Aughnacloy
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Aughnacloy shown within Northern Ireland | |
Population | 801 (2001 Census) |
Irish grid reference | H665521 |
• Belfast | 52 mi (84 km) |
District | |
County | |
Country | Northern Ireland |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | AUGHNACLOY |
Postcode district | BT69 |
Dialling code | 028, +44 28 |
EU Parliament | Northern Ireland |
UK Parliament | |
NI Assembly | |
Aughnacloy, sometimes spelt Auchnacloy (Irish: Achadh na Cloiche (field of the stone)) is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Close to the border with County Monaghan, the village is about 20 km southwest of Dungannon, and 7 km southeast of Ballygawley. It is situated in the historic barony of Dungannon Lower and the civil parish of Carnteel. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 801.
Much of the town was built in the 18th Century by Acheson Moore, the local landlord. Because he backed the Jacobite cause, he planted his estate in the shape of a thistle and planned out the town on the edge of it. Unable to rename it "Mooretown", he had to settle for naming the main street "Moore Street", and the side streets Sydney, Lettice, and Henrietta (now Ravella Road), after his three wives.
Aughnacloy served as an important staging post on the road to Derry. However, lacking large-scale industry, it started to wane in the late 19th century.
James Young Malley, the son of an Aughnacloy farmer and merchant, was the eldest of three brothers to fly with RAF Bomber Command. His service with the RAF during the Second World War extended to 127 operations over enemy territory, including more than 30 raids over Berlin. Malley achieved distinction a second time as private secretary to the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, Terrence O'Neill. He oversaw the delicate negotiations which preceded the meeting between O'Neill and Seán Lemass at Stormont in January 1965.