Holywood ( ) (

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''Ard Mhic Nasca'', meaning 'Height of the Son of Nasca'.

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''Sanctus Boscus'', meaning 'Holy Wood') is a town in the metropolitan area of

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

and

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

of 755 acres lying on the shore of

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough is a large, intertidal sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to ...

, between Belfast and Bangor.

Holywood Exchange Holywood Exchange is a major retail development on the borders of Belfast and Holywood, Northern Ireland. It is beside Belfast City Airport, in the townland of Knocknagoney. The site was previously known as D5 and Harbour Exchange. At pre ...

and

Belfast City Airport George Best Belfast City Airport is a single-runway airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated in County Down, it is adjacent to the Port of Belfast and is from Belfast City Centre. It shares the site with the Spirit AeroSystems (form ...

are nearby. The town hosts an annual

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

festival.

Toponymy

The English name ''Holywood'' comes . This was the name the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...

gave to the woodland surrounding the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

of St Laiseran, son of Nasca. The monastery was founded by Laiseran before 640 and was on the site of the present

Holywood Priory A monastery was founded by St Laiseran before 640 on the site of the present ruins of the medieval Old Priory at the junction of High Street, Victoria Road and the Old Bangor Road in Holywood, County Down, Holywood, County Down. The present ruins ...

. The earliest Anglicised form appears as ''Haliwode'' in a 14th-century document. The

name for Holywood is ''Ard Mhic Nasca'' meaning "high ground of Mac Nasca".

History

In the early 19th century, Holywood, like many other coastal villages throughout Ireland, became popular as a

resort A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, lodging, sports, entertainment, and shopping, on the premises. The term ''resort ...

for sea-bathing. Many wealthy

merchants chose the town and the surrounding area to build large homes for themselves. These included the Kennedys of

Cultra Cultra ( - ) is an affluent residential neighbourhood near Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is part of Greater Belfast. It is in the Ards and North Down Borough Council area. Cultra is home to the Royal North of Ireland Yacht ...

and the Harrisons of Holywood. Dalchoolin House stood on the site of the present

Ulster Transport Museum The Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster Transport Museum are situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. The Folk Museum endeavours to illustrate the way of life and traditions of the people in Northern Ireland, past ...

, while Cultra Manor was built between 1902–04 and now houses the Ulster Folk Museum. The railway line from Belfast to Holywood opened in 1848, and this led to rapid development. The population of Holywood was approximately 3,500 in 1900 and had grown to 12,000 by 2001. This growth, coupled with that of other towns and villages along the coastal strip to Bangor, necessitated the construction of the Holywood Bypass which was completed in 1972. The Priory, Holywood - geograph

The Old Priory ruins lie at the bottom of the High Street. The tower dates from 1800, but the oldest ruins date from the early 13th century. The Priory graveyard is the resting place for many distinguished

citizens Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

including the educational reformer, Dr Robert Sullivan, and the Praeger family. Sullivan Upper Grammar School is named after Dr Robert Sullivan.

Robert Lloyd Praeger Robert Lloyd Praeger (25 August 1865 – 5 May 1953) was an Irish naturalist, writer and librarian. Biography From a Unitarian background, he was born and raised in Holywood, County Down. He attended the school of the Reverend McAlister and t ...

(1865–1953) was an internationally renowned

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and his sister,

Rosamond Praeger Sophia Rosamond Praeger, MBE, HRHA, MA (17 April 1867 – 16 April 1954) was an Irish artist, sculptor, illustrator, poet and writer. Early life and education Praeger was born in Holywood, County Down, Ireland on 17 April 1867. Her parents ...

(1867–1954), gained fame as a

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and writer. On 17 June 1994, Garnet Bell, a former pupil bearing a grudge, entered an assembly hall at

Sullivan Upper School Sullivan Upper School is a mixed non- denominational voluntary grammar school in Holywood, Northern Ireland, and has approximately 1,100 enrolled pupils. The school motto is ', Irish for "with the gentle hand foremost". History Sullivan Low ...

and used a flamethrower to attack students taking

A-level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...

examinations. Six pupils were injured; three of them seriously. On 12 April 2010, at around 12:24am, a car bombing occurred near

Palace Barracks Palace Barracks, Holywood is a British Army installation in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. History Palace Barracks occupies the site of a palatial house known as "Ardtullagh", the home of the Bishop of Down, Connor and Dromore until i ...

, a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

barracks on the edge of Holywood's town centre. An elderly man was blown off his feet and had to be treated in hospital. The bomb was allegedly driven towards the base in a hijacked taxi. The

Real IRA The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), is a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a United Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejected the ...

claimed responsibility for the attack. HolywoodFirstPres

Demography

As of the

2011 United Kingdom Census A census of the population of the United Kingdom is taken every ten years. The 2011 census was held in all countries of the UK on 27 March 2011. It was the first UK census which could be completed online via the Internet. The Office for National ...

on 27 March, there were 11,257 people living in Holywood. Of these: *18.29% were under 16 years of age and 18.79% were 65 or older *48.99% were male and 51.01% were female *62.25% were from a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

or other Christian background and 23.11% were from a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Christian background. *3.39% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

Places of interest

*Holywood is famous for its

maypole A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, around which a maypole dance often takes place. The festivals may occur on 1 May or Pentecost (Whitsun), although in some countries it is instead erected at ...

at the crossroads in the centre of town. Its origin is uncertain, but, according to local folklore, it dates from 1700, when a Dutch ship is said to have run aground on the

shore A shore or a shoreline is the fringe of land at the edge of a large body of water, such as an ocean, sea, or lake. In physical oceanography, a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past a ...

nearby, and the crew erected the broken mast to show their appreciation of the assistance offered to them by the townsfolk. It was severely damaged in high winds in February 2021 and had to be replaced. *Nearly as famous, is the adjacent Maypole Bar, locally known as Ned's. *There is a

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

motte in the town which may have been constructed on an earlier burial mound. *The

Ulster Folk and Transport Museum The Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster Transport Museum are situated in Cultra, Northern Ireland, about east of the city of Belfast. The Folk Museum endeavours to illustrate the way of life and traditions of the people in Northern Ireland, past ...

illustrating the way of life and traditions of the people of

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

is nearby, at

Transport

On 2 August 1848, the first leg of the

Belfast and County Down Railway The Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland (later Northern Ireland) linking Belfast with County Down. It was built in the 19th century and absorbed into the Ulster Transport Authority in 1948. All but th ...

, or BCDR, was opened from

to Holywood. The Holywood railway station opened simultaneously. The railway line was extended via the Belfast, Holywood and Bangor Railway (BHBR) to Bangor, and the extension opened on 1 May 1865. The BCDR acquired the BHBR in 1884. Holywood station was closed for goods traffic on 24 April 1950.

Wildlife

Records of the marine

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

include: '' Polysiphonia elongata'', ''Laurencia obtusa'', ''Chondria dasyphylla'', ''Pterothamnion plumula'', ''Rhodophyllis divaricate'', and ''Coccotylus truncates''.

Industry

The

Crosslé Car Company The Crosslé Car Company Ltd. is a racing car manufacturer based in Holywood, Northern Ireland. Crosslé was founded in 1957 by John Crosslé. Crosslé is the oldest surviving specialist racing car manufacturer in the United Kingdom. Crosslé is ...

, a manufacturer of

racing cars Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

is based in Holywood.

Education

The town contains the following schools: Holywood Primary School, Holywood Nursery School, Holywood Rudolf Steiner School,

Priory Integrated College Priory Integrated College or more commonly known as Priory College or simply Priory is a secondary school located on My Lady's Mile, in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a co-educational integrated college taking in 11- to 18-yea ...

Rockport School Rockport School is an independent day and boarding school for boys and girls from 2.5 years to 18 years in the British Public School tradition. It is situated in of woodland on the shore of Belfast Lough in Craigavad, near Holywood, County ...

, St. Patrick's Primary School, and Sullivan Preparatory School and Sullivan Upper School.

Sport

Holywood is home to Formula One driver, Eddie Irvine and Formula 3 Driver (2020), Christian Lester.

Cricket

Holywood Cricket Club Holywood Cricket Club 1881 is a cricket club in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland, playing in the Northern Cricket Unions ("NCU") Senior League. History The Club was founded in 1881, originally playing at Kinnegar in Holywood, but after ...

was formed at Kinnegar in 1881. It moved to Belfast Road in 1885 and then to the present ground at Seapark Road in 1996.

