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Lisnaskea
Irish: *Lios na Scéithe*
Lisnaskea Irish: Lios na Scéithe;
	Lisnaskea Location within Northern Ireland
Population	3,020 (2021 Census)
Irish grid reference	H3634
District	Fermanagh and Omagh;
County	County Fermanagh;
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ENNISKILLEN
Postcode district	BT92
Dialling code	028
UK Parliament	Fermanagh and South Tyrone;
NI Assembly	Fermanagh and South Tyrone;
	List of places UK Northern Ireland Fermanagh 54°15′00″N 7°26′31″W / 54.25°N 7.442°W

Lisnaskea (from Irish Lios na Scéithe, meaning 'fort of the shield')^[1] is the second-biggest settlement in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated mainly in the townland of Lisoneill, with some areas in the townland of Castle Balfour Demesne, both in the civil parish of Aghalurcher and the historic barony of Magherastephana.^[1] It had a population of 3,020 people at the 2021 Census.^[2]

The nearby monument of Sciath Ghabhra is where the Maguires were crowned as kings and chiefs of Fermanagh. The town developed after the Plantation of Ulster and is built around the long main street. At the middle, the old market place, formerly known as The Diamond, contains a high cross (grid ref:H364340)^[3] from an early monastery. 19th century buildings include the former market house, corn market and butter market.^[4] The Castle Park Leisure Centre is situated just off the main street.^[5]

History

The name Lisnaskea comes from Lios na Scéithe meaning "fort of the shield". North of the village, in the townland of Cornashee,^[1] is a large burial mound within a round enclosure, which is a scheduled monument.^[6] This is believed to be Sciath Ghabhra (Skeagoura), the coronation place of the Maguires, who were kings and chiefs of Fermanagh.^[7] Nearby is another ringfort known as Lios Uí Néill (Lisoneill). The name Lisnaskea may be a combination of the 'lis' element of Lisoneill and 'skea' from Skeagoura.^[1] There is also evidence of a much earlier ringfort (with radiocarbon dates of 359–428 AD) in the townland of Castle Balfour Demesne,^[8] suggesting the area was inhabited from a very early date. The ruins of the old monastery, associated with St Ronan, who died sometime before 635 AD, are to the west of the town.^[9]

In 1618, during the Plantation of Ulster, Castle Balfour was built by Scotsman James, Lord Balfour, and its remains are just off the Main Street of Lisnaskea.^[10]

In the Irish Rebellion of 1641, it was noted that: "At Lissenskeah they hanged, or otherwise killed, above 100 persons, most of them of the Scottish nation".^[11] The castle was altered in 1652 and damaged in 1689, but remained inhabited into the 19th century. It was restored and conserved in the 1960s and 1990s.^[12]

The village came under the control of the Earls of Erne in 1821. They established the market in the town while bolstering and controlling development around the high street.^[13]

The Troubles

In December 2013, suspected dissident republicans fired shots at Lisnaskea PSNI station. There were no casualties.^[14]

The Workhouse

Lisnaskea Poor Law Union was formally declared on 27 June 1840, and in August Sir Arthur Brooke was elected Chairman. The workhouse was built (at a total cost of over £6,400) on a six-acre site to the south of Lisnaskea purchased from Lord Erne to accommodate 500 inmates, the first of whom were received on 25 February 1843. During 1846, the number of inmates rose from 263 to 817 by the end of the year.

