Rathfriland () is a market
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
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 ...
.
History
In older documents written in English, the town's name was usually spelt ''Rathfylan'' or ''Rathfrilan''.
[Placenames Database of Ireland: Rathfriland/Ráth Fraoileann]
(see archival records) It was once the capital of the
Magennis
Magennis ( ga, Mac Aonghusa), also spelled Maguiness, Maginnis, Magenis, McGinnis, or McGuinness, is an Celