Rakeeranbeg

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Rakeeranbeg
Townland
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
PoliceNorthern Ireland
FireNorthern Ireland
AmbulanceNorthern Ireland
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland

Rakeeranbeg (

barony of Omagh East and the civil parish of Dromore and covers an area of 180 acres.[2]

Geography

Rakeeranbeg lies midway between the villages of Dromore and

carr
.

Two minor roads run through the townland, Rakeeran Road and Corbally Road (locally known as 'the Bog Road'). It also has an abandoned railway and farmsteads and houses.

History

The fort which gave Rakeeranbeg its name is no longer apparent (nor are there any rowan trees), but it is clearly marked on maps from 1830 and 1850.[4] Research suggests that ringforts in Ulster were typically constructed between 600AD and 900AD,[5] giving an indication of the length of settlement in Rakeeranbeg.

The name of the townland was first recorded in 1609, as Rathkerhinn, and subsequently the name was recorded in 1610 (?Rathkirhin), 1613 (?Rathkirhin), 1655 (Rakeran beg), 1661 (Rakerranbegg), 1666 (Rikirran), 1730 (Rakerinbegg), and 1784 (Rakeeranbeg).[6]

Additional data is available from the 1830 and 1850 maps covering the area, and railway service was provided during the 19th century.[citation needed]

In 1841 the population of the townland was 57 people (9 houses) and in 1851 it was 53 people (9 houses).[7]

In the

Presbyterian. The four oldest Roman Catholic residents (aged between 40 and 84) indicated that they spoke both English and Irish, but whether this represents survival of native Irish in the area is unknown.[9]
In addition, there was a creamery (see Further Notes below).

The

Census of Ireland, 1911 reveals that the population of Rakeeranbeg had fallen to 14 since the last census, of which 7 were male and 7 were female.[8] Four houses were occupied, one dwelling house was unoccupied, and the creamery is named as 'Rathkeeranbeg Auxiliary Creamery'. Nine of the residents were recorded as Roman Catholic whilst the remaining five are listed as 'Other Persuasion' (two of these were listed as Church of Ireland in 1901). These individuals of 'Other Persuasion' are remembered by current residents as being 'Dippers' who engaged in baptisms in the local river. Although two of the Roman Catholics who indicated that they spoke Irish in the 1901 census appear again in 1911, no proficiency in Irish is noted for them or any of the other residents of the townland.[citation needed
]

The road to the area was eventually tarred, and later railway service ended. The population of Rakeeranbeg as of 10 June 2010 was 5 persons.[citation needed]

Flora and fauna

Birds

In the Bird Atlas 2007-11 survey, the following species were recorded in Rakeeranbeg:[10]

A number of species historically bred in the area, but are now extinct (or only occur occasionally), including corn crake, barn owl and grey partridge.[11]

Further notes

  • The British Food Journal (1933) reported a case involving the selling of butter with an illegal excess of water in Derry. This butter was reported as originating in "the Dromore and Rakeeranbeg Creamery". The defendants were found guilty and fined, and it was recommended that they seek recompense from those who supplied the butter.[12]
  • On 7 June 2010, the Shannaragh (Aghlisk) River was subject to a significant pollution event which killed thousands of fish. The area affected included the stretch running past Rakeeranbeg.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Rakeeranbeg". Place Names NI. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  2. ^ "Townlands of County Tyrone". IreAtlas Townland Database. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  3. ^ Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland, Discoverer Series (1:50,000), Sheet 18
  4. ^ "Placenames NI - the Northern Ireland Place-names Project". www.placenamesni.org. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  5. ^ Matthew Stout, The Irish Ringfort, Four Court Press, Dublin, 1997; Matthew Stout, 'Early Christian Ireland: Settlement and environment' in A History of Settlement in Ireland, TB Barry (ed), London, 2000, p. 81-109.
  6. ^ "Place Names NI - Search Results". Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  7. ^ "Census of Ireland 1851". Enhanced Parliamentary Papers on Ireland. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  8. ^ a b "National Archives: Census of Ireland 1901/1911". www.census.nationalarchives.ie.
  9. ^ See Adams (1964) "The last language census in Northern Ireland" in Adams (ed.) Ulster Dialects (Holywood), pp 114, for discussion of this issue.
  10. ^ Ornithology, British Trust for (2 February 2018). "Bird Atlas 2007-11". BTO - British Trust for Ornithology.
  11. ^ Sharrock, J.T.R. (1976) The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A.D. Poyser; Gibbons, D.W., Reid, J.B. & Chapman, R.A. (1993) The new atlas of breeding birds in Britain and Ireland: 1988-1991. T. & A.D. Poyser
  12. ^ British Food Journal, 1933, Volume 35 (Issue 6), p. 57.
  13. ^ "Major fish kill is investigated". 10 June 2010 – via www.bbc.co.uk.

External links

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