A DAY OF SURPRISES IN DERRINRAW. “When the English conquered Iweland they gave the best lands to the Protestasts and the best views to the Catholics.” —Ivish proverb. The road to Derrinraw We were always told as children that the Mackells came from Co. Armagh, somewhere near Lough Neagh. Armagh is one of the 6 Counties of Northern Ireland and is largely rural in nature. It, like most of Northern is divided on sectarian ground and sorry to say old religious divisions still exist. In South Armagh Catholics make up almost 100% of the population. In the centre of the County Protestants are in the majority, while in the poor lands of the north there is a sizeable Catholic presence. In the past 100 years or so Armagh has had a troubled history with sectarianism rife. Many have lost their lives and population shift has occurred. Some would argue that parts of Armagh have been effectively ethnically cleansed. Of course my interest was in the Armagh of 150 years ago. But sad to say religious strife was also about in those days. In particular the largely Catholic population of the poverty stricken Lough shore area lived under threat of the extreme Orange men organisation founded only 6 miles away in Loughgall and the extreme protestant loyalists from Portadown. While sectarian strife was a major problem the act of surviving in wretched conditions was much more pressing. It was hardly surprising that Mackell after Mackell fled the area for the chance of a life in the New World because after all the only way for them was up. The Griffith Valuation In 1830 - 1860 a type of census was carried out throughout Ireland. It was called the Griffith Valuation. Basically it listed theheads of households and where they lived. John Mackell in Indiana was tooking for his kinsman James Mackell and found a James Mackell in Co. Armagh. His nephew Frank Mackell passed the information onto me and my friend and local Historian Paddy McLean conducted a search of the records. The results were fascinating. There are 9 Counties in the Irish Province of Ulster and Paddy discovered the following: - + Co. Donegal — No Mackells. “ Co. Monaghan ~ No Mackells “+ Co. Derry ~ No Mackells. * Co. Antrim — No Mackells. * Co. Cavan—1 Mackell “ Co. Tyrone — 1 Mackell. * Co. Down — 1 Mackell. “+ Co. Fermanagh — 2 Mackells. “ Co. Armagh — 16 Mackells. Armagh was certainly the place and what was more amazing was that they all lived within a proverbial stones throw from each other up at the Lough shore. Most lived in the tiny Townland of Derrinraw, a couple in the neighbouring Townland of Derrylard and one in the other neighbouring Townland of Derrykerran. This was in all likelihood the cradle of the family. There was only one thing to do. | would have to have a look at Derrinraw. The Journey. | crossed the land border from the Republic of Ireland into British occupied Northern Ireland at Newry, a bustling market town and one time port that straddles Counties Down and Armagh. | had driven through Newry hundreds of time before but this time it felt different. The day was soft as we say in Ireland, meaning a light rain and a grey sky. As | entered Newry | drove past the Army hill top base, still occupied by British troops and started to think what is was like to have been a Catholic living in this area 150 years ago. Catholics were seen as second Class citizens and rebels who had to be kept under control, as they were always likely to revolt. The only way to treat them was harshly.At the roundabout for Portadown just outside Newry | was surprised to see that Portadown was only 18 miles away, Derrinraw 6 miles further.“ | always thought that the Mackelis from Armagh would have gone to Derry in the NW of the Country to board their ships to the New World but now it struck me, Newry was also an immigrant port and sent its fair share of coffin ships laidened with Irish peasants from these shores in the past. A thought sprang to mind. Perhaps | was travelling the road in reverse that my ancestors had travelled in the past. What did they think was ahead of them as they passed this way with a few pathetic belongings and a handful of coins? Were they leaving because of despair or were they full of hope? Did they realise that they would never come this way again nor see their homeland and family again? Through the village of Jerretspass and suddenly the town of Tandragee was upon me. | bought my first dog Sam here; he was a cocker spaniel. This is Loyalist country. Loyalists are extreme Protestants. The most important organisation for them is The Orange Order. A body that is pledged to oppose Catholicism and which was founded in Co. Armagh in Loughgall 160 years ago. The Orange Order today would number 100,000 members bound together by their sectarianism and their opposition to Catholicism. Their revered leader was William, Prince of Orange. Seeing Tandragee again with its sectarian slogans and Orange flags made me think of Sam my old spaniel. When | received his registration papers from the Kennel Club | was amazed to see that Sam's father had been called “The Prince of Orange”! Even the dogs in Tandragee are extreme Protestants. 