In 1847, additional accommodation was erected for 130 inmates. In the early 1920s, during the Troubles of that time, the workhouse was used to house soldiers of the Royal Hampshire Regiment. The workhouse later resumed its operation until 1940 when it was used for men of the 8th Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters. The inmates were transferred to Enniskillen, and in 1948 to Armagh. Eventually, part of the workhouse was used for a time as the headquarters of Lisnaskea Fire Brigade. Later, the buildings were adapted for a mixture of residential and commercial use.^[15]^[16]

A large iron pot, said to have held 300 gallons of gruel, rested at one time in its gardens.^[4] In July 2011, part of the upper floor of the building was completely gutted in a fire, believed to be malicious.^[17]

Sport

Throughout the history of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Fermanagh, Lisnaskea Emmetts have consistently been a major force in Gaelic football winning 20 Fermanagh Senior Football Championship titles, ladies football and hurling. They have won a range of honours in the sport including the All-Ireland Intermediate Club Football Championship in 2011,^[18] and also won the ladies' equivalent later that year.^[19] They wear red and green. Lisnaskea Emmetts over the years have had clubmen involved in the Fermanagh GAA and Ulster Railway Cup team.

Climate

Lisnaskea experiences a maritime climate with cool summers and mild winters.^[20]

Climate data for Lisnaskea (1991–2020)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	8.0 (46.4)	8.7 (47.7)	10.4 (50.7)	13.2 (55.8)	16.2 (61.2)	18.4 (65.1)	19.5 (67.1)	19.1 (66.4)	17.2 (63.0)	13.7 (56.7)	10.3 (50.5)	8.3 (46.9)	13.6 (56.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	1.9 (35.4)	1.7 (35.1)	2.8 (37.0)	4.1 (39.4)	6.5 (43.7)	9.5 (49.1)	11.4 (52.5)	11.2 (52.2)	9.1 (48.4)	6.4 (43.5)	3.7 (38.7)	2.1 (35.8)	5.9 (42.6)
Average rainfall mm (inches)	102.3 (4.03)	83.1 (3.27)	76.7 (3.02)	65.2 (2.57)	70.8 (2.79)	69.6 (2.74)	87.6 (3.45)	101.2 (3.98)	76.9 (3.03)	107.7 (4.24)	105.4 (4.15)	117.0 (4.61)	1,064 (41.89)
Average rainy days (≥ 1 mm)	17.0	14.4	14.4	13.0	13.1	12.2	14.6	15.7	14.4	15.5	16.5	17.1	178.5
Mean monthly sunshine hours	43.7	67.6	101.7	142.4	169.4	140.3	121.6	124.5	104.1	82.7	52.6	32.7	1,183.7
Source: Met Office^[21]

Education

Primary level

St Eugene's Knocks Primary School
The Moat Primary School
St Ronan's Primary School

Secondary level

St Kevin's Secondary School

St Comghalls Secondary School

Roman Catholic School (1970-2017), closed due to a merge with another school. The site of the school is now used for the newly merged school St Kevin's. The last Principal of St Comghalls secondary school, Gary Kelly is now the current Principal Of St Kevins College Lisnakea

Lisnaskea High School

Lisnaskea High School (Castle Balfour Demesne), the town's only non-Catholic high school, was ordered to be amalgamated with nearby Devenish College in 2013 by then-Northern Ireland Education Minister John O'Dowd (Sinn Féin), despite the objections of those associated with the high school. Since then, 75% of the school's students transferred to Devenish College, with the majority of the remaining students transferring equally between Erne Integrated College and Fivemiletown High School.^[22]^[23]

Libraries

A new public library was opened in Main Street on 8 April 2015 by Libraries NI at a cost of £1.28m. It is spread over two floors with a special children's library, conference rooms and Wifi access.^[24]^[25]

Demographics

National Identity of Lisnaskea residents (2021)^[26]^[27]^[28]
Nationality			Per cent
Irish			50.8%
Northern Irish			27.8%
British			20.3%

2021 Census

On Census Day (2021) the usually resident population of Lisnaskea Settlement was 3,020.^[29] Of these:

76.09% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 18.97% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion.^[30]
16.59% indicated that they had a British only identity, 47.21% had an Irish only identity and 22.88% had a Northern Irish only identity.^[31]

2011 Census

On Census Day (27 March 2011) the usually resident population of Lisnaskea Settlement was 2,956, accounting for 0.16% of the NI total.^[32]

98.51% were from the white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic group;
75.61% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 22.43% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion; and
23.65% indicated that they had a British national identity, 43.27% had an Irish national identity and 30.82% had a Northern Irish national identity. Respondents could indicate more than one national identity
16.21% had some knowledge of Irish;
2.48% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots; and
4.68% did not have English as their first language.

