Desertmartin (;Toner, Gregory: ''Place-Names of Northern Ireland'', page 85. Queen's University of Belfast, 1996, )Place Names NI
/ref>Flanagan, Deirdre & Laurence: ''Irish Place Names'', page 202. Gill & Macmillan Ltd., 2002. is a small

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry (), is one of the six Counties of Northern Ireland, counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty-two Counties of Ireland, count ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It is four miles from

Magherafelt Magherafelt ( ; , ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,071 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county an ...

, at the foot of

Slieve Gallion Slieve Gallion () is a mountain in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is the easternmost of the Sperrin Mountains. It reaches a height of and dominates the western shore of Lough Neagh. Its prominent northeastern summit has a transm ...

. In the 2001 Census the greater Desertmartin area had a population of 1,276. It lies within Desertmartin parish,

Mid-Ulster District Mid Ulster () is a local government district in Northern Ireland. The district was created on 1 April 2015 by merging Magherafelt District, Cookstown District, and the Borough of Dungannon and South Tyrone. The local authority is Mid Ulster ...

, and the historic

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

Loughinsholin Loughinsholin () is a barony in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Its southeast borders the northwest shore of Lough Neagh, and itself is bordered by seven other baronies: Dungannon Upper to the south; Strabane Upper to the west; Keenaght ...

. Neighbouring settlements include Draperstown,

Moneymore Moneymore () is a village and townland in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,897 in the 2011 census. It is situated within Mid-Ulster District. It is an example of a plantation village in Mid-Ulster built by the Dr ...

, and

Tobermore Tobermore (), ) is a small village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland named after the townland of Tobermore (townland), Tobermore. The village, which has a predominantly Protestant population, lies south-south-west of Maghera and north- ...

History

The monastic hermitage of Desertmartin was originally dedicated to Saint

Martin of Tours Martin of Tours (; 316/3368 November 397) was the third bishop of Tours. He is the patron saint of many communities and organizations across Europe, including France's Third French Republic, Third Republic. A native of Pannonia (present-day Hung ...

. The remains of the ancient parish church are in the townland of Knocknagin at the east side of the village. When County Coleraine was created in 1585, its administration was meant to be carried out in the town of

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...

. However, the jail and courthouse were built in Desertmartin.BBC Local History
/ref> On 19 May 1922, during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

, a mob of unionists and Ulster Special Constables attacked and burned many Catholic homes and businesses in Desertmartin, in revenge for the burning of a unionist-owned mill. Special Constables took four Catholic men from their homes outside the village and summarily executed them by the roadside.

Religious buildings

*St Patrick's, townland of Keenaght (

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

) (Old Chapel). *St Patrick's, townland of Keenaght (

) (New Chapel). *St. Mary's, townland of Annagh and Moneysterlin (

) Church and adjacent Parochial House are landmark buildings. It is commonly referred to as Coolcalm after the former townland of same name, which is now part of Annagh and Moneysterlin. *

Church of the Nazarene The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism during the late 19th century. The denomination has its headquarters in Lenexa, Kansas. and it ...

(a branch of the denomination of the same name based on

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

tradition). *St Comgall’s

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

Desertmartin Parish
is a visually and historically significant building and a local landmark. The church was built in 1821 and is a listed building. St Comgall’s Church is located on the Dromore Road in the village and looks out over the scenic

mountain.

Schools

*St. Columb's Primary School (

) *Desertmartin Primary School *Knocknagin Primary School (

)

Transport

Desertmartin railway station Desertmartin railway station was on the Draperstown Railway which ran from Magherafelt to Draperstown in Northern Ireland. History The station was opened by the Draperstown Railway on 20 July 1883. It was taken over by the Belfast and Northern ...

between

and Draperstown opened on 20 July 1883, shut for passengers on 1 October 1930, and shut altogether on 3 July 1950.

People

Tom Paulin Thomas Neilson Paulin (born 25 January 1949) is a Northern Irish poet and critic of film, music and literature. He lives in England, where he was the G. M. Young Lecturer in English Literature at Hertford College, Oxford. Early life Paulin wa ...

(b. 1949) is a major Northern Irish

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

, essayist, editor and lecturer, who has written a poem entitled ''Desertmartin''.

Sport

* St. Martin's Desertmartin Gaelic Athletic Association St Martin's GAA Club * Desertmartin Football Club

References

External links

{{authority control Villages in County Londonderry Civil parish of Desertmartin Mid-Ulster District