placenamesEnniskillen
Inis Ceithleann
The historic parish of Enniskillen extended beyond the island town into a countryside of schools, worship sites and smaller settlements.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Inis Ceithleann · Irish · main form
- Enniskillen · English · main form
Place & story
Town and parish
Samuel Lewis’s 1837 account distinguishes the parish of Enniskillen from the borough and town. The parish covered more than 26,000 acres, including islands, while part of the town extended into neighbouring Rossory parish. This wider geographical unit contained rural communities as well as the county town, and its history cannot be confined to the castle and island streets. [2]
Worship beyond the town centre
Tempo lay within the Enniskillen parish described by Lewis. In 1837 it had a chapel of ease associated with the parish church, a Catholic chapel erected in 1826 and a recently completed Wesleyan meeting house. Lewis also recorded Church of Ireland services in the school at Derryhean. These references show worship taking place across several settlements and in buildings serving more than one purpose. [2] [3]
From Saint Anne’s to Saint Macartin’s
The parish church on the island began as Saint Anne’s in the seventeenth century. Parts of the early tower survive within its successor, including a dated stone of 1637. After the spire became unsafe in 1832, rebuilding produced the church completed in 1842. It became Saint Macartin’s Cathedral in 1923, while Clogher retained its older cathedral. A regimental chapel was added within the building in 1970. [4]
Schools in the nineteenth-century account
Lewis recorded about 670 children in nine public schools and about 900 in twenty-five private schools, besides eight Sunday schools. He also described the Royal School at Portora, where headmaster Mark Noble had built larger premises around 1777. Scholarships linked that institution with Trinity College Dublin. The entry captures an educational landscape ranging from small local schools to an endowed boarding establishment. [2]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Civil parish
- County
- Fermanagh
- Barony
- Magheraboy
- Barony
- Tirkennedy
- Coordinates
- 54.37205, -7.51520 (approximate)
- Mapped area
- 105.66 km²
- Logainm ID
- 58954 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Enniskillen. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Enniskillen, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837 · Samuel Lewis
- Tempo, A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1837 · Samuel Lewis
- The History Page: Saint Macartin’s Cathedral · Saint Macartin’s Cathedral, Enniskillen
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2015-06-03. How this page was prepared.