The town's name comes from the Irish: Inis Ceithleann. This refers to Cethlenn, a figure in Irish mythology who may have been a goddess. Local legend has it that Cethlenn was wounded in battle by an arrow and attempted to swim across the River Erne, which surrounds the island, but she never reached the other side, so the island was named in reference to her. It has been anglicised many ways over the centuries – Iniskellen, Iniskellin, Iniskillin, Iniskillen, Inishkellen, Inishkellin, Inishkillin, Inishkillen and so on.[2]
The town's oldest building is Enniskillen Castle, built by Hugh (Maguire) the Hospitable who died in 1428.[11] An earthwork, the Skonce on the shore of Lough Erne, may be the remains of an earlier motte. The castle was the stronghold of the junior branch of the Maguires.[12] The first watergate was built around 1580 by Cú Chonnacht Maguire, though subsequent lowering of the level of the lough has left it without water. The strategic position of the castle made its capture important for the English in 1593, to support their plans for the control of Ulster. The castle was besieged three times in 1594–95. The English, led by a Captain Dowdall, captured it in February 1594. Maguire then laid siege to it, and defeated a relieving force at the Battle of the Ford of the Biscuits at Drumane Bridge on the Arney River. Although the defenders were relieved, Maguire gained possession of the castle from 1595 to 1598 and it was not finally captured by the English until 1607.
This was part of a wider campaign to bring the province of Ulster under English control; the final capture of Enniskillen Castle in 1607 was followed by the Plantation of Ulster, during which the lands of the native Irish were seized and handed over to planters loyal to the English Crown. The Maguires were supplanted by William Cole, originally from Devon, who was appointed by James I to build an English settlement there in 1612.
Captain Cole was installed as Constable and strengthened the castle wall and built a "fair house" on the old foundation as the centre point of the county town. The first Protestant parish church was erected on the hilltop in 1627. By 1630 the town had around 180 inhabitants, mostly comprising English and Scottish settlers.[13] The Royal Free School of Fermanagh was moved onto the island in 1643. The first bridges were drawbridges; permanent bridges were not installed before 1688.
By 1689 the town had grown significantly. During the conflict which resulted from the ousting of King James II by his Protestant rival, William III, Enniskillen and Derry were the focus of Williamite resistance in Ireland, including the nearby Battle of Newtownbutler.[14]
Enniskillen and Derry were the two garrisons in Ulster that were not wholly loyal to James II, and it was the last town to fall before the Siege of Derry. As a direct result of this conflict, Enniskillen developed not only as a market town but also as a garrison, which became home to two regiments.
The former site of Fermanagh College at Gaol Square (the college has now moved to the old Erne Hospital site) was the former Enniskillen Gaol. Many people were tried and hanged in the square during the times of public execution. Part of the old goal is still standing. Enniskillen Town Hall was designed by William Scott and completed in 1901.[15]
Military history
Enniskillen is the site of the foundation of two British Army regiments:
In 2019, at least nine men reported to the police and the press and said in public forums that, in the 1980s and 90s, when they were children, they were repeatedly molested and raped by a paedophile ring of at least 20 men in the Enniskillen area.[16][17][18][19] Investigations are continuing.
The Chieftains sing a song that mentions Enniskillen titled "North Amerikay".
Jim Kerr of Simple Minds was so moved by the horror of the Enniskillen bombing in 1987 that he wrote new words to the traditional folk song "She Moved Through The Fair" and the group recorded it with the name "Belfast Child". The recording reached No. 1 in the UK Charts, Ireland and several other countries in 1989. The single was taken from the album Street Fighting Years; the single version was released on the "Ballad of the Streets" EP. The video of the song was shot in black and white and displays poignant footage of children and the destruction of the bombing. Similarly, U2 held a concert the same day as the bombing; during a performance of their song "Sunday Bloody Sunday", singer Bono passionately condemned the bombing, stating "fuck the revolution" in his mid-song speech. The footage is included in U2's rockumentaryRattle and Hum.[20]
Bill Fay also mentions Enniskillen in his song In Human Hands.
