Loughbrickland
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 St Mellon's parish church | |
  Loughbrickland Location withinCounty Down | |
| Population | 693 |
| District | |
| County | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Banbridge |
| Postcode district | BT32 |
| Dialling code | 028 |
| Police | Northern Ireland |
| Fire | Northern Ireland |
| Ambulance | Northern Ireland |
| NI Assembly | |
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Loughbrickland (/lɒxˈbrɪklæn/ or/lɒxˈbrɪklænd/lokh-BRIK-lan(d); fromIrishLoch Bricleann)[1] is a smallvillage inCounty Down,Northern Ireland, south ofBanbridge on theA1 Belfast–Dublin road. In the2011 census it had a population of 693. Loughbrickland is within theBanbridge District.
Loughbrickland may have been the site where theThree Collas fought the Battle ofAchadh Leithdheirg in 331 AD, defeating the forces ofFergus Foga,king of Ulster.[2][3] The victors killed Fergus and burnedEmain Macha, the famous palace of the Ultonian kings, to the ground. The sovereignty ofUlster thus passed from the race of Ir to the race ofHeremon.John O'Mahony the Gaelic scholar states that the battle site was commemorated by "a hugeCarn of loose stones near Loughbrickland".[4]Samuel Lewis (publisher) in his "Topographical dictionary of Ireland - County Down" states - "At Drummillar is a vast cairn of loose stones, 60 feet high and 226 feet in circumference."[5] This Carn, known as Carn Cochy[citation needed] in theAnnals of the Four Masters, stood seventy feet high but appears to have been destroyed when the Scarva to Banbridgerailway line was constructed in 1859. What appears to be the Carn can be seen on the image of a 1778 map as a huge pile of stones to the left of the Loughbrickland to Scarva Road, about 2 miles outside Loughbrickland.
Four seventh-century saints are associated with the area: Nasad, Beoan, Ross and Mellan, hermits of Down.
Loughbrickland was a major seat of the Magennises ofIveagh. The Magennis castle was believed to be on the shores of Loughbrickland Lake, although they also inhabitedthe crannog on the lake as late as the seventeenth century. The Magennises were succeeded in the Loughbrickland area by Sir Marmaduke Whitechurch.[6] Probably the most prominent developer of the district, Whitechurch established villages, churches, and markets that formed the basis of the local infrastructure. Sir Marmaduke built his castle by the lake,[7] which was subsequently dismantled byCromwell's army. The castle remained in ruins until 1812, when they were removed and a dwelling-house was erected on its site. Its exact location has never been accurately identified; possible sites range from the site of the Magennis castle to where the old Aghaderg School now stands to where theChurch of Ireland built their rectory in 1801.
In 1690,William III camped near Loughbrickland with his army from 14 to 25 June, on his march to theBoyne. Tradition has it that William stayed overnight at Bovennet house, and mounted his horse from a stone on the corner of the Poyntzpass Road.
Loughbrickland is classified as a small village or hamlet by theNorthern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 693 people living in Loughbrickland.[citation needed] Of these:
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Loughbrickland lake is a site of significance to the members of theChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints inIreland as the site of the first baptism by immersion in Ireland. On 31 July 1840 Thomas Tate was baptised there[8] byElder John Taylor, who later became a President of the Church. On 23 October 1985 the site also hostedElder Neal. A Maxwell of the Church's Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, who dedicated the land of Ireland for the preaching of the Gospel.[9]
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