Manorhamilton

Manorhamilton
Cluainín
Town

Old Church Street, Manorhamilton
Manorhamilton

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 54°18′23″N 8°10′34″W / 54.3064°N 8.1761°W / 54.3064; -8.1761Coordinates: 54°18′23″N 8°10′34″W / 54.3064°N 8.1761°W / 54.3064; -8.1761
Country Ireland
Province Connacht
County County Leitrim
Dáil Éireann Sligo North Leitrim
EU Parliament Connacht-Ulster
Elevation 69 m (226 ft)
Population (2011)
 • Urban 1,336
Irish Grid Reference G885397
Dialing code 071 (within Ireland) or
+353 71 (from abroad)
7-digit local numbers

Manorhamilton (Irish: Cluainín (Uí Ruairc) ) is a small town in north County Leitrim, Ireland. It is located on the N16 between Sligo 16 miles (26 km) and Enniskillen 25 miles (40 km). .

Name

Before the Plantations of Ireland the settlement was known as Clooneen[1] (from Irish: Cluainín Uí Ruairc, meaning "Uí Ruairc's small meadow"). This lay on the west bank of the Owenbeg. Uí Ruairc (Anglicised as O'Rourke) was the local Gaelic chieftain based in nearby Dromahair whose land was seized by the English and then granted to Sir Frederick Hamilton for his services in the European wars of the 17th century. As a result of his actions Hamilton to this day is considered to have been a tyrant by the local people. He began building a new town on the east bank of the river, in the townland of Clonmullen, which he renamed Manorhamilton.[1] After the town emerged, the name Baile Hamaltuin was adopted by Irish speakers and its anglicised form Ballyhamilton was used by English speakers for a time.[1]

Manorhamilton Castle.

Economy

Manorhamilton has several major businesses.

Main Street.

Like most rural Irish towns, Manorhamilton is seeing considerable social and physical change. Farming is still a dominant sector yet traditional industries and livelihoods are being replaced by new forms of economic activity. Construction in the area is recently underwent a boom time with hundreds of new homes having been built. The recent recession has brought an end to the building boom.

Culture

The Wild Rose and Thorn Festival brings large crowds to Manorhamilton each August and is proving a great success. The festival features a light-hearted and humorous talent competition to choose a Rose & a Thorn as well as on-street gigs and entertainment in a carnival atmosphere.

Manorhamilton has several top quality pubs with music, craic and nightlife to suit young and old. The area is renowned for traditional Irish music and regular sessions take place in 'Biddy's, 'Heraghty's' and 'The Castle'. Traditional and newly composed Irish music by local musicians including uilleann piper Alan Roberts can be sampled and purchased on iTunes.[2]

Splódar Theatre Company[3]

Splódar are a professional theatre company based in the Glens Centre in Manorhamilton. Formerly known as 'The Glens Players' the company stages shows both in English and Irish. Splódar tours its work nationally and has also performed plays at Theatre Festivals abroad.

Drumlin Publications[4]

Drumlin Publications was formed by local author Prin Duignan to give a voice to emerging writers. The company has published many excellent books focusing on history and culture - both regional and national.

Gaelscoil Chluainín[5]

The founding of Manorhamilton's new Gaelscoil gives local children the opportunity to receive their primary education through Irish. The school is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities in a custom-built school building on Castle Street in the town.

Places of interest

Manorhamilton Castle & Heritage Centre

The ruins of Manorhamilton Castle[6] has recently been impressively renovated transforming it into a fascinating tourist attraction. The Castle was erected in 1634 by Sir Frederick Hamilton who was granted land in North Leitrim by the English government. The land had been confiscated from the O'Rourkes, the ruling clan of Breifne. Hamilton was a very unpopular overlord and faced frequent native rebellion before the Castle was burned by the Earls of Clanrickard (Burkes) in 1652. Manorhamilton Castle Heritage Centre hosts a permanent exhibition and offers guided tours of the Castle ruins and grounds.

Greenbox

Headquartered in Manorhamilton, The Greenbox[7] is Ireland's first integrated ecotourism destination. The area of the Greenbox includes Counties Fermanagh, Leitrim, West Cavan, North Sligo, South Donegal and North West Monaghan. The organisation is involved in the development and promotion of eco breaks and hundreds of other activities.

Bee Park Resource Centre

The Bee Park Resource Centre is a recently built facility on the site of the former Community Centre. The centre has a large main hall which stages concerts and community events. The Bee Park Centre is also home to a large number of service providers in the areas of Youth, Sport, Disability & Childcare Education. The North Leitrim Women's Group and The North Leitrim Men's Group are also located here.

