Emerald Home Page Towns Index Parishes of Down
Warrenpoint: (approx. pop. 5,500) is a small town and resort in the inlet of Carlingford Lough, in the South Down coast. It is in the Parish of Down and in the barony of Iveagh Upper. The name Warrenpoint is supposedly a recent one, given to this town, in the late 18th or early 19th centuries.
About 1 mile outside Warrenpoint , on the Newry Rd, is the Elizabethan castle of Narrow Water. Built in about 1560 , the castle was used to guard the entrance of the Clanrye river which flows into Carlingford Lough a mile further south. Narrow Water is said to be haunted by the spirit of a broken hearted Elizabethan woman, who flung herself from the top of the castle.
Photos still to come!!
Rostrevor: (approx. pop. 2,500) lies 3 miles East along the coast from Warrenpoint. It is in the parish of Kilbroney and in the barony of Iveagh Upper. The name Rostrevor in Irish is Ros Treabhar, which means Trevor's wood. The town is named after a man called Edward Trevor who required land here in the time of the Plantation of Ireland. Trevor was originally from Wales and he was in charge of the English garrison situated in Newry, about 9 miles away. The town is also known in Irish as "Caislean Ruairi" which means Rory's Castle. The castle existed before the Plantation but there are no remains of the castle to day. The castle belonged to Rory McGuinness lord of Iveagh.
A mile outside Rostrevor on the Warrenpoint road, there is a giant granite obelisk. It was built in the memory of Major General Robert Ross (1766-1814). Ross was commander of a British force that captured Washington in 1814, after defeating the Americans at Bladensburg. Ross and his officers burnt the White House while in control of Washington. He was killed that same year in Baltimore.
Rostrevor is also situated at the foot of Sleivemartin, a mountain belonging to the Mourne mountains. On the mountain is Cloughmore, which is Irish for 'The Big Stone'. This is a large 40 ton block form boulder, that is situated near the summit of Sleivemartin. legend has it that the giant Finn McCool hurled the stone from the shores of Lough Neagh, some 30 miles away!
Photos still to come!
Kilkeel: is a small fishing town on the south Down coast. It is in the parish of Kilkeel and in the barony of Mourne. The town is approx 8 miles (14km) South East of Rostrevor.
Bangor: (approx pop 52,000) is a large town about 9 miles NE of Belfast city. The town is in the parish of Down and in the barony of Ards Lower. It is situated on the northern point of the Ards Peninsula. In 1605 the land around Bangor was divided up during the Plantation of Ireland. The land was split into 3 lots, one going to Con O'Neill of Clandeboye, the other two lots went to 2 Scots men by the names of Hugh Montgomery and James Hamilton. But, not long after 1605 the two Scots men disposed the land from O'Neill and divided it among themselves. Montgomery later became Viscount Ards. James Hamilton became Lord Clandeboye in 1622 and brought men over from Ayrshire in Scotland to build the town of Bangor.
The oldest known monastery in Bangor was built in 558AD and was founded by St. Comgall. Nothing is left of this monastery, but there is now a Church of Ireland church on that site at the head of the town. There were also two 12th century built in Bangor, but again, neither of these survive.
Newry: (approx pop 25,000) is a cathedral town , which is about 16 miles south of Armagh city. It is also placed on ' The Gap of the North' a pass which Ulstermen used to attack clans in Leinster. Because of its strategic position, the town was repeatedly destroyed in the wars to control the north, in the Middle Ages. Newry is named after the 2 yew trees that grew in St. Malachy's Cistercian abbey in 1144. The abbey was destroyed by fire in 1162. All that remains of it is a plain Celtic cross design on a granite slab. In 1578 Sir Nicholas Bagenal, who was marshal of Ireland built the first Protestant church in Ireland in Newry where he resided. Also the first major canal was constructed from Newry to Portadown, about 20 miles in length, from 1730 to 1741.
Newcastle: (approx. pop. 7,500) Is a small town on the South Down coast and is about 20 miles south east of Banbridge. The town takes it's name form the castle built in 1588, by Felix Magennis. The castle is said to have stood where the center of the town now lies. It was burnt to the ground by the Earl of Annesley in the 19th century. The mountain Slieve Donard, the highest mountain in Northern Ireland overshadows the town. The mountain is named after St. Domangard of Rath Murbhuilg, son of Echu, the last pagan king of the area and who died early in the 6th century.
Banbridge: (approx. pop. 13,000) is the industrial center of this district. It lies on the main Belfast to Dublin route. Banbridge is 13 miles North East of Newry and is in the Parish of Seapatrick, the Barony of Iveagh Upper, Upper half and in the Townland of Ballyvally. The town was laid out in 1767 and named after the first bridge to be built over the Upper Bann river in 1712.
Rathfriland: (pop. 2,000) is a small town 7 miles North East of Newry. Rathfriland lies at the top of a very steep hill (506ft), with the streets leading to the main square falling steeply away down either side of the hill. A Magennis castle stood on the site of the town square in the 16th century, where the Kings of Iveagh once sat. The town is in the parishes of Drumgath and Drumballyroney and in the barony of Iveagh Upper, Upper/Lower half.
Downpatrick: (pop. 10,200) is the county town of Down. The town is 10 miles NE of Newcastle. It takes its name from 'dun Padraig' meaning Patrick's fort, where a 6th century monastery was situated inside the fort, also, an Augustinian church, a Benedictine church and many different versions of Down Cathedral. Like most other towns in Ulster churches and monasteries were torched and rebuilt many many times.
In 1177 John de Courcey seized the town from Rory Mac Donlevy, who was King of Ulster. De Courcey established his principal castle here. In 1260 Brian O'Neill, King of Tir Eoghain (Tyrone) and who had been acknowledged as King of Ireland by Connacht and Thomond marched to Downpatrick and fought the foreigners in the Battle of Down. O'Neill, 8 Connacht lords and many others died.
More to Come!