Scarva ( meaning "shallow place, rough ford") 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

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 ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to 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 ...

. It is at the boundary with

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

, which is marked by the

Newry Canal The Newry Canal is an abandoned canal in Northern Ireland. Opened in 1742, it was built to link the Tyrone coalfields to the Irish Sea. The navigable route ran from Lough Neagh via the Upper Bann river to Portadown (approximated 9 miles), then ...

. In the 2001 census it had a population of 320. Scarva is home to the "Sham Fight" Pageant which is held on 13 July every year. The pageant attracts thousands of members of the Royal Black Preceptory, a group related to the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Grand Orange Lodge of ...

, who come to march and stage a theatrical (sham) re-enactment of the 1690

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

History

During the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...

(1689–1691), the forces of Frederick Schomberg reputedly first camped near Scarva, before marching south. Much of the village was laid-out by John Reilly, owner of Scarvagh House, in the mid-18th century. This included the construction of Scarva's Presbyterian meeting house, which was built in 1753. In the late 18th century, there were skirmishes in the area involving the

Hearts of Steel The Hearts of Steel, or Steelboys, was an exclusively Protestant movement originating in 1769 in County Antrim, Ireland due to grievances about the sharp rise of rents and evictions. The protests then spread into the neighbouring counties of Arm ...

and Break-of-day Boys.

Transport

Scarva railway station opened on 23 March 1859. Scarva is on National Cycle Route 9, linking

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 ...

with

Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, standing on the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Down, Down and County Armagh, Armagh. It is near Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, the border with the ...

, and onwards to

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 ...

Amenities

The village has a park, with playing fields and a wildlife pond, scenic walks and wild fowl sanctuary. The local primary school, Scarva Primary School, had an enrollment of 61 pupils as of 2011.

Sport

The local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club is Scarva Rangers, formed in 1972. Home matches are played at Scarva Park.

People

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Charles Davis Lucas (1834–1914), recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

* William Buller (born 1992), racing driver

References

{{authority control Villages in County Down Townlands of County Down Civil parish of Aghaderg