Kilrea, Northern Ireland

Kilrea (Irish: Cill Ria meaning church on the hill)  is a village in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Kilrea is a beautifully preserved example of a Plantation village, with long, straight roads from 'The Diamond' the location of the towns War Memorial. It was the headquarters of the Worshipful Company of Mercers and sits high up the Bann Valley to the south east of Garvagh and enjoys a vantage point above the river. A feature of Kilrea has been its 'Fairy Thorn' tree, outside First Kilrea Presbyterian Church in Church Street, the focal point of the pagan summer festival in the town. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 1,513 people.