Coordinates: 54°25′00″N 6°36′00″W / 54.416667°N 6.6°W / 54.416667; -6.6

Loughgall
Irish: Loch gCál
St Luke's Church
Loughgall shown within Northern Ireland
Population	285 (2001 Census)
Irish grid reference	H908522
District	Armagh
County	County Armagh
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ARMAGH
Postcode district	BT61
Dialling code	028
EU Parliament	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	Newry and Armagh
NI Assembly	Newry and Armagh
List of places: UK • Northern Ireland • Armagh

Loughgall ( /lɒxˈɡɔːl/ lokh-GAWL; from Irish: Loch gCál, meaning "cabbage lake")^[1][2] is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 285 people.

Loughgall was named after a small nearby loch. The village is at the heart of the apple-growing industry and is surrounded by orchards. Along the village's main street is large set of gates leading to Loughgall Manor. An imposing building, the Manor was once the home of the Cope family who arrived as part of the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century.

  History

In 1795, rival sectarian gangs, the Catholic Defenders and Protestant Peep-o'-Day Boys fought a bloody skirmish called the Battle of the Diamond, that left around 80 people dead. The Orange Order was founded in Loughgall following these events.

  The Troubles

For more information see The Troubles in Loughgall, which includes a list of incidents in Loughgall during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.

On 8 May 1987, eight Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteers launched an attack on the village's Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) base, but were ambushed by a Special Air Service (SAS) unit of twenty-five. The SAS shot dead all eight IRA volunteers and a passing civilian. This is known as the Loughgall Ambush.

  Places of interest

Loughgall Country Park is set in a 188 hectare estate of open farmland & orchards and includes an 18 hole golf course and 37-acre (150,000 m²) coarse fishery.

The NI Horticulture and Plant Breeding Station is set in the Loughgall Manor Estate, surrounded by mature woodlands and overlooking the Lough Gall. The estate was established in the late 17th century by Sir Anthony Cope of Hanwell, Oxfordshire and became the Cope family home for 350 years. In 1947 the estate was purchased from General Sir Gerald Templer, a descendant of the original owner, by the (then) Ministry of Agriculture.

  Sport

It is home to Loughgall Football Club, which plays in the IFA Championship.

  Education

• The Cope Primary School
• There was also a Roman Catholic primary school located on the Eagralougher Road, just outside Loughgall, but due to lack of funding and low enrolment figures the school closed in June 1996.

  People

• W. R. Rodgers (1909 – 1969), probably best known as a poet, was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1935 and was first appointed to Loughgall Presbyterian Church, Loughgall, where he was minister for 12 years. (Loughgall Presbyterian Church is in the townland of Cloveneden) He later gave up the ministry and became a BBC radio producer and scriptwriter. He died in California in 1969 and was buried in Loughgall.^[3]

  See also

• Market houses in Northern Ireland

  References

• NI Neighbourhood Information Service
• Discover Northern Ireland
• NI Horticulture & Plant Breeding Station
• NI Conflict Archive on the Internet
• Culture Northern Ireland

  External links

• Loughgall Market House
• Loughgall Presbyterian Church

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