2001 Census

Lisnaskea is classified as an intermediate settlement by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 2,250 and 4,500 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 2,739 people living in Lisnaskea. Of these:

23.5% were aged under 16 years and 18.9% were aged 60 and over
46.8% of the population were male and 53.2% were female
74.1% were from a Catholic background and 24.5% were from a Protestant background
7.0% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Notable people

The Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (born 1970), former First Minister of Northern Ireland and former Leader of the DUP. Lady Foster of Aghadrumsee was initially raised in the hamlet of Aghadrumsee, near Roslea, before she moved with her family to Castlebalfour in Lisnaskea when she was aged 9. She spent the rest of her childhood and teenage years in Lisnaskea.
Rachel Horne (born 1979), journalist and newsreader with Virgin Radio UK. She previously worked for BBC News. She was raised near Lisnaskea, and is married to the comedian and television presenter Alex Horne.
Seán Lynch (born 1954), Sinn Féin politician who was an MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone from 2011 until 2021. He was formerly a member of the Provisional IRA. Lynch was raised on the outskirts of Lisnaskea, and he continues to live in the town.
Áine Murphy, a Sinn Féin politician who has served as an MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone since 2011. She is from Lisnaskea.
Johnny Patterson (1840-1889), circus showman and songwriter lived for a time in the village. He wrote many popular songs including The garden where the praties grow and The stone outside Dan Murphy's door.^[4]

Transport

Lisnaskea railway station opened on 26 August 1858 and was shut on 1 October 1957.^[33] The station was opened by the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway, later named the Irish North Western Railway. In 1876 it became part of the Great Northern Railway (Ireland).

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Lisnaskea". Place Names NI. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
^ "Erne_East_D – Census 2021". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Retrieved 25 April 2023.
^ Department of the Environment (NI) (1987). Historic Monuments of Northern Ireland. Belfast: HMSO. pp. 152–153.
^ ^a ^b ^c Sanderson, Ernest (1976). Discover Northern Ireland. Belfast: Northern Ireland Tourist Board. p. 152. ISBN 0-9500222-7-6.
^ "Castle Park Leisure Centre". Fermanagh District Council. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
^ https://apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/nismr-public/Details.aspx?MonID=10960 - Search Retrieved May 12, 2018
^ FitzPatrick, Elizabeth. Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland C. 1100-1600. Boydell Press, 2004. pp.84-85
^ Stout, Matthew (1997). The Irish Ringfort. Dublin: Four Courts Press. pp. 18, 28.
^ "Lisnaskea Conservation Area". Planning Portal. 9 November 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
^ Flanagan, Laurence (1992). A Dictionary of Irish Archaeology. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. pp. 50–51.
^ Parliamentary Memoirs of Fermanagh and Tyrone, from 1613 to 1885
^ "Castle Balfour" (PDF). Northern Ireland Environment Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
^ Culture Northern Ireland culturenorthernireland.org Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine
^ "Shots fired at Lisnaskea police station". BBC News NI. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
^ "Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh". The Workhouse. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
^ "Lisnaskea Workhouse". Ulster Workhouse and Famine Trust. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
^ "Community saddened at workhouse fire". Fermanagh Herald. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
^ "McElroy's late goal brings joy for Lisnaskea". The Irish Times. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2022.
^ "Late point from Slevin sends Emmetts to heaven". The Impartial Reporter. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
^ "Northern Ireland: climate". Met Office. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
^ "Lisnaskea (County Fermanagh) UK climate averages - Met Office". Met Office. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
^ "One year on, Lisnaskea is still reeling from the closure of its High School, 24 August 2014.
^ "Minister closes Lisnaskea High School". Impartial Reporter.
^ "New £1.28m library is a big hit in Lisnaskea". Fermanagh Herald. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
^ "Lisnaskea Library". Libraries NI. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
^ "National Identity (Irish)". NISRA. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
^ "National Identity (Northern Irish)". NISRA. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
^ "National Identity (British)". NISRA. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
^ "Settlement 2015". NISRA. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
^ "Religion or religion brought up in". NISRA. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
^ "National identity (person based) - basic detail (classification 1)". NISRA. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
^ "Census 2011 Population Statistics for Lisnaskea Settlement". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Retrieved 21 December 2019. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
^ "Lisnaskea station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 28 October 2007.

