In 1967 the Gildernew family, began a protest about discrimination in housing allocation by 'squatting' (illegally occupying) in a house in Caledon. The house had been allocated by Dungannon Rural District Council to a 19-year-old unmarried Ulster Protestant woman, Emily Beattie, who was the secretary of a local Ulster Unionist Party politician. Beattie was given the house ahead of older married Catholic families with children.[3] The protesters were evicted by officers of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, one of whom was Beattie's brother. The next day, the annual conference of the Nationalist Party unanimously approved of the protest action by Currie.[4]
Caledon House
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Caledon, from, A series of picturesque views of seats of the noblemen and gentlemen of Great Britain and Ireland (1840)
Caledon House was built in 1779 by James Alexander, a member of the Irish House of Commons for Londonderry, who had previously in 1778 bought the Caledon Estate. James Alexander was made Baron Caledon in 1790 and later Viscount Caledon in 1797. The House was begun in 1779 to designs by Thomas Cooley, but altered by John Nash in 1808–10.[5]
The village of Caledon is in a townland of the same name. The townland is situated in the historic barony of Dungannon Lower and the civil parish of Aghaloo and covers an area of 232 acres.[9] The population of the townland declined during the 19th century:[10][11]
Year
1851
1861
1871
1881
1891
Population
28
28
38
25
16
Houses
5
5
10
7
4
The townland contains one Scheduled Historic Monument: a Beam engine (grid ref: H7581 4521).[12]
Brian McCoy (1942–1975), was a trumpet player with the Miami Showband. McCoy was one of the three band members killed when the group was ambushed at a bogus military checkpoint outside Newry by the Glenanne gang, an outfit composed of loyalist paramilitary, RUC officers, and members of the British military and security services.
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