Football

Holywood F.C. is a

Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...

intermediate football club playing in Division 1B of the

Northern Amateur Football League The Northern Amateur Football League, also known as the Northern Amateur League and often simply as the Amateur League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 13 divisions. These comprise four intermediate sections: ...

GAA

St. Paul's Gaelic Football Club was founded in 1979 as an amalgamation of the Holywood, Bangor, and Newtownards clubs.

Golf

Holywood Golf Club, founded in 1904 is where 2011 US Open, 2012 US PGA, The Open 2014, and 2014 US PGA champion Rory McIlroy learned his golf, and he still calls it his home course. Nearby

Craigavad Craigavad () is a townland in County Down, Northern Ireland, lying within the civil parish of Holywood and the historic barony of Castlereagh Lower. Suburban and residential in character, Craigavad lies between the centre of Holywood and Bang ...

is the home of the

Royal Belfast Golf Club The Royal Belfast Golf Club is located on the southern shores of Belfast Lough at Craigavad in County Down, seven miles from the centre of Belfast. Founded in 1881 the club claims to be the oldest such club in Ireland. The present course was design ...

, the oldest in Ireland, dating from 1881. The club's present course was designed by architect Harry Colt in 1926.

Notable people

* Mark Adair, former cricketer for

Warwickshire County Cricket Club Warwickshire County Cricket Club is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Warwickshire. Its T20 team is called the Birmingham Bears. Founde ...

; former

pupil *

Desmond Boal Desmond Norman Orr Boal (8 August 1928 – 23 April 2015) was a unionist politician and barrister from Northern Ireland. Boal had a legal career before he entered politics in 1960. He was the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) Member of the Parliament ...

, QC, leading Northern Ireland barrister and former Stormont MP, resided in Holywood *

Charles Brett Sir Charles Edward Bainbridge Brett, Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, KBE, Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, CBE (30 October 1928 - 19 December 2005), was a Northern Irish people, Nor ...

, architectural historian, born in Holywood * Fr. Stephen Brown, SJ, writer, librarian, founder of the Central Catholic Library (in Dublin), was born in Holywood *

Barbara Callcott Barbara Callcott (née Farrell, 1947 – 10 May 2013) was an Irish-born Australian television personality, best known for her portrayal of the schoolteacher "Mrs Marsh" in a series of Colgate toothpaste advertisements that ran from 1976–199 ...

, Australian television personality, born in Holywood *

Darren Cave Darren Cave (born 5 April 1987) is a retired professional rugby union player who played centre for Ulster in the Pro14 and European Rugby Champions Cup. A real attacking talent, Cave was another young player who has come up through the Ulster A ...

, played rugby for Ulster Rugby and helped Ireland Under-20 win the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2007 * Robert Cunningham (died 1637) first Presbyterian minister *

Jamie Dornan James Peter Maxwell Dornan (; born 1 May 1982) is an actor, model and musician from Northern Ireland. Formerly a character actor, he often portrays solemn, steady characters. The recipient of two Irish Film and Television Awards, he has been n ...

, actor, model * Hubert Dunn, judge and author of a book on Francis Ledwidge *

Garth Ennis Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970) is a Northern Irish–American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dar ...

, comic writer * Mick Fealty, editor of ''

Slugger O'Toole Slugger O'Toole is a weblog started in June 2002 by political analyst Mick Fealty. It began life as Letter to Slugger O'Toole, focused primarily on news and comment about Northern Ireland. From the beginning it has drawn its readership from a ...

'' was raised in Holywood * Henry Harrison, MP, secretary to

Charles Stewart Parnell Charles Stewart Parnell (27 June 1846 – 6 October 1891) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1875 to 1891, also acting as Leader of the Home Rule League from 1880 to 1882 and then Leader of the ...

, is buried in the Priory graveyard in the centre of Holywood *

Maurice Jay Maurice Jay is a radio and television personality in Northern Ireland. He is currently the Programme Controller for U105, a Belfast-based radio station that is part of the Wireless Group. Jay played lead roles in over 100 UK-wide performance ...