1 passed through at 3.00p.m. A few hours later an extreme Loyalist group murdered two boys aged 18 and 19 and dumped their bodies just outside the town The next town on from Tandragee was Portadown. A town were Catholics are not welcome and were sectarian slogan such as “NOPOPE HERE” scream down from the gable ends of houses. The fact that the Pope is in Rome and has shown no inclination to pay a visit to loyalist Portadown appears lost on Portadown Protestants. The Pope and his followers can go elsewhere. Within a few minute | was around Portadown and heading up the Dungannon Road and into the Parish of Tartaraghan In the failing light | could see the neighbouring Parish Church of Drumcee were for two years Orange men have been camped waiting for the Police to withdraw so that they can march through the Catholic Garvaghey Road. The word on the ground is that they intend to make a special effort to breach the barricades in the next few months. This is an area under siege. Despite the obvious religious sectarianism, the countryside is lovely. A rolling countryside. A pastoral scene. Round here it is called Drumlin Country. A drumiin is a small rounded Irish hill. From the air it is like looking down into a basket of eggs. The fields are small, very green and well tended. The country houses are neat and well cared for. The population is almost exclusively Protestant. Derrinraw is only 4 miles away. Suddenly | detour to the left at the sign for Tartaraghan Church. A short drive takes me to a quaint country church. This is the Church of Ireland Parish Church for Tartaraghan. No Mackelis here | suspect but | check anyway. None to be found in the graveyard so I move on. 5 minutes later the land changes. It becomes flatter, the ground is poor and in the distance there is a lovely view of Lough Neagh. The Irish Proverb came to mind ... “When the English conquered \reland they gave the best land to the Protestants and the best views to the Catholics.” | have arrived home.The Lough Shore. Lough Neagh is one of thé largest inland lakes in Europe. It straddles the middle of Northern Ireland and 5 of the 6 Counties run into it. Its shores are an ancient even magical place and many scholars believe it to be the cradle of life in Ireland Thousands of years ago the area around the Lough were covered with oak trees. Game was abundant and the waters of the Lough provided food and water for drinking. A number of ancient settlements dotted the shores. In the early 1800s an ancient bog road was discovered running almost 2 miles from the Lough. Local tegend has it that Ireland's Patron Saint Patrick constructed the road to draw sand and gravel from the Lough te build his Cathredal in Armagh City. nce Survey y mapped the area ir d. However the s! atea is bordered on the North by Lough Ne River Sanr-and on the West by the River @ area from the main road is 3 miles deep t . miles wide. Within this ar some of which only me: undrer D aw Derrinraw is in the East side of this area. The Ordnance Survey reported in 1830 that this was a poverty stricken place particularly in the East and especially so in the South Eastaround the =. Townland of Derrykerran. You could hit a golf bait from Derrykertan to Derrinraw. Houses or more appropriately hovels in Derrykerran were made of sods (soil) and roofed with thatch (long reeds). There generally was only one room and no sanitary arrangements. In short you were born, raised and died in the one Foom. in Derrinraw the houses were somewhai b+ stone and roofed with thatch. They were divided ‘nt 2 or 3 rooms madeof +cL > | and had a mud floor and an open fire for cooking. In some hor cows/sheep, if the family owned any, wouid sleep insi house. This was an excellent way of | raising the temperature in winter as the heat given off by the animals heated the smail house up. if you wanted to go to the toilet you went outside and you had the whole of Co, Armagh to choose from. There was a local school in Derrylard but few children went to it because you had to pay. There just wasn't the spare cash for luxuries such as schooling. in 1830 only 4 Catholic children attended the school in this area, Turf was the local fuel. It was dug from the bog (swamp) using a jong handied spade, left to dry and then burnt. All of this area was classified as bog in 1830. Today there is iitte « sign of open bog but tilled land shows a dark peaty soil that is indicative of bogland. People lived on incredibly small pieces of ground. Most of the Mackelis in this area were raising families on jess than an acre. # John Mackell— 1 acre. Patrick Mackeil jnr — 1 acre. Sarah Mackell — 1 acre. Patrick Mackeli ~ 1/5 of an acre. + Daniel Mackell— 4 acre, A few were renting more land. The largest farmer was Edward Mackell who rented almost 40 acres. Which given the time would have seemed like a ranch. Edward would have been one of the largest farmers in the area. They were tenants. Their landlords were Mr. Atkinson, Mr. Wakefield and The Earl of Charlemont. To pay the rent they dug and sold turf in the surrounding area. They fished Lough Neagh and worked on the many barges that sailed through the area in the 1800s. Rents were low but so were incomes. John