This village and parish partly in the barony of Lower Iveagh and partly in the barony of O'Neilland means 'plain of the church' from the Irish 'Machaire Lainne'. The area was previously called 'Lann Rónáin Fhinn' meaning 'church of the fair-haired Ronan,' named after the church founded here by St Colman in the 8 th century and which became a monastic settlement for saints and scholars (although no trace of this early church remains today).

The area was also the site of a Danish settlement from where they ventured further inland and the location of a massacre between two opposing parties of Danes in the ninth century. Another Church was built in the fifteenth century, which fell into disrepair in the but remained in use until 1845. Only the tower and nave of this church survives today. In 1841 building began on a new church which was completed in 1844 at a cost of £2,400. The work of three noted stained glass artists, Lady Glenavy, A E Child and Michael Healy, can be seen in windows which depict Irish Saints such as Patrick, Columba, Columbanus, Gall, Comgall and Finian. Saint Patrick is seen fighting a snake and the seventh century Saint Gall is depicted throwing pagan idols into Lake Constance.

A major industry in Maralin in the nineteenth century was limestone quarrying from the western termination of the limestone formation, which rises in the Giant's Causeway in Co Antrim. The lime produced in Maralin's many lime-kilns was sold in counties Antrim, Armagh and Down.

A well-known son of Magheralin is the botanist John Macoun. His ancestors came from Scotland and settled in Magherlin in the seventeenth century. John was born in the village on 17 th April 1831 and emigrated to Canada with his mother and brothers in 1850. He developed his love of botany and though mostly self-taught, rose through the ranks and established himself as a leading expert in the field of botany. He is perhaps best known for providing the expertise and knowledge of South Saskatchewan, which influenced the planning and routing of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The name of John Macoun is commemorated in the town of Macoun in South Saskatchewan, Mount Macoun in Great Glacier Park in the Selkirk Mountains and by Lake Macoun in North Saskatchewan. He died in Vancouver Island on 18 th July 1820.

An interesting and unique characteristic of the village is the local nicknames given to areas of the town, many of which are a result of the village's commercial and industrial heritage. Flaybuck Lane, Squeezegut Entry, Skitter Hill, Sturabout Row, Crutch Hotel, Flinty Row and Duck Street, to name a few. Duck Street, the main Maralin to Donacloney Road, got it's name from the weavers who became known as the "Ducks of Maralin" because they used duck grease to lubricate their looms. Sturabout Row is named after the mixture of flour, water and meal which was 'stirred-about' and applied as a dressing to the weavers yarn to prevent the threads from breaking. Flinty Row was a row of houses built using flint stones from a local quarry. Squeezegut Entry (or Crushgut Entry) was a very narrow entrance to houses which was so restricted that one had to turn sideways to pass along it.

Incidentally, the name 'Maralin' is the local pronunciation of the town's formally recognised name of 'Magheralin'

Another of Magheralin's well-known sons is the poet James Malcolmson who wrote the poem "The Ducks of Maralin" which expresses so clearly the pride felt by the natives of this small village.