History
Before the Plantation of Ulster the area of Brookeborough was known as Achadh Lon (anglicised as Aghalun), the townland in which it lies. It is believed that the Irish name refers to a "field of blackbirds". Aghalun was in the hands of the Maguire Clan until the 1641 rebellion when it was given to the Brooke family. The village was then named after Sir Henry Brooke, who was granted the village in 1666 and settled at Colebrooke Park nearby.
On 1 January 1957, there was a well-known attack on Brookeborough R.U.C. Barracks by the I.R.A. during its 1950s Border Campaign. This attack was led by Seán Garland, and included Seán South and Fergal O'Hanlon, both the subjects of well-known Irish republican ballads, who were shot dead during the attack.
In 2002, the Brookeborough Community Development Association, in conjunction with a similar organisation in Riverstown, County Sligo, Republic of Ireland, launched the Riverbrooke Cross-Border Initiative linking the two villages in a programme of cross-community/cross-border working.
Read more about this topic: Brookeborough
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