Kilkeel is a small
townA town is a type of settlement ranging from a few hundred to several thousand inhabitants, although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan areas; the precise meaning varies between countries and is not always a matter of legal definition...
in
County DownCounty Down is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Ulster and is part of Northern Ireland....
,
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. It is the main fishing port on the Down coast, and its harbour houses one of the largest fishing fleets in Ireland. It had a population of 6,338 people in the
2001 CensusA nationwide census, commonly known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census....
. The town contains the ruins of a 14th century church and fort, winding streets and terraced shops.
Geography
Kilkeel is situated on the most southeasterly point of
County DownCounty Down is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Ulster and is part of Northern Ireland....
, east of the city of
NewryNewry is the fourth-largest city in Northern Ireland and eighth in Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, forms the historic border between County Armagh and County Down: Newry was included entirely in the latter by the Local Government Act 1898...
and south of
Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and it is situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
's capital city,
BelfastBelfast is the capital of and the largest city in Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is the seat of devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. It is the largest urban area in the province of Ulster, and the second largest city on the island of...
. It is surrounded by the Mourne Mountains and approximately four miles from the
Silent Valley ReservoirThe Silent Valley Reservoir is a reservoir located in the Mourne Mountains near Kilkeel, County Down in Northern Ireland. It supplies most of the water for County Down, surrounding counties and most of Belfast. It is owned and maintained by Northern Ireland Water Limited...
which supplies tap water to Belfast.
The town is also four miles from
Cranfield PointCranfield Point is the southernmost point of Northern Ireland. It is located in County Down at the mouth of Carlingford Lough.It was once the site of the Cranfield Point lighthouse, marking the entrance to the lough. Its poor position led to the construction of the Haulbowline Lighthouse situated...
, the southernmost point of Northern Ireland.
History
Kilkeel takes its name from the old church overlooking the town, it being the anglicised version of the Gaelic 'Cill Chaoil' meaning "Narrow Church" or "The Church of/in the Narrow Place." The name may be drawn from the church location on a narrow site above the town.
The church was constructed in 1388 and dedicated to "St Colman Del Mourne." It was thought to be the principal Church in a group which included Kilmegan and Kilcoo despite the fact that Kilkeel was very sparsely populated in the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
. There are references to Kilkeel as a Christian settlement as far back as the 11th century. Kilkeel is the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Mourne.
The
cemeteryA cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term cemetery implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are the place where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
attached to the church was used for burials until 1916. The last burials at the cemetery were victims of a collision between two
steamersA steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels....
in
Carlingford LoughCarlingford Lough is a sea lough or inlet that forms part of the international border between Northern Ireland to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south...
.
Economy
Fishing is a major industry in Kilkeel, with Kilkeel Harbour the home port for the largest
fishing fleetA fishing fleet is an aggregate of commercial fishing vessels. The term may be used of all vessels operating out of a particular port, all vessels engaged in a particular type of fishing , or all fishing vessels of a country or region.Although fishing vessels are not formally organized as if they...
in Northern Ireland. There are fish-processing factories around the port, pleasure angling off the piers and
lobster farmingA lobster trap is a portable trap which traps lobsters or crayfish and is used in lobster fishing. In British English a lobster trap is called a lobster pot. A lobster trap can catch multiple lobsters at once....
along the coastline.
People
- The town is also known as the location where William Hare died.
- World University Golf champion Danielle McVeigh also comes from Kilkeel. McVeigh won individual gold in the Universities World Championships held in Bangkok in June 2007.
- Robert Hill Hanna
Robert Hill Hanna VC , was an Irish born recipient and likewise a naturalised immigrant to Canada. He was a soldier in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy", during the First World War.He was 30 years old,...
(1887 - 1967), was an immigrant CanadianCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
recipient of the Victoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration which is, or has been, awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories. It takes precedence over all other orders, decorations and medals...