Public Square

A spacious new paved public square has been developed adjacent to Manorhamilton Castle on the former fair green. The square which incorporates an outdoor performance platform has been further enhanced by the commissioning of an abstract sculpture, sourced from the local Leitrim Sculpture Centre.[8]

Famine Graveyard

This plot is one of three graveyards opened shortly before and during the Great Famine of 1845 - 1849. It is a silent memorial to the famine dead.

Megalithic Sites

The North Leitrim area features many pre-historic sites of interest. Very accessible is the nearby O'Donnell's Rock plateau where many well-preserved stone forts and passage tombs are located. Cairns and other tombs are also visible on Benbo Mountain and at the summits of virtually all the surrounding mountains. On lower ground the remains of ringforts, cashels, tombs and many other structures are dotted throughout the landscape. Lisdarush Ring Fort is a well-preserved Iron Age site which can be seen just off the Rossinver road approximately 2 miles (3 km) from Manorhamilton.

Healthcare

Our Lady's Hospital

Our Lady's Hospital.

Our Lady's Hospital is located on the edge of the town. This HSE hospital provides a range of services and is focused on long-stay and day-care geriatric and rheumatology services.

HSE Offices

Manorhamilton is home to regional HSE offices. These were, until recently, the headquarters of the regional North Western Health Board (NWHB). The NWHB has now been merged into the national Health Service Executive HSE, and there is uncertainty as to the future role of the former NWHB HQ.

Manorhamilton locals of note

The former CEO of the HSE, Professor Brendan Drumm, grew up in Manorhamilton where his parents were instrumental in founding the local secondary school.

John Willoughby Crawford QC (1817 – 13 May 1875) the third Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, Canada from 1873 to 1875 was Born in Manorhamilton in 1817.

Transport

Road

Manorhamilton is on the N16 national primary route. This road continues across the border and becomes the A4. The R280 road links the town to Bundoran, Co. Donegal and to Carrick-on-Shannon in Co. Leitrim. The R282 road links the town to Rossinver and continues across the border as the B53 to Garrison, County Fermanagh.

Bus (for the train)

The town is served by a number of Bus Éireann routes including the Sligo to Enniskillen route 66, Expressway service. Up to date information and schedules can be found on Bus Éireann's website

The nearest railway station to Manorhamilton is Sligo railway station which is served by trains to Dublin Connolly and is operated by Iarnród Éireann. Bus Éireann services from Manorhamilton stop at Sligo bus station which is beside Sligo railway station. Rail timetables on Irish Rail - Official website

Former Sligo Leitrim & Northern Counties Railway Service (closed: 1957)

Manorhamilton railway station opened on 1 December 1880 and formed part of the Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway (SLNCR). All maintenance on the line's engines and rolling stock was carried out at the station works and the railway became a major employer locally. The administrative headquarters of the SLNCR was located in the nearby village of Lurganboy. The railway served as a major business and tourism artery to the area and developed a large trade in livestock exports. The development of the modern roads system in Ireland led to the decline of railway usage and the consolidation of railways nationwide. The SLNCR, and with it Manorhamilton Station, finally closed on 1 October 1957.[9]

Sport

There are many sports and outdoors activities available in Manorhamilton.

Gaelic Football & Hurling

The principal sporting and cultural organisation in the area is Glencar Manorhamilton GAA Club (Gleann an Chairthe Cluainín). The Glencar Manor senior team were the Leitrim Senior Football Champions in 1977,1999,2008,2009,2010 & 2011. The club's grounds are in the Bee Park and it has a strong underage structure competing successfully at all grades of Gaelic football and hurling in the county. The new club website[10] contains lots of information about the club and additional information on community events in the area.

Soccer

Manorhamilton Rangers AFC participates in the Sligo Leitrim Junior soccer leagues. The club's 1st team have recently had successful campaigns in national cup competitions. Manor Rangers[11] pitch is located in the Bee Park sports grounds in the centre of the town.

Tennis Club

Manorhamilton Tennis Club have recently developed high quality all-weather courts in the Bee Park sports grounds. Weekly adult and children's games take place throughout the year. Teams from the club also participate in the Connacht Tennis League. Coaching sessions are regularly organised for new members and the Parks Tennis League is run for children every summer.

Boxing

Sean McDermott Boxing Club has a strong tradition in the town with boxers from the club having reached National Finals on several occasions. In 1993, James Kelly from Church Lane, Manorhamilton won the All-Ireland Youth 92+kg event, James went on to represent Ireland in Europe. In 2014 Niall Gallagher from Creevelea, won the All-Ireland Youth 92+kg title and Latvian native Dita Kodolina from Blacklion claimed victory in the ladies Irish Novice 54 kg event

Hillwalking

The Holey Soles Hillwalking Club organise an annual North Leitrim Glens Hillwalking Festival, which attracts large numbers of walkers from all over the country. The area has many excellent and challenging walks to choose from in the surrounding mountains and hills. A guide, complete with maps, is available for all walks in the mountains of Sligo & Leitrim.

