Innisrush or Inishrush (from Irish Inis Rois, meaning 'island of the woods')[1] is a village and townland near Glenone in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Inishrush
Inishrush Orange Hall
Inishrush is located in Northern Ireland
Inishrush
Inishrush
Location within Northern Ireland
Population102 (2021 Census)
Civil parish
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBALLYMENA
Postcode districtBT44
Dialling code028
UK Parliament
NI Assembly
54°52′20″N 6°31′29″W / 54.87222°N 6.52472°W / 54.87222; -6.52472

History

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The island referred to in the name of the village was in a small lake called Green Lough, which was located north-west of Inishrush until being drained in the 19th century.[1]

Inishrush was a flashpoint during the Home Rule Crisis as it was a Protestant settlement that bordered territory where the Irish Volunteers and Ancient Order of Hibernians were strong.[2]

In 1913, Sunday school children were attacked by nationalists as they made their way to a local fete.[2] Fears of a repeat emerged the following year after a minister received letters threatening violence if the fete were held again.[2] In response, the Ulster Volunteers mobilized 100 armed men to escort the children the one mile from the village to the fete.[2] This time there was no trouble – whether the threats were genuine or the work of a local 'crank' is unknown.[2]

On 17 June 1920, Patrick Loughran, an IRA volunteer, was killed by police when he attempted to burn the village RIC station.[3] This was the first casualty suffered by the IRA in the six counties during the Anglo-Irish War.[3] The police station was eventually closed in 1937.[4]

The Troubles

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On 20 December 1976, 'four raiders' damaged a public house with a bomb packed into a tea chest, firing shots into the building before they made their escape. No one was hurt in this incident.[5] As the pub was Catholic-owned, this attack was likely carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).[6]

On 14 January 1977, James Greer, a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer, was killed by the IRA via a booby trap bomb attached to the car outside his parents' home in Inishrush.[7]

Demography

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Inishrush recorded a population of 102 residents across 46 households in the 2021 Census.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 McKay, Patrick (2007). A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names (2 ed.). Belfast: Cló Ollscoil na Banríona. p. 80. ISBN 0853898960.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Foy, Michael Thomas (1986). "The Ulster Volunteer Force: its domestic development and political importance in the period 1913 to 1920" (PDF). Queen's University Belfast. p. 176. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  3. 1 2 McDermott, Jim (2001). Northern Divisions The Old IRA and the Belfast Pogroms, 1920-22. Beyond the Pale Publications. p. 28. ISBN 9781900960113.
  4. Wallace Clark (1967). Guns in Ulster. Belfast: Constabulary Gazette. p. 79.
  5. "Datelines". Fortnight (140): 18. 1977. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  6. Ken Wharton (2015). Wasted Years Wasted Lives, Volume 1: The British Army in Northern Ireland 1975-77. Helion & Company. p. 44. ISBN 9781910777411.
  7. Malcolm Sutton. "Sutton Deaths Index: 1977". CAIN. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  8. "Census 2021 Person and Household Estimates for Settlements in Northern Ireland". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2026. Innishrush (Code: N11000473)
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