Garrison, County Fermanagh

Garrison is a small village near Lough Melvin in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The Roogagh River runs through the village. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 357 people.[1] It is situated within Fermanagh and Omagh district.

Garrison
Garrison
Location within Northern Ireland
Population357 (2001 Census)
Irish grid referenceG941518
• Belfast109 miles
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townENNISKILLEN
Postcode districtBT93
Dialling code028, +44 28
UK Parliament
NI Assembly

According to the UK Met Office, the highest temperature ever recorded in Northern Ireland is 30.8 °C (87.4 °F) at Knockarevan, Garrison on 30 June 1976.[2]

Toponymy

The village's name comes from a military barracks and its garrison of troops that that was established here by William III of England, following the Battle of Aughrim in 1691.[3]

History

Garrison was one of several Catholic border villages in Fermanagh that would have been transferred to the Irish Free State had the recommendations of the Irish Boundary Commission been enacted in 1925.[4]

The Melvin Hotel, previously owned by the McGovern family, was blown up in January 1972 during the middle of a Catholic wedding reception, by the IRA, reportedly as retaliation for allowing members of the security forces to stay on the premises.[5]

The Police Service of Northern Ireland came under gun attack in the town on 21 November 2009.[6]

Tourism
Garrison village

Visitors to Garrison can enjoy a wide range of activities including golfing, fishing, hill-walking, water sports, horse-riding, cycling, camping and caving. The Lough Melvin Holiday Centre[7] caters for large groups and there are a plethora of local guesthouses and chalets to let. Two local pubs – The Melvin Bar and The Riverside Bar – provide music and craic. The local restaurant, The Bilberry, is well established and well renowned in the North-West region.

Transport

Ulsterbus route 64 serves Garrison on Thursday with two journeys to Belleek and Belcoo and one journey to Letterbreen and Enniskillen.[8] Belleek, approximately five miles away, is served by Bus Éireann route 30 every two hours each way for most of the day plus an overnight coach. This route operates to Donegal, Cavan, Dublin Airport and Dublin.[9]

Lough Melvin
Gillaroo

Lough Melvin in Ireland is home to the Gillaroo or 'salmo stomachius', a species of trout which eats primarily snails. Gillaroo is derived from the Irish for 'red fellow' (Giolla Rua). This is due to the fish's distinctive colouring. It has a bright buttery golden colour on its flanks with bright crimson and vermillion spots. The gillaroo is characterised by deep red spots and a "gizzard", which is used to aid the digestion of hard food items such as water snails. Experiments carried out by Queens University, Belfast established that the Lough Melvin gillaroo species cannot be found anywhere else in the world. They feed almost exclusively on bottom living animals (snails, sedge fly larvae and freshwater shrimp) with the exception of late summer when they come to the surface to feed and may be caught on the dry fly. Other lakes reputed to contain the gillaroo are Lough Neagh, Lough Conn, Lough Mask and Lough Corrib. However, the unique gene found in the Lough Melvin trout has not been found in some 200 trout populations in Ireland or Britain.

The sonaghan trout (Salmo nigripinnis) is another species unique to Lough Melvin. It can have a light brown or silvery hue with large, distinctive black spots. There are sometimes small, inconspicuous red spots located along its posterior region. Its fins are dark brown or black with elongated pectorals. Sonaghan are found in areas of open, deep water, where they feed on mid-water planktonic organisms.

Notable residents
  • Mick Moohan, one time cabinet minister in the New Zealand Government, was born in Garrison.
  • Patrick Treacy, author and one time physician to Michael Jackson, was born in Garrison where his parents ran a shop, garage, and filling station.[10] He released a memoir regarding his life growing up in Garrison during the Troubles and his later financial struggles to become a doctor in a book entitled Behind the Mask: The Extraordinary Story of the Irishman who became Michael Jackson's Doctor in 2015.[11]

See also

References
  1. NI Neighbourhood Information Service
  2. Meto.gov.uk
  3. "Place Names NI - Home". www.placenamesni.org. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  4. "Irish Boundary Commission Report". National Archives. 1925. p. 140-43.
  5. "Irish Hotel Bombed". Desert Sun. 28 January 1972. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  6. Fermanagh police officers return fire after attack, BBC News, 22 November 2009.
  7. "Lough Melvin Holiday Centre". Discovernorthernireland.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  8. Archived 29 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Archived 17 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  10. Richard Fitzpatrick (3 October 2015). "Michael Jackson's former doctor, Dr Patrick Treacey, reflects on his life so far". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  11. Rebecca Maher (9 October 2015). "Michael Jackson's Irish doctor releases memoir". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
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