Enniskillen

Enniskillen (Inis Ceithleann in Irish) is the county town of Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county on the natural island which separates the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne.

Related Topics:
Irish - Fermanagh - Northern Ireland - Island - Lough Erne

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With a population of approximately 17,500, it is by far the largest settlement in the county and the main retail centre for the county. It is also the seat of local government for Fermanagh District Council.

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In recent years Enniskillen has become synonymous with the tragedy of the Northern Ireland conflict. Until 1987 the town had been relatively untouched by the conflict, but an IRA bomb on Remembrance Sunday, the Remembrance Day Massacre, killed eleven civilians (including nurse Marie Wilson, whose father Gordon Wilson went on to become a leading campaigner for an end to violence in Northern Ireland) in a tragedy which shocked the world. The IRA later claimed that their target was a colour guard of British soldiers. The Enniskillen bomb is now acknowledged as a turning point in the Northern Ireland peace process. On Remembrance Day 1997 the leader of Sinn Féin, Gerry Adams, formally apologised for the bombing.

Related Topics:
Northern Ireland conflict - 1987 - IRA - Bomb - Remembrance Sunday - Remembrance Day Massacre - Marie Wilson - Gordon Wilson - British soldiers - Enniskillen bomb - Northern Ireland - 1997 - Sinn Féin

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The Enniskillen bombing is mentioned prominently in the 1988 U2 film Rattle and Hum. The night of the bombing, U2 was appearing in concert and during the performance of the song "Sunday Bloody Sunday", singer Bono angrily denounced the bombing, describing it as "leaving people dead and dying under the rubble of a revolution that most of the people in my country don't want."

Related Topics:
Rattle and Hum - U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday - Bono

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