Area Guide For Enniskillen

Enniskillen (/ˌɛnɨsˈkɪlən/, from Irish: Inis Ceithleann meaning "Ceithlenn's island" [ˈɪnʲɪʃ ˈcɛlʲən̪ˠ]) is a town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is located almost exactly in the centre of the county between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,599 in the 2001 Census. It is the seat of local government for Fermanagh District Council, and is also the county town of Fermanagh as well as its largest town. The town's name comes from the Irish: Inis Ceithleann. This refers to Cethlenn, a figure in Irish mythology who may have been a goddess. It has been said that Ceithlenn got wounded in battle by an arrow and attempted to swim across the river but she never reached the other side. It has been anglicised many ways over the centuries — Iniskellen, Iniskellin, Iniskillin, Iniskillen, Inishkellen, Inishkellin, Inishkillin, Inishkillen, and so on. The town's oldest building is the Maguire's stone castle, built by Hugh the Hospitable who died in 1428. An earthwork, the Skonce on the lough shore, may be the remains of an earlier motte. The castle was the stronghold of the junior branch of the Maguires. The first water-gate was built around 1580 by