The village nestles among gentle, low-lying land between the Sperrins and Lough Neagh. The main feature of the village is Hanover Square, which was named after the reigning Hanoverian George II by Conyngham. The village has been an ancient settlement for several thousand years; overlooking Coagh is Tamlaght Stone, a Mesolithicdolmen erected c. 4500 BCE.
On 3 June 1991, Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteers Lawrence McNally, Peter Ryan and Tony Doris were killed in an ambush by an SAS unit. The British Army stated that the IRA members had been intercepted on their way to an attack. Over 200 rounds were fired at the car.[3]
Education
Coagh has its own primary school, Coagh Primary School, a feeder school for many local schools including Cookstown High School.[citation needed]
The population of the village increased slightly overall during the 19th century:[4][5]
Year
1841
1851
1861
1871
1881
1891
Population
388
385
403
526
400
394
Houses
90
82
86
115
93
96
21st century population
Coagh is classified as a small village or hamlet by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 500 and 1,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 545 people living in Coagh. Of these:
20.9% were aged under 16 and 20.4% were aged 60 and over
48.3% of the population were male and 51.7% were female
26.4% were from a Catholic background and 72.8% were from a Protestant background
The population of the townland declined during the 19th century:[4][5]
Year
1841
1851
1861
1871
1881
1891
Population
207
160
136
160
115
100
Houses
37
32
29
32
28
22
In 1891, the town of Coagh, standing in the townlands of Coagh and Urbal, covered an estimated area of 13 acres.[4]
Politics
Mid Ulster constituency, in which Coagh lies, used for Parliamentary and Assembly elections.
Since 1950, Coagh has formed part of the Mid Ulster constituency for Parliamentary elections, with this constituency also being used for elections to the Assembly and other devolved bodies from 1973 onwards. In Parliament, Mid Ulster has been represented by the abstentionistSinn Féin since 1997, and in devolved elections Sinn Féin has been the largest party in the constituency since the 1996 election to the talks forum.
In local government, Coagh has been part of Mid Ulster District Council since it succeeded Cookstown District Council in 2015. Coagh sits within the ward of the same name in Cookstown DEA. Councillors for this DEA were first elected in 2014 and sat as part of a shadow council until Mid Ulster District Council formally took over in 2015.
Mid Ulster District Council, in which Coagh lies.
While a part of Cookstown District Council, Coagh previously sat within the ward of the same name in Ballinderry DEA from 1981 onwards (with Ballinderry DEA having succeeded the earlier Cookstown Area B which existed from 1973 to 1981).
In both of these DEAs, Sinn Féin has been the largest party since 2011,[7][8] and were joint-largest in 2005, when Ballinderry DEA was uncontested due to the number of candidates being same as the number of available seats, and no election was held. On this occasion, Sinn Féin and the SDLP won two seats each, out of the six available.[9]
Since 1973, Coagh has been represented by the following councillors:
