Derrylin

Coordinates: 54°11′33″N 7°34′01″W / 54.1925°N 7.567°W / 54.1925; -7.567

Derrylin (from Irish: Doire Loinn, meaning "oakgrove of the blackbirds") is a village and townland in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is on the A509 road between Enniskillen and the border with County Cavan (the N3 road to Dublin). It had a population of 624 in the 2011 census

History

The village has several historical features, including the Callowhill graveyard with headstones dating back to the 17th century. Upper Lough Erne is east of the village, and west is the peak of Slieve Rushen. To the northeast is the limestone hill known as Knockninny Rock (from which the R.C. Parish and the Civil Barony takes its name).

Corratrasna Castle

On the southern slope of Knockninny Hill, about a mile and a half north of Derrylin village, can be seen the ruins of Corratrasna Castle (or Corratrasna House), a relatively small fortified house that was probably built around 1611, at the start of the Plantation of Ulster. The 'castle' was probably built for a branch of the Balfour family, a Scottish settler family who were based at Castle Balfour in nearby Lisnaskea. However, there is a local tradition that claims the 'castle' was built around 1611 for Brian Maguire, a member of the Clan Mac Uidhir (or Maguire dynasty), Gaelic Lords of Fermanagh.