Kilskeery () 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 ...

and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

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 between

Ballinamallard Ballinamallard or Bellanamallard (Flanagan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 172. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a small village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,364 people in the 2021 C ...

and

Trillick Trillick () is a small village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 2,439 people in the 2011 census. Trillick is in the civil parish of Kilskeery and the barony of Omagh East. It is located within both the Roman Catholic ...

. In the 2021 census, it had a population of 55 people. Kilskeery is within the

Omagh District Council Omagh District Council was a local council in Northern Ireland. It merged with Fermanagh District Council in April 2015 under local government reorganisation to become Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. Its headquarters was in the town of ...

area. The Ballinamallard River flows through the village towards

Lough Erne Lough Erne ( , ) is the name of two connected lakes in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is the second-biggest lake system in Northern Ireland and Ulster, and the fourth biggest in Ireland. The lakes are widened sections of the River E ...

. The village has two graveyards within its boundaries. The "old" graveyard surrounded by stone walls has graves from the 19th century.

Layout

On the northern end of the village is the local

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 ...

church. At over 400 years old, it was reputedly used as an overnight refuge by the forces of King William of Orange. A few years ago, uplighting was added around the church. The church has a tower and bell which is rung on Sunday mornings. The church is surrounded by what is locally known as the 'new' graveyard. Behind the church is the Sunday school rooms. Behind the church grounds is the local primary school, the Queen Elizabeth II. It has two classrooms and a dining hall, outside is the playing field and a school garden. A row of houses, leading southwards from the church, is called Beatty Terrace. Opposite Beatty Terrace is the church hall. Built on the same site as an earlier hall, the new church hall is a larger and better-equipped building with a kitchen and an upstairs meeting room. At the end of Beatty Terrace is the village green. Just behind the village green is the 'old' graveyard. The village extends out the

Irvinestown Irvinestown is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. At the 2021 census it had a population of 2,325 people. The most notable buildings are Necarne Castle, formerly known as Castle Irvine, and Castle Archdale. Irvinestown is situated ...

road and at the cross can be found the post office. In 2008, the speed limit within the village was changed to 30 mph.

Railway development

Kilskeery is near

Bundoran Junction railway station Bundoran Junction railway station served Irvinestown in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland. The Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway opened the station as Lowtherstown Road on 19 August 1854. It was renamed Irvinestown on 1 March 1863, and Irvi ...

which was the junction of the

Enniskillen and Bundoran Railway The Enniskillen and Bundoran Railway (E&BR) was an Irish gauge railway company in north-west Ireland. It linked Bundoran and Ballyshannon on the coast of County Donegal with the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway (L&ER) at in County Ferma ...

and the

Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway The Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway (L&ER) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. Construction and opening The Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway was incorporated by the ( 8 & 9 Vict. c. xcviii). Construction began at Derry and fo ...

. The Enniskillen and Bundoran Railway opened from on the

near Kilskeery to Pettigo on 13 June 1866. It was extended to

Bundoran Bundoran () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The town is located near the N15 road near Ballyshannon, and is the most southerly town in Donegal. The town is a tourist seaside resort, and tourism has been at the heart of the local economy s ...

, County Donegal in 1868 and intended to continue to but failed to do so. The Great Northern Railway ran the E&BR from 1876 and took it over in 1896.

Schools

Local schools include Queen Elizabeth II Primary School and the Free Presbyterian School.

References

{{authority control Villages in County Tyrone Civil parishes of County Tyrone

Layout

Railway development

Schools

See also

References