Everything about Downpatrick totally explained
Downpatrick is a town in
County Down in
Northern Ireland, about 33 km south of
Belfast. It is the
County town of Down with a rich history and strong connection to St. Patrick. It had 10,316 inhabitants in the
2001 Census. Downpatrick is where the local council,
Down District Council has its headquarters.
Overview
As the largest town in the Lecale area, Downpatrick is a commercial, recreational and administrative centre for the locality and serves as a hub for the nearby towns and villages. Within a half hour drive of Belfast, the location serves as a commuter town for a large number of people. The town has a number of primary and post-primary schools which educates students from all over the east Down area.
Geography
Downpatrick is characterised by the rolling drumlins that are a feature of the Lecale area. It also has the distinction of being the lowest place on the island of Ireland, with the marsh surrounding the north east of the town recorded as being 1.3 ft (0.4m) below sea level. Downpatrick is approximately 21 Miles from Belfast with a regular bus service.
History
Downpatrick is one of Ireland's most ancient and historic towns. It takes its name from a
dún (fort), which once stood on the hill that dominates the town and on which the cathedral stands.
Ptolemy about the year AD
130 includes it as
Dunum in his list of towns of
Ireland. The old name of the town was
Rath Celtair. It was superseded by the name
Dun-leth-glas which in turn gave way in the
13th century to the present name of Dún Phádraig (anglisied as Downpatrick) - from the town's connection with the patron saint of Ireland.
Saint Patrick was reputedly buried here in
461 on Cathedral Hill, within the grounds of
Down Cathedral. His grave is still a place of pilgrimage on
St Patricks Day (
17 March). The
Saint Patrick Visitor Centre (External Link
) in Downpatrick is purpose-built to tell the story of St Patrick.
The Troubles
For more information see
The Troubles in Downpatrick, which includes a list of incidents in Downpatrick during
The Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.
Demographics
Downpatrick is classified as a Medium Town by the
NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 10,000 and 18,000 people). On Census day (
29 April 2001) there were 10,316 people living in Downpatrick. Of these:
- 26.6% were aged under 16 years and 16.0% were aged 60 and over
- 48.5% of the population were male and 51.5% were female
- 86.8% were from a Roman Catholic background and 11.9% were from a Protestant background
- 5.1% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.
For more details see:
NI Neighbourhood Information Service
Education
Primary Schools
St. Brigid's Primary school
St. Colmcille's Primary school
St. Patrick's Boys Primary school
Bunscoil Naomh Pádraig
Convent of Mercy Girls Primary school
Downpatrick Primary School
Down High School Prep Department
Post-primary Schools
St.Patrick's Grammar School (known locally as "The Red High") - Boys grammar school (mixed in upper school)
De la Salle High school - Boys high school
St. Mary's High school - Girls high school
Down High School (known locally as "The Green High") - Grammar school
Down Academy - High school
Further and Higher Education
South Eastern Regional College (Downpatrick Campus ) - the local campus of the regional further and higher education college
Transport
Downpatrick is situated at the junction of the A7 (Downpatrick to Saintfield and Belfast) road, the A25 (Downpatrick to Newry and Dublin) road and the A2 coast road. Whilst there are no rail services in Downpatrick, Ulsterbus provides bus services to and from the Downpatrick Bus Station.
Downpatrick railway station on the Belfast and County Down Railway, opened on 23 March 1859 and Downpatrick Loop Platform opened on 24 September 1892. Both closed on 16 January 1950. Downpatrick Racecourse Platform had opened on 8 March 1893, but closed in September 1949.
Media
The area is served by two weekly newspapers:
Down Democrat
Down Recorder - established 1836
Down FM is the local community radio station broadcasting on 105.0 MHz. The station's RDS programme identification (PI) tag is "Down FM". The station's parent organisation is South Eastern Regional College.
People
Ann Breen, a country singer, is from Downpatrick. She is often referred to as "The Star Of The County Down".
Lynn Doyle the pseudonym of the humorist & playwright Leslie Alexander Montgomery was born in Downpatrick on 5 October 1873 (d.18 August 1961). He was part of the Ulster Literary Theatre movement and is most famous for his Ballygullion series of 20 books which fondly caricatured Northern village life. Interestingly he chose his pseudonym after seeing a large tin of linseed oil in a paint shop, initially signing "Lynn C. Doyle" but later dropping the "C.".
Dr. Maurice Hayes, the former Northern Ireland Ombudsman, Chairman of the Ireland Funds and Taoiseach-appointed Senator in Seanad Éireann, was born and still lives in Downpatrick. He has written a memoir about growing up in the town titled Black Puddings with Slim. He served as town clerk of Downpatrick in the 1960s, succeeding his father in the role.
The rock band Ash are from Downpatrick.
Paul Mahon, guitarist of rock band The Answer is from Downpatrick.
James Heatley, drummer for rock band The Answer lives in Downpatrick.
Ian Mitchell from the band Bay City Rollers was born in Downpatrick.
David Healy, the Northern Ireland and Fulham striker was born in Downpatrick.
The comedian Colin Murphy hails from Downpatrick.
Patrick Kielty attended (St. Patrick's Grammar) school in Downpatrick.
Thomas Russell the United Irishman co-founder who contributed to the United Irishmen's Rebellion of 1798 and Robert Emmet's failed rebellion of 1803 was gaoled & executed at Down County Gaol by hanging on October 21, 1803. His memory is honoured by the local GAA club being named after his legacy.
Sport
Downpatrick is home to the Russell Gaelic Union (Gaelic Athletic Association club), Downpatrick Cricket Club and Downpatrick Golf Club, which have their own club grounds.
Downpatrick has several other clubs that use the facilities of the Down Leisure Centre such as the Lecale Amateur Swimming Club and the East Down Athletics Club.
Downpatrick's senior amateur football team is Downpatrick F.C. who compete in the Amateur Section A of the Northern Irish football league. However, there are numerous other clubs associated with the town, and other created from surrounding areas. These include Rossglass County Football Club, and Ballyvange F.C.
There are also many youth football teams such as the Celtic Bhoys, the Shamrocks, Rossglass and Patrician, who, along with many other teams in the area, participate in the Downpatrick Youth League.
Visit the Rossglass County Football Club website: rossglasscountyfc.co.uk
Visit the Downpatrick Football Club website: downpatrickfc.co.uk
Downpatrick is also home to one of the biggest Irish branches of the Manchester United's supporters club Downpatrick Manchester United Supporters Club which was founded in 1993.
Downpatrick is also the home of the Downpatrick & District Snooker & Billiards League. Many of the local towns compete in the highly successful leagues. Teams from Downpatrick, Newcastle, Castlewellan, Ballynahinch, Killyleagh, Crossgar, Drumaness & Ballyalton strive to be the best in the local district.
[Website: http://www.downpatrickdistrict-snookerbilliards.com/
Further Information
Get more info on 'Downpatrick'.
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