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Maguiresbridge
Irish: *Droichead Mhig Uidhir^[1]*
Maguiresbridge Irish: Droichead Mhig Uidhir;
	Maguiresbridge from the Lisnaskea Road
	Maguiresbridge Location within Northern Ireland
Population	1,020 (2011 Census)
Irish grid reference	H347383
District	Fermanagh and Omagh;
County	County Fermanagh;
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Postcode district	BT94
Dialling code	028, +44 28
UK Parliament	Fermanagh and South Tyrone;
NI Assembly	Fermanagh and South Tyrone;
	List of places UK Northern Ireland Fermanagh 54°17′42″N 7°27′54″W / 54.295°N 7.465°W

Maguiresbridge is a small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. The village is named after the bridge over the Colebrooke River, first built by the local Maguire family about 1760.^[2] The village is 8 miles from Enniskillen and 3 miles from Lisnaskea.

History

Old railway

At the beginning of the 20th century, Maguiresbridge was served by four railways which stretched throughout Ulster. At that time, Maguiresbridge and Clones were two of the major junctions from Derry, Omagh, and Belfast into north Leinster, in particular, the major market towns of Athlone, Cavan, and Mullingar via the Inney junction. This back-bone rail infrastructure was administered by the Midland Great Western Railway which also linked to other major towns: namely, Sligo, Tullamore, via Clara, cities such as Dublin, Limerick, and other market towns on the south coast.

Maguiresbridge railway station on the Great Northern Railway opened on 1 March 1859 and was shut on 1 October 1957. The station serving as the western terminus of the narrow gauge Clogher Valley Railway opened on 2 May 1887 and was shut on 1 January 1942.^[3]

The Troubles

On 17 November 1981 Albert Beacom, a Corporal in the Ulster Defence Regiment, was shot dead by the Provisional Irish Republican Army while working on his farm outside Maguiresbridge.^[4]

On 11 February 1986 an off-duty member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary Derek Breen (aged 29) was shot dead by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in the Talk of the Town Bar (now the Coach Inn). During the same incident John McCabe (aged 25), who was working as a barman there, was caught in the gunfire and died on scene.^[5]

21st century

Maguiresbridge grew considerably during the 2010s, with the building of five new housing developments holding 350 houses. New shops were also built during this time.^[6]^[7]^{[failed verification]}

Demographics

2021 Census

Residents could identify as more than one nationality.

National Identity of Maguiresbridge residents (2021)^[8]^[9]^[10]
Nationality			Per cent
British			44.13%
Irish			29.93%
Northern Irish			31.34%

On Census Day (2021) the most accurate resident population of Maguiresbridge village was 940. This incorporates NISRA Census areas Erne East C2 and C3.^[11] Of these:

40.66.7% (381) identified as Roman Catholic religion.
42.15% (395) identified as 'Protestant and Other Christian' religion.
16.54% (155) had no religious background.
0.64% (6) had an 'Other' religious background.^[12]

35.92% (337) indicated that they had a British only identity,
28.14% (264) had an Irish only identity
22.60% (212) had a Northern Irish only identity ^[13]

2011 Census

On the day of the 2011 census, 27 March 2011, there were 1,020 people living in Maguiresbridge.^[14] Of these:

24.80% were aged under 16 years
11.37% were aged 65 or over
52.16% were female and 47.84% were male
49.61% were from a Protestant background
46.47% were from a Catholic background
5.65% of people aged between 16 and 74 were unemployed

Education

Local primary schools include St. Mary's Roman Catholic Primary and Maguiresbridge Controlled Primary.^{[citation needed]}

Maguiresbridge does not have any secondary school, with eligible residents traveling to Lisnaskea and Enniskillen to receive secondary education.^{[citation needed]}

Religion

The local Roman Catholic church is Saint Mary's Church, and the local Church of Ireland church is Christchurch.^{[citation needed]} There are also Methodist and Presbyterian churches.^{[citation needed]}

Sport

Maguiresbridge is home to both a soccer and Gaelic football club. Saint Mary's GFC is a Gaelic football club with its grounds on the Drumgoon Road, whilst the soccer club plays its games in Lisnaskea.

Bernadette Collins, who worked as head of race strategy for the Aston Martin Formula One Team from 2020 to 2022, was born and raised in the town.^[15]