Ederney () is a village situated primarily in the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

s of Drumkeen and of Ederny in

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

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 ...

. At the 2011 census it had a population of 587. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th
Open Government Licence v3.0
© Crown copyright. Ederney lies in the Glendarragh River Valley near Lower Lough Erne and Kesh. It is from

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, over from

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and about 16 miles from both

Omagh Omagh (; from , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. Northern Ireland's c ...

and

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...

. The village and its hinterland (the Glendarragh Valley area) has a population of several thousand.History of Ederney (Ederny)
, ederney.com; accessed 3 February 2016. Ederney is located on a tourist route adjacent to Lough Erne. It is approximately from the border with the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

and from the west of Ireland tourism trail, the

Wild Atlantic Way The Wild Atlantic Way () is a Scenic route, tourism trail on the west coast, and on parts of the north and south coasts, of Ireland. The 2,500 km (1,553 mile) driving route passes through nine Counties of Ireland, counties and three Provinces ...

, in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

Public transport

Ulsterbus Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink (Northern Ireland), Translink, the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transpor ...

route 194 serves Ederney with one daily journey in each direction except Sundays, linking it to

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 ...

and Pettigo. Route 83A provides a link to

on Mondays & Thursdays only.

History

Local historian Leo Mulligan, MBE, details that at the time of the

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ) was the organised Settler colonialism, colonisation (''Plantation (settlement or colony), plantation'') of Ulstera Provinces of Ireland, province of Irelandby people from Great ...

there was a settlement of significance at Ederny, when the land grant (titled "Edernagh") was given to Captain Thomas Blennerhassett of

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

in 1610. He created the Manor of Edernagh on a

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

and a

court baron The manorial courts were the lowest courts of law in England during the feudal period. They had a civil jurisdiction limited both in subject matter and geography. They dealt with matters over which the lord of the manor had jurisdiction, prima ...

on the shores of Lough Erne, which he later named Castle Hassett. He established the new village of Ederny (Edernagh). By 1797, the settlement is recorded in the ''

Topographia Hibernica ''Topographia Hibernica'' (Latin for ''Topography of Ireland''), also known as ''Topographia Hiberniae'', is an account of the landscape and people of Ireland written by Gerald of Wales around 1188, soon after the Norman invasion of Ireland. ...

'' as Ederny Bridge and "fair days" were held there.

Built heritage

One of the principal buildings in the village is Ederney Town Hall, locally styled as the "Townhall", erected in 1839. It remains in use as a village community centre. Another local landmark is Drumskinny stone circle. Drumskinny () is the site of a

stone circle A stone circle is a ring of megalithic standing stones. Most are found in Northwestern Europe – especially Stone circles in the British Isles and Brittany – and typically date from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, with most being ...

in the nearby

of Drumskinny. The site consists of 39 stones set in a circle. The arrangement is reportedly related to the seasons, moon and sun, and dates from the Bronze Age.

Sport

The village has a

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

club, Ederney St Joseph's.

Demographics

As of the 2011 census, there were 587 people living in Ederney. Of these: *17.21% were aged under 16 years and 18.91% were aged 65 and over *50.6% of the population were male and 49.4% were female *82.11% were from a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

background and 15.5% were from a

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

background At the 2021 census, 553 people were living in Ederney. According to the 2021 census, Ederney had the highest proportion of residents who spoke Irish daily in County Fermanagh with 3.99%, which was higher than the average across Northern Ireland (of 2.43%).

Notable people

* Michael Barrett (1841–1868), Fenian and last man to be publicly hanged in Britain. * Martin McGrath (b.1981), inter county

er who was one only three Fermanagh players to win a GAA All Star award.

References

External links

St Joseph's Parish Website

{{authority control Villages in County Fermanagh Townlands of County Fermanagh Civil parish of Magheraculmoney Fermanagh and Omagh district