External links

[Pla-1] "Lisnaskea". Place Names NI. Retrieved 18 April 2015.

[Census2021-2] "Erne_East_D – Census 2021". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Retrieved 25 April 2023.

[3] Department of the Environment (NI) (1987). Historic Monuments of Northern Ireland. Belfast: HMSO. pp. 152–153.

[San-4] Sanderson, Ernest (1976). Discover Northern Ireland. Belfast: Northern Ireland Tourist Board. p. 152. ISBN 0-9500222-7-6.

[5] "Castle Park Leisure Centre". Fermanagh District Council. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.

[6] ttps://apps.communities-ni.gov.uk/nismr-public/Details.aspx?MonID=10960 - Search Retrieved May 12, 2018

[7] FitzPatrick, Elizabeth. Royal Inauguration in Gaelic Ireland C. 1100-1600. Boydell Press, 2004. pp.84-85

[8] Stout, Matthew (1997). The Irish Ringfort. Dublin: Four Courts Press. pp. 18, 28.

[9] "Lisnaskea Conservation Area". Planning Portal. 9 November 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2015.

[Fla-10] Flanagan, Laurence (1992). A Dictionary of Irish Archaeology. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. pp. 50–51.

[11] Parliamentary Memoirs of Fermanagh and Tyrone, from 1613 to 1885

[Doe-12] "Castle Balfour" (PDF). Northern Ireland Environment Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2015.

[13] Culture Northern Ireland culturenorthernireland.org Archived 11 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine

[14] "Shots fired at Lisnaskea police station". BBC News NI. 24 December 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2015.

[15] "Lisnaskea, Co Fermanagh". The Workhouse. Retrieved 19 April 2015.

[16] "Lisnaskea Workhouse". Ulster Workhouse and Famine Trust. Retrieved 19 April 2015.

[17] "Community saddened at workhouse fire". Fermanagh Herald. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2015.

[18] "McElroy's late goal brings joy for Lisnaskea". The Irish Times. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2022.

[19] "Late point from Slevin sends Emmetts to heaven". The Impartial Reporter. 24 November 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2022.

[20] "Northern Ireland: climate". Met Office. Retrieved 31 January 2018.

[MetOffice-21] "Lisnaskea (County Fermanagh) UK climate averages - Met Office". Met Office. Retrieved 4 July 2024.

[22] "One year on, Lisnaskea is still reeling from the closure of its High School, 24 August 2014.

[23] "Minister closes Lisnaskea High School". Impartial Reporter.

[24] "New £1.28m library is a big hit in Lisnaskea". Fermanagh Herald. 18 April 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2018.

[25] "Lisnaskea Library". Libraries NI. Retrieved 18 April 2015.

[26] "National Identity (Irish)". NISRA. Retrieved 21 August 2023.

[27] "National Identity (Northern Irish)". NISRA. Retrieved 21 August 2023.

[28] "National Identity (British)". NISRA. Retrieved 21 August 2023.

[29] "Settlement 2015". NISRA. Retrieved 17 August 2023.

[2021_religion-30] "Religion or religion brought up in". NISRA. Retrieved 17 August 2023.

[31] "National identity (person based) - basic detail (classification 1)". NISRA. Retrieved 17 August 2023.

[Census2011-32] "Census 2011 Population Statistics for Lisnaskea Settlement". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Retrieved 21 December 2019. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.

[33] "Lisnaskea station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 28 October 2007.

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Lisnaskea