Middletown, County Armagh

Middletown Irish: Coillidh Chanannáin[1] Scots: Middletoun[2] / Mïddletoon[3]
Main Street, on the A3
Middletown Location within Northern Ireland
Population	237 (2011 census)
Irish grid reference	H753388
• Belfast	50 mi (80 km)
• Dublin	69 mi (111 km)
District	Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon
County	County Armagh
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ARMAGH
Postcode district	BT60
Dialling code	028
UK Parliament	Newry & Armagh
NI Assembly	Newry & Armagh

Middletown is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies near the border with County Monaghan, between Armagh and Monaghan along the A3.[4] It had a population of 237 people (91 households) in the 2011 census.[5]

Geography

Middletown was built in the townland of Middletown, which was known throughout the 17th century under variants of the name Killecannagan (from Irish Coillidh Chanannáin 'Canannán's wood').[1] It is known for its picturesque countryside and its rolling green hills. The hills are made up of numerous drumlins that make up the countryside. At the bottom of the valleys that many of these drumlins form, glens can be found with many tributaries of the River Blackwater flowing through them. The River Cor flows through the Middletown countryside and right by the village. It is the most prominent river in Middletown; once a canal system operated on it, namely the Ulster Canal.^[citation needed]

History

Middletown was one of several Catholic border villages in Armagh that would have been transferred to the Irish Free State had the recommendations of the Irish Boundary Commission been enacted in 1925.[6]

Education

Children from Middletown formerly went to three different primary schools: St John's Boys' School, St Louis Convent School for girls, and Glasdrummond Primary School (boys and girls). Due to low numbers in the mid-1990s, a new school was built on the site of St John's Boys' School and was opened in June 1999, whereupon all three primary schools were amalgamated.

An all-Ireland training centre for educating autistic children and young people was set up in 2007 called the Middletown Centre for Autism.

Notable people

See also: Category:People from Middletown, County Armagh

• Joe Coburn, Irish-American boxer who claimed the World Heavyweight Championship in 1862, born Middletown[7]
• Eamon Donnelly, director of elections for Sinn Féin and a founding member of Fianna Fáil, was born in Middletown.[8]

Sport

Middletown has a long history of Gaelic games and the local Gaelic Athletic Association club, Middletown GAA, plays hurling as Na Fianna, football as Eoghan Ruadh, and camogie as St John's.^[citation needed]

See also

• List of towns and villages in Northern Ireland
• Market houses in Northern Ireland
• E2 European long distance path

References

1. "Middletown, County Armagh". Northern Ireland Place-Name Project (placenamesni.org). Retrieved 15 February 2023.
2. "2010 annual report in Ulster-Scots" (PDF). Northsouthministerialcouncil.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
3. "2006 annual report in Ulster-Scots" (PDF). Northsouthministerialcouncil.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 February 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
4. "Middletown, County Armagh" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
5. "Middletown". Census 2011 Results. NI Statistics and Research Agency. Archived from the original on 22 April 2015. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
6. "Irish Boundary Commission Report". National Archives. 1925. p. 130.
7. Jamie Casey (6 December 2015). "Joe Coburn: 125 years on from the death of Ireland's 'Adopted Son of America'". The Irish Post. London. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
8. "Eamon Donnelly Remembered". Newryjournal.co.uk. 25 January 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2015.

External links