U105 U105 is a Belfast-based radio station, providing a mix of music and speech as well as hourly news bulletins. It is owned by Wireless Group and was launched at 6am on 14 November 2005. U105 broadcasts on 105.8 FM in Belfast and surrounding are ...

radio station presenter *

Bap Kennedy Martin Christopher Kennedy (17 June 1962 – 1 November 2016), known as Bap Kennedy, was a singer-songwriter from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was noted for his collaborations with Steve Earle, Van Morrison, Shane MacGowan and Mark Knopfler, a ...

, singer-songwriter and record producer *

Tom Kerr Tom Kerr was a British comic strip artist whose work has appeared in comics such as ''Look-in'', the ''Eagle'', '' Valiant'', and '' TV21''. He has also drawn for many annuals of the 1960s and 1970s, including the ''Monkees'' annuals, ''Look-i ...

, comic strip artist * Stephen Martin,

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

field hockey international * Robert McCartney, QC, leading barrister and ex-UK Unionist Westminster MP for North Down (1995–2001); resides in Holywood. *

Alban Maginness Alban may refer to: *Alban (surname) *Alban (given name) * Alban people, Latin people from the city of Alba Longa. *Things or people from or related to Alba (Gaelic for 'Scotland') * Alban wine, a wine of Ancient Rome from Colli Albani * Alban Vi ...

, lawyer and

Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...

(SDLP) politician; born in Holywood. * Rory McIlroy, professional golfer. Winner of the 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship, and 2014 PGA Championship. *

Margaret Mountford Margaret Rose Mountford (''née'' Swale, born 24 November 1951) is a Northern Irish lawyer, businesswoman and television personality best known for her role in ''The Apprentice''. Biography Mountford is originally from Holywood in County Down, ...

, lawyer, businesswoman and advisor to

Alan Sugar Alan Michael Sugar, Baron Sugar (born 24 March 1947) is a British business magnate, media personality, author, politician and political adviser. In 1968, he started what would later become his largest business venture, consumer electronics com ...

. *

Dermot Murnaghan Dermot John Murnaghan (; born 26 December 1957) is a British broadcaster. A presenter for Sky News, he was a news presenter at CNBC Europe, Independent Television News and BBC News. He has presented news programmes in a variety of time slots ...

is a television news anchorman whose family moved to Holywood where he lived just off Church View and attended

. * Rachel O'Reilly, chemist and

Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry Fellowship of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) is an award conferred by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) in the United Kingdom. FRSC award Achieving Fellow status in the chemical profession denotes to the wider community a high level of ...

; born and educated in Holywood. *

, artist, sculptor and writer; younger sister of the naturalist

* Davy Sims broadcaster and writer, former head of BBC Northern Ireland New Media; born and raised in Holywood *

Michael Smiley Michael Smiley (born 1963) is a Northern Irish comedian and actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the films ''Kill List'' (2011) and ''The Lobster'' (2015). Early life Smiley was born in 1963 in Belfast and grew up in Holywood with ...

, comedian, writer and actor *

Clive Standen Clive James Standen (born 22 July 1981) is an English actor best known for playing Bryan Mills in the NBC series '' Taken'' (2017–2018), based on the film trilogy of the same name, as well as Rollo in the History Channel series ''Vikings'' ( ...

, an actor, born in Holywood *

John St. Clair Boyd Dr. John St. Clair Boyd (1858 - 1918) was an Irish gynaecologist, surgeon and first president of the Belfast Gaelic League. Life He was born at Cultra House, Holywood, Co. Down as the only son of John Kane Boyd, co-proprietor of the Blackstaff ...

, born in Holywood *

Shane Todd Shane Todd (born 9 June 1988) is a comedian, television, and radio presenter and actor from Holywood, Northern Ireland. Career Todd began comedy by posting videos on YouTube, as part of the Harlem Gun Club. He also released a teaser for a sit ...

, comedian, writer and actor. * Peter Woodman, archaeologist, brought up in Holywood

References

{{Authority control Towns in County Down Seaside resorts in Northern Ireland Civil parish of Holywood Townlands of County Down World War II prisoner of war camps in the United Kingdom World War II sites in Northern Ireland