Other sports

Other activities popular in Manorhamilton include fishing, athletics, basketball, Irish dancing, table tennis & badminton.

Telecommunications

Voice PSTN and ISDN

The town and its hinterland is served by an Alcatel-Lucent 1000-E10 digital exchange originally installed in the early 1980s and connected to the national network by fibre optic cable and a microwave back-up. The exchange is operated by eircom and is located in the town centre. A full range of telephone service providers are available using carrier preselect and wholesale line rental. A wide range of call management features, including caller ID, call waiting, full call forwarding, and voicemail are available as well as a full range of ISDN services.

Broadband

Metropolitan Area Network - MAN

Manorhamilton has a full fibre optic Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) operated by E|net. A detailed map of this network can be found on E|net's website This network can be used by internet service providers, cable television operators, or companies requiring high-bandwidth direct fibre optic connections, including dark fibre. Various co-location services and antenna tower locations are also available.

ADSL

DSL is available from the local telephone exchange and customers can avail of a wide range of internet service providers ISPs using eircom's bitstream access products. At present the Manorhamilton exchange only provides first generation ADSL services up to 8 Mbit/s. This may change in the future as eircom rollout ADSL2+ and next generation broadband services more widely.

Wireless Internet Service Providers (WISPs)

A number of wireless service providers cover the Manorhamilton area. These include:

Mobile Services

Manorhamilton is covered by a range of GSM / UMTS mobile phone providers. These networks also offer 3G / UMTS Mobile Internet services suitable for mobile internet access or smartphones.

and the virtual network operators MVNOs

Visitors to Ireland can easily purchase a prepay SIM card at any mobile phone outlet. This can be used with any existing GSM/UMTS phone that supports normal European standards: GSM: 900 MHz and 1800 MHz. UMTS 2100 MHz

Public Services

Public internet access is available from the Manorhamilton Public Library

Eircom payphones are located on the main street. These take coins, eircom callcards and all major credit cards.

Area code and local number changes

Manorhamilton's area code and local telephone numbers were changed beginning on 1 October 2002.[12] This change occurred as part of a major reorganisation and simplification of area codes in the Northwestern 07 area.

The area code was changed from 072 to 071 and local numbers are now 7-digits long.

Old 072 5-digit numbers are no longer in service and information announcements are no longer played.

To convert an old number, change the area code to 071 and prefix the old 5-digit local number with 98.

For example:

072 XX XXX becomes 071 98 XX XXX

or, in the full international format:

+353 72 XX XXX becomes +353 71 98 XX XXX

Manorhamilton telephone numbers should now be written in the standard format:

(071) XXX XXXX
or
+ 353 71 XXX XXXX

Media

Newspapers

Radio

RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ lyric fm, RTÉ Radio na Gaeltachta, Newstalk & Today FM.

Television

National Services

Digital TV: RTÉ One, RTÉ Two HD, RTÉ News Now, RTÉ One +1, RTÉ Jr, TV3, 3e, TG4.

Digital Radio: (via DTT): RTÉ Radio 1, RTÉ 2fm, RTÉ Lyric fm, RTÉ Radio na Gaeltachta, RTÉ Pulse, RTÉ 2XM, RTÉ Gold, RTÉ Junior / RTÉ Chill

See also

Notable People

John Willoughby Crawford QC (1817-1875), Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario (1873–75).

Charles Irwin VC (1824-April 8, 1873) was born in Manorhamilton, County Leitrim and was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross. During the Siege of Lucknow, on the 16 November 1857 at Lucknow, India, Private Irwin showed conspicuous bravery at the assault on the Secundra Bagh when, although severely wounded through the right shoulder, he was one of the first to enter the building under heavy fire. He died on 29 March 1873 at Newtownbutler and is buried in Saint Mark's Churchyard, Magheraveely, County Fermanagh.

Church of Ireland in Manorhamilton.

External links

References

  1. 1 2 3 Placenames Database of Ireland (see archival records)
  2. ↑ "iTunes".
  3. ↑ "Splódar Theatre Company".
  4. ↑ "Drumlin Publications".
  5. ↑ "Gaelscoil Chluainín".
  6. ↑ "Manorhamilton Castle & Heritage Centre".
  7. ↑ "Greenbox".
  8. ↑ "Leitrim Sculpture Centre".
  9. ↑ "Manorhamilton station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
  10. ↑ "Glencar Manorhamilton GAA Club".
  11. ↑ "Manorhamilton Rangers AFC".
  12. ↑ Comreg, Irish Telecommunications Regulator. "STD Changes for Sligo, Boyle, Carrick-on-Shannon and Manorhamilton Comreg, 1 October 2002.
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