Mackell paid 10 shillings rent each year for his house and land and would have struggled to make it. This was roughly equivalent to $1 dollar a year. Edward Mackell on the other hand paid out the sum of £50 pounds in rent, approximately $100 dollars each year.Escape to the New World did not come cheap. The single fare could be as much as £10 Pounds, or 20 years rent for John Mackell . Less than a mile from Derrinraw stands a disused jetty where barges would tle up on their journeys from the 4 corners of Northern Ireland. This was the crossroad of the country and we were at the heart of it From that jetty | stood and wondered about my own Great Grandfather Joseph Mackell. He was born around 1860 and worked on the barges, stopping off in the town of Lisburn where my side of the family started. in later fife old Joe would take my Aunt Christine to visit relatives in the country outside Portadown, she didn’t know where. Was this the place where Joe got on his barge and sailed away? Standing there in the soft light there seemed no other obvious explanation What type of people were the earlier Mackells? clue may be found ihe Fownland immedia ly across the River s. in this Townland ancient clay ¢ mparts have been uncovered that point to early life being seitied in that area. However Montiaghs is an area known for something else. Over the years the word Montiaghs has become coirupted to Munchies. Munchies is a term of derision in Northern Ireland for country folk. Like redneck in the States or culchies in the Republic of Ireland it appears that the stereotypical thick, coarse, countryman originated a few hundred yards from where the Mackells lived. Common sense tells you that if they were bumpkins so were we. indeed a senior Public Servant from the area told me that as late as the 1970 people from the Lough shore used to drive into the surrounding towns on their tractors with a load of turf to sell. They were a rough and ready crowd she said. The Townland of Derrinraw is quiet today. It only took me 5 minutes to drive from one side of it to the other. The roads are narrow and poor. The houses are small and nondescript. tt is hard to imagine how 14 families of Mackells along with many other families managed to five in this area. There just does not appear to have been the room. People literally must have been living on topof each other. There is no village, no shops only a few small country roads that criss-cross. There was stiliness in the air and an overriding impression of quietness. | saw a few old abandoned houses and I photographed them to try and gain an understanding of what the homes of our ancestors would be like. There are 2 Catholic churches nearby. 1 in Maghery, 2 miles from Derrinraw and 1 in Bannfoot % mile away but across the River Bann. Today there is no way across the River except for a lang drive and as the light was failing | opted to go to the Parish Church at Maghery. On reflection, the Mackells may have chosen to row across the Bann to Church, it is only 50 metres wide. Another day | will visit there. Maghery is a small hamlet on the shores of Lough Neagh. ! didn’t see any shops, but there was a pub that was shut. The Parish church is in a lovely spot overlooking the Lough and just inside the gates is the first Mackie grave. There are 5 more in the Churchyard al! Mackle no Mackells. ecent, the iast burial in 1998 and a number have the address, Columbkille. Columbkille is less than a mile from Derrinraw. Finding a Mackell grave was a bit of a shock. | have only ever seen 2 Mackell graves. My Father's and my Grandfather's. Here were 5 grouped closely together but speit Mackle. Mystery number 4. There were no Mackles living in this area in 1860. There were 14 illiterate, peasant families of rough and ready Mackells. Today there are no Mackeils. It is inconceivable that as the Mackelis moved out Mackles moved in. Some time in the last 150 years in Derrinraw, Mackells became Mackies. My Great Grandfather Joseph Mackell probably moved away from the area in 1890. Was he one of the last Mackells in Derrinraw? Was the name changed after he left? Mystery number 2. One of the more imposing graves in the graveyard was a triple plot with a beautiful Celtic cross. To my surprise it was a Mackle grave.The inscription on the ornate cross was mostly in Irish. in the Left- hand grave were buried John Mackle and Sarah Jane Mackie. in the right-hand grave was buried the Family of Charles Mackle but in the middle was Seamus Robinson Adjutant 3 Company, 3' Battalion, 4" Northern Command of the Irish Republican Army. The IRA. Seamus it stated was murdered at Derryloiste, 1/2 mile across the River Bann from Derrinraw, on 9/2/1922. ‘Who murdered him? Was it Loyalists? The British Army? Fellow Irishmen? Why was he buried in a Mackle grave? Was his mother a Mackle? Were the Mackles a republican family? So many questions. The light was almost gone as | walked out of the graveyard to make my way home. My mood was strange. | was reflective. This day had been defining. Throughout the long drive home | couldn't shake off the feeling that ! had walked with the ghosts of our an the future. Sean Mackell 20/02/2000