Toome

History

In the 5th and/or 6th centuries, there was a woman in the parish of Duneane () known as Ercnat ingen Dáire. In 800 she was remembered as a saint but her cult was forgotten. Roddy McCorley, a Presbyterian radical, was a local of the parish of Duneane. He fought as a United Irishman in the Rebellion of 1798 against British rule in Ireland but was captured. He was hanged on 28 February 1800 "near the bridge of Toome", which had been partially destroyed by rebels in 1798 to prevent the arrival of reinforcements from west of the River Bann. His body was then dissected by the British and buried under the road that went from Belfast to Derry. In 1852, while the bridge at Toome was being replaced as part of drainage works on Lough Neagh, a nephew had McCorley's body exhumed between March 1852 and October 1853, and McCorley was then given a proper burial in an unmarked grave in Duneane. Although a memorial was made for McCorley's grave later, repeated desecration led to the grave becoming unmarked once more. In November 1954, a memorial in honour of McCorley was erected in Toome, but was destroyed by loyalists using explosives on 1 January 1969, anticipating a People's Democracy civil rights march through the village. In the late 1970s another monument was erected and stands in Toome as you enter the village from County Londonderry. His story became the subject of a popular song written in 1898 by Ethna Carbery.