The present town was founded in by Laughlin McNamee, who had a public house in Moneyneena , 3. When he realised that his business was going to suffer when the local fair was to be moved, he transferred his premises to the crossroads and built a number of houses alongside.
Laughlin is buried in the front graveyard of the Catholic parish church, St Columba's, Straw 1. The new settlement was referred to by different names: the Cross of Ballinascreen, Moyheeland, and Burboy.
In the Drapers' Company had a resurgent interest in their portion, and built a new planned town in the western reaches of their land, overlooking and adjoining the crossroads. This they referred to as Draperstown, and this was the name subsequently recognized by the Post Office.
The properties within the area in the present day which still belong to the original Drapers Company [ citation needed ] include the 'Fair Hill' area and the 'Gate House' on the Magherafelt Gortnaskey Road. In the s the town received notoriety as a place with a severe, albeit unusual drug problem.
This has been described in detail by Dr Nagle who made a report on licit and illicit drugs on behalf of the Consumer Union in the mid nineteenth century where he stated: "About a Catholic priest, Father Matthew, led a great temperance crusade through England, Scotland, and Ireland. It was one of the most successful that ever occurred; thousands took the pledge. One of them was an alcoholic physician named Kelly who practiced in Draperstown, in the north of Ireland. Aghast at the pleasure he had given up, but not wishing to break his pledge, [Dr.
Kelly] cast about for a substitute. He had prescribed ether by mouth on occasion and knew of its pleasant effects. After a few personal experiments he imparted the knowledge to his friends and patients who had also taken the pledge.
Ether sniffing became endemic in Draperstown. Fifteen years later, when the British government placed a stiff tax on alcoholic beverages and when the constabulary clamped down on home distilled Irish whiskey, Kelly's discovery was recalled and exploited to the hilt. Ether, which was not subject to the tax, was distilled in London and shipped to Draperstown and other places in Northern Ireland by the ton.
Ether was preferred in some ways, and especially among the poor, to the now-expensive whiskey. The drink was quick and cheap, and could be achieved several times a day without hangover. If arrested for drunkenness, the offender would be sober by the time the police station was reached.
Local bands, as well as some more famous names appeared. The last event was held on Saturday, 21 July Sperrins Balloon Festival also is held in Draperstown every year, with hot air balloon enthusiasts gathering in Draperstown. Draperstown railway station opened on 20 July , closed for passenger traffic on 1 October and finally closed altogether on 3 July County Londonderry.
Mid Ulster. Special EU Programmes Body. Archived from the original on 5 November Retrieved 5 April The first church in the area dates back to at least the eighth century. It was a monastery church called Scrin Colimbkille Columbcille's shrine which is located in the townland of Moneyconey outside the town.
The parish gets its name from this shrine the ruins of which are still visible. There are four active churches in the parish. The Courthouse, 20 High Street, built is also a listed building.
It is now used as a library. Although the dominant language of the residents of Draperstown has been English for the past century, in the surrounding rural areas the Irish language was widely spoken up until the late nineteenth century. Indeed, there is evidence that it was still spoken in some households in the s and later. There have been attempts to promote the speaking of Irish in the area with the opening of an Irish language nursery and primary school. Map Hotels Places. Name Draperstown had its name bestowed upon it in by the Worshipful Company of Drapers, which had previously named Moneymore as Draperstown.
Despite the name given to it by the Drapers' Company, locals continued to commonly refer to the settlement with a variety of names: The Cross, in reference to the crossroads where the market was held, Moyheelan, after the townland of Moyheeland , which it was founded in, the Cross of Ballynascreen, after the fact that it was the main crossroads in the parish of Ballynascreen, Ballinascreen , after the Roman Catholic parish.
Draperstown-cross, after the crossroads that were the main feature of the settlement Ballynacross, of which the Irish form Baile na Croise , meaning "townland of the crossroad", is used as the present Irish name for Draperstown. History The village began to emerge around the crossroads in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Churches and Local landmarks The Catholic Parish of Ballinascreen covers the town of Draperstown and surrounding district. This replaced St. Mary's Oratory which had opened in The older St. Columba's Church which is located on the Sixtowns Road at Straw opened in Patrick's Church in Sixtowns opened in Eugene's Church, Moneyneany opened in
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