. He was a Company Sergeant-Major in the 29th (Vancouver) Bn., Canadian Expeditionary ForceThe Canadian Expeditionary Force was the designation of the field force created by Canada for service overseas in the First World War. Units of the C.E.F. were further divided into field formation in France, where they were largely organized into divisions and eventually a Canadian Corps within...
during World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
when on 21 August 1917, he led a courageous action at Hill 70 Lens, FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
. He was born near Hanna's Close in Kilkeel and still has many members of family remaining in the area.
2001 Census
Kilkeel is classified as a small town by the
http://www.nisra.gov.uk/Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (i.e. with population between 4,500 and 10,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001), there were 6,338 people living in Kilkeel. Of these:
- 26.2% were aged under 16 years and 18.2% were aged 60 and over;
- 48.4% of the population were male and 51.6% were female; and
- 3.5% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.
The Religious divide
The town of Kilkeel has a strong Unionist heritage. But while, in 2001, the ward of
Kilkeel Central was recorded as 69% Protestant (21% Catholic, 10% other), the ward of
Kilkeel South was only 37% Protestant (55% Catholic, 7% other).
In the past, the Kilkeel Urban District Council (now defunct) area , despite being predominantly Roman Catholic, returned a Unionist dominated council for many years.
Kilkeel now sits within the administrative area of Newry and Mourne, which is recorded in the 2001 census as being 80.6% Catholic.
For more details see:
NI Neighbourhood Information Service
Education
- Brackenagh West Primary School
Brackenagh West Primary School is a primary school located in the country side about 3 miles north of Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the Southern Education and Library Board area....
- Grange Primary School
- Holy Cross Primary School
- Kilkeel High School
Kilkeel high School is a non-selective secondary school located in Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is in the Southern Education and Library Board area....
- Kilkeel Primary School
- Mourne Independent Christian School
Mourne Independent Christian School is an independent primary and secondary school located in Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a mixed-gender interdenominational Christian school under the Southern Education and Library Board area.*Carginagh Road...
- St. Colman's Primary School
- St. Columban's College
- St. Louis Grammar School
St Louis, Kilkeel is a grammar school located in Kilkeel, Co Down, Northern Ireland. It is a co-educational school for pupils aged from 11 to 18. It has over 570 pupils enrolled. The pupils come from the surrounding area: Warrenpoint, Annalong, Newcastle, Castlewellan, Hilltown and Rostrevor.The...
Sport
Most popular sports in the Kilkeel area include football,
hurlingHurling is an outdoor team sport of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. The game, played primarily in Ireland, has prehistoric origins and is thought to be the world's fastest field team sport...
,
Gaelic footballGaelic football , commonly referred to as "Football" , "Gaelic" or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
, fishing,
golfGolf is a precision club-and-ball sport, in which competing players , using many types of clubs, attempt to hit balls into each hole on a golf course while employing the fewest number of strokes. Golf is one of the few ball games that does not require a standardized playing area...
,
hockeyHockey is any of a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball, or a hard, round, rubber or heavy plastic disc called a puck, into the opponent's net or goal, using a hockey stick.-Field hockey:...
and swimming.
Kilkeel Hockey Club plays at McAuley Park, fielding three men's teams and two ladies' teams. Kilkeel is the only hockey club in
Mourne-Places:*Mourne Abbey, a small parish just south of Mallow, County Cork, Ireland*Mourne Mountains, a granite mountain range located in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland...
, drawing players from the whole of the Mourne area, with
AnnalongAnnalong is a picturesque seaside village in County Down, Northern Ireland situated at the foot of the Mourne Mountains. It had a population of 1,778 people at the 2001 Census and lies within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. The village was once engaged in exporting dressed granite and...
providing a considerable number of its players.
Local football teams include Ballyvea F.C, Kilkeel F.C, Valley Rangers F.C, Kilkeel Athletic and the Mourne Rovers. With the exception of Kilkeel Athletic, the local football clubs play in the SK Holmes Newcastle League.
Gaelic football clubs include An Riocht, Atticall, Ballymartin, Longstone and Glasdrumman.
There are two local golf courses, Kilkeel Golf Course and Cranfield Pitch and Putt.
See also