The Guardian noted that residential areas including Cooper Crescent and Chanterhill Road - inner suburbs just North of the town centre - were the 'poshest' with much of the fine housing stock located outside of the town centre.[21]
The Irish language novel Mo Dhá Mhicí by Séamus Mac Annaidh is set in Enniskillen.
Demography
National Identity of Enniskillen residents (2021)[22][23][24]
Nationality
Per cent
Irish
37.4%
Northern Irish
29.6%
British
28.4%
2021 Census
On Census day 2021 there were 14,086 people living in Enniskillen.[3] Of these:
61.52% (8,666) belong to or were brought up in the Catholic Christian faith and 29.09% (4,097) belong to or were brought up in various 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' denominations. 2.2% (310) belong to other religions and 7.19% (1,013) had no religious background.[25]
22.8% (3,212) indicated that they had a British only identity, 34.68% (4,885) had an Irish only identity and 26.4% (3,179) had a Northern Irish only identity (respondents could indicate more than one national identity)[26]
2011 Census
On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 13,823 people living in Enniskillen (5,733 households),[5] accounting for 0.76% of the NI total and representing an increase of 1.6% on the Census 2001 population of 13,599.[27] Of these:
19.76% were aged under 16 years and 15.59% were aged 65 and over;
51.80% of the usually resident population were female and 48.20% were male;
61.62% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic Christian faith and 33.55% belong to or were brought up in various 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' denominations
35.59% indicated that they had a British national identity, 33.77% had an Irish national identity and 30.35% had a Northern Irish national identity (respondents could indicate more than one national identity)
39 years was the average (median) age of the population
13.03% had some knowledge of Irish (Gaelic) and 3.65% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots
Places of interest
Churches
There are four churches in the town centre. These are:
As of season 2023/24, the town has five association football teams, Enniskillen Rangers, Enniskillen Town United F.C., Enniskillen Athletic, Enniskillen Galaxy and Enniskillen Rovers. Founded in 1953, Enniskillen Rangers are the oldest and most successful of these, having won the Irish Junior Cup five times, most recently in season 2023/24, when they defeated Cleary Celtic FC 2–0 in Stangmore Park, Dungannon, the Fermanagh & Western Division One title 19 times and the Mulhern Cup 16 times.[34] They play their home games at The Ball Range.
Enniskillen Rangers have several notable former players including Sandy Fulton and Jim Cleary.
Enniskillen Rugby Football Club was founded in 1925 and plays its home games at Mullaghmeen. The club currently[when?] fields 4 senior men's teams, a senior ladies' team, a range of male and female youth teams, a vibrant mini section and a disability tag team called The Enniskillen Elks. Enniskillen XV won the Ulster Towns Cup in the 2018/19 season, defeating Ballyclare 19–0. The team currently play in Kukri Ulster Rugby Championship Division 1.[35]
The rugby club was formed on 28 August 1925, when 37 attended a meeting in Enniskillen Town Hall. The name Enniskillen Rugby Club was agreed and the club adopted the rules of the Dublin University Football Club. The first match was played on 30 September 1925 against Ballyshannon in County Donegal.[36]
Enniskillen was the venue of the 39th G8 summit which was held on 17 and 18 June 2013. It was held at the Lough Erne Resort, a five-star hotel and golf resort on the shore of Lough Erne. The gathering was the biggest international diplomatic gathering ever held in Northern Ireland. Among the G8 leaders who attended were British Prime Minister David Cameron, United States President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.[37]
In the past, Enniskillen has hosted an array of international events, most notably stages of the World Waterski World Cup, annually from 2005 to 2007 at the Broadmeadow.[38] Despite its success, Enniskillen was not chosen as a World Cup Stop for 2008.
