Local History

Clanconnell
Clanconnel Brewing Company takes its name from the ancient lands of Clanconnell, Co Down. Steeped in history, these lands derived their name from Conaill son of Caolbadh, a King of Ulster who was an ancestor of Aongus son of Aidith, from whom the clan Magenis (Mac Aongus) took its name. The area comprising of the parishes of Donaghcloney and Tullylish, belonged to the Barony of Lower Iveagh, and was ruled by the Magenis Clan, Chieftains of Iveagh.

At the commencement of the reign of King James I, the head of the Clanconnell branch of the family was Glasney McAgholy Magenis, who resided at Ballyenclare (now Clare), a townland in the parish of Tullylish. Eight years into the Monarch’s rule, Glasney obtained from the King, a patent of the lordship of Clanconnell, granting him the lands to hold ‘in capite’, for a twentieth part of a knight’s fee. A provision was also made that if he or any of his heirs at anytime thereafter entered into a rebellion against the Crown of England, the lands would be forfeited.

Glasney died in 1623 and left six sons, Edmond Boy (Yellow Edmond), Art Oge (Young Art), Hugh Roe (Red Hugh), Bryan Roe, Glasney Oge and Manus, an illegitimate son. The lands were divided up into unequal portions, with the lordship being retained by Edmond Boy under a similar patent to King James I as his father.

At the beginning of the civil war, the Magennis family were implicated in the burning of Lurgan, a nearby town. On the 1st of November 1641, Lurgan was burnt to the ground by a party led by Art Oge and Edmond Boy Magenis. This act sealed their fate and their right of ownership of the lands of Clanconnell was forfeited to the Crown.

The lands of Clanconnell were distributed between the Cromwellian soldiers in the Lord Deputy Fleetwood's Troop of Horse and Regiment of Foot, in lieu of pay. The soldiers not wanting to settle on the lands subsequently sold their newly acquired lands onto the commander of the Regiment of Foot, Captain Barrett.

Barrett then sold on a portion of Donaghcloney to William Waring in 1658, who set about building a large estate in 1667, known as Waringstown House, which still stands today. The house, which is in the Jacobean style and shows Huguenot influence in the detailing, was one of the first unfortified country houses in Ireland and an important piece of Irish architectural history. The village which Waring renamed after himself, flourished with many thatched single storey dwellings being built, incorporating distinctive Huguenot detailing.

The remaining area of Donaghcloney was sold to a Major, afterwards Sir George Rawdon the ancestor of the Earls of Moira. The earldom was merged with the Marquisate of Hastings in 1816.

Captain Barrett retained part of Tullylish for himself and on his death, titled passed to his widow who remarried a Captain Lawrence where the neighbouring village of Lawrencetown derived its name from. The remainder of Tullylish was sold to a Mr Lesly and a Captain, afterwards Sir John Magill who built Gill Hall in Dromore and founded the town of Gilford in Tullylish.

Waring
While the name of Waring is associated with the foundation of the village of Waringstown, it should not be forgotten that the family was intimately connected with the progress and prosperity of Belfast in the 17th century.

Shortly, after his arrival in Ireland, John Waring a wealthy tanner, from Chorley in Lancashire, settled at Toome and married Mary, the daughter of the Rev. Piers, Rector of Derriaghy. Together they had three sons.

William who was the eldest, was born in 1619, became heir to the Toome estate which he subsequently sold to purchase the Clanconnell lands. He married, Elizabeth Gardiner of Londonderry in 1656 and had a son and daughter. After the death of Elizabeth he married again for a second time Jane Close and had six children. He died in 1703 and was buried in Waringstown.

The second son Thomas moved the family tanning business to Belfast, where the Earl of Donegall granted him several parcels of land in the “fields of Belfast.” Records show he was the Sovereign (Mayor) of Belfast on five occasions in the mid 1600’s. Of the third son Paul, little is known about him.

As a point of interest Jane Waring, of whom Jonathan Swift, later to become Dean of St Patricks, was so deeply enamoured with, is supposed to have been the daughter of Thomas Waring. Better known by the name of "Varina" which was bestowed on her by Swift, she rejected his offer of marriage after four years of pursuit.

Waringstown
In 1681 William Waring proceeded to build the church in the centre of the village, by a special Act of Parliament. It was called Holy Trinity, the Parish Church of Donaghcloney. This replaced the old church of St Patrick in Donaghcloney village, reputedly its foundations had been traced out by St Patrick himself in 444AD, and had been destroyed around 1641. The bell of the old parish church of Donaghcloney, after having lain for many years in the river Lagan, was raised, and hung in the tower of Holy Trinity church: engraved on it in rude characters is the inscription "I belong to Donaghcloney." Both Waringstown house and the parish church were designed by James Robb, chief mason of the King's works in Ireland.

In the war of 1688 William Waring driven out by the Irish army, who kept possession of the house as a military station until the arrival of the Duke Schomberg, who remained here for two days on his march to the Boyne in 1690. Waring, who had escaped to the Isle of Man, was outlawed by the parliament of King James II. After the defeat of the Jacobite forces by the Williamite forces, under King William III at the Battle of the Boyne, Waring returned to Waringstown.

Linen
William's son, Samuel toured Europe in 1688 and on his return returned to Waringstown he introduced the linen finishing techniques he had learned whilst in Belgium and Holland. Ireland was already immersed in the production of linen but the skills and technology brought back from Flanders by Samuel Waring helped to strengthen the profile of Ireland as a producer of fine, high quality linens and Waringstown in particular, of Cambric and Damask cloths. The production of linen was central to the growth and economic prosperity of Waringstown and at one time practically every house in the village had a loom. The Flemish influence on the area remains from names such as Dupre, Crozier, Dewart, Dunkirk and Cambrai.

Through the years prominent buildings existed in the village, notably a coaching house, a yeomans house, the various large houses of Demense, Harrymount & Cambrai, a police station, court house, a maltings & brewery, blacksmiths, various shops and no less than three national schools in later years.

The main factories belonged to families such as Penningtons, McMurray’s, Hennings and Walpole’s. In 1886, approx 300 to 400 handloom weavers lived in the village and neighbourhood and reputedly it was in Waringstown that the first piece of diaper in Ireland was produced. Weaving finally ceased in 1968 with the closure of the firm of John McCollum.

Waringstown of course continues to be famous: today for its cricket – The Lawn is reputed to be the second oldest ground in Ireland, founded in 1851 by Captain Thomas Waring and the Henning Brothers from the linen factory of John Henning & Co.

And perhaps tomorrow for its brewing....