Inniskeen. He is buried in Inniskeen graveyard.
• Peter Kavanagh (1916–2006), brother of Patrick, was a writer, scholar and publisher, who collected, edited, and published the works of Patrick Kavanagh. He is also buried in Inniskeen graveyard.
• William P Quinn (1900–1978) was the first Commissioner of the Garda Síochána to rise through the ranks from ordinary Garda when he was appointed in February 1965.
• Oliver Callan (b.1980), satirist and comedian from RTÉ Radio 1 programme Callan's Kicks.
• Heber MacMahon (1600–1650), Lord Bishop of Clogher, commander of the Catholic Confederate forces at the Battle of Scarrifholis.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• List of abbeys and priories in County Monaghan

References

1. "Sapmap Area - Settlements - Inniskeen". Census 2016. Central Statistics Office. April 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
2. "Inis Caoin / Inishkeen". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
3. "Ordnance Survey Ireland - Online map viewer". Archived from the original on 13 February 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2010.
4. "Rock art at Drumirril, Co. Monaghan". Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
5. "Archaeology - Research - Dr Blaze O'Connor". ucd.ie.
6. "Inniskeen station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 16 October 2007.
7. "Patrick Kavanagh Centre". Archived from the original on 3 September 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
8. "A chronology of the GAA in Inniskeen". Archived from the original on 15 January 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2009.

External links

• Inniskeen Grattans GAC website
• St Daigh's National School project
• Hearth Rolls Hearth Money Rolls for Inniskeen parishe 1663–1665
• Inniskeen or Enniskeen - description from Lewis's Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837