Enniskillen has hosted the Happy Days arts festival since 2012, which celebrates "the work and influence of Nobel Prize-winning writer Samuel Beckett" and is the "first annual, international, multi-arts festival to be held in Northern Ireland since the launch of the Ulster Bank Belfast Festival at Queen's in 1962".[40]
Robert Baloucoune, rugby union player, was born and grew up in Enniskillen, learned his rugby at Portora Royal School and made his international debut for Ireland in July 2021[69]
Declan Burns, Irish kayaking athlete, three-time Irish Olympic representative and former World Superstars runner-up[70]
Kyle Lafferty, striker, professional football player for a number of clubs, most notably Rangers F. C., with 89 Northern Ireland international caps[79]
Dick Rowley, football player who won six caps for Ireland between 1929 and 1931[87]
Education
The old Enniskillen Model School, now used as the Fermanagh office of the Western Education and Library Board (WELB)
There are numerous schools and colleges in and around the Enniskillen area, from primary level to secondary level, including some further education colleges such as the technical college.
Bus service to Enniskillen is provided by both Ulsterbus and Bus Éireann, from Enniskillen bus station. Number 261, 261b and X261 Goldline buses run from Belfast to Enniskillen. Bus Éireann Route 30 runs from Donegal to Dublin Airport/Dublin City via Enniskillen.
Enniskillen was originally twinned with Brackwede – a Bielefeld suburb – where the Inniskilling Dragoon Guards were stationed in the late 1950s when the twinning was initiated; however, this suburb was incorporated into Stadt Bielefeld in 1973, the city with which Enniskillen is now officially twinned.[90][91]
Though the twinning arrangements are still operational, at a meeting of the Regeneration and Community Committee, in February 2018, it was agreed that the twinning arrangements would be formally terminated at the end of the Council term in June 2018. However, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council still have plans to send representatives to Brackwede for the 60th-anniversary celebrations of the twinning. Therefore, the future of the twinning is now somewhat unclear.[92]
Climate
Enniskillen has a maritime climate with a narrow range of temperatures and rainfall. The nearest official Met Officeweather station for which online records are available is at Lough Navar Forest,[93] about 8+1⁄2 mi (14 km) northwest of Enniskillen. Data has also more recently been collected from Enniskillen/St Angelo Airport, under 4 mi (6 km) north of the town centre, which should in time give a more accurate representation of the climate of the Enniskillen area.
The absolute maximum temperature is 29.8 °C (85.6 °F), recorded during July 2006.[94] In an 'average' year, the warmest day is 25.5 °C (77.9 °F)[95] and only 2.4 days[96] a year should rise to 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or above. The respective absolute maximum for St Angelo is 29.4 °C (84.9 °F)[97]
The absolute minimum temperature is −12.9 °C (8.8 °F), recorded during January 1984.[98] In an 'average' year, the coldest night should fall to −8.2 °C (17.2 °F). Lough Navar is a frosty location, with some 76 air frosts recorded in a typical year.[98] It is likely that Enniskillen town centre is significantly less frosty than this. The absolute minimum at St Angelo is −14.5 °C (5.9 °F), reported during the record cold month of December 2010.[98]
The warmest month on record at St Angelo was August 1995 with a mean temperature of 18.8 °C (65.8 °F)[99] (mean maximum 23.3 °C (73.9 °F), mean minimum 12.9 °C (55.2 °F)), while the coldest month was December 2010, with a mean temperature of −1.8 °C (28.8 °F)[100] (mean maximum 2.9 °C (37.2 °F), mean minimum −5.9 °C (21.4 °F)).
Rainfall is high, averaging over 1500 mm. 212 days of the year report at least 1 mm of precipitation, ranging from 15 days during April, May and June, to 20 days in October, November, December, January and March.
^For a discussion on the accuracy of pre-famine census returns see J. J. Lee "On the accuracy of the pre-famine Irish censuses Irish Population, Economy and Society edited by JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson (1981) p54, in and also New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850 by Joel Mokyr and Cormac Ó Gráda in The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 37, No. 4 (November 1984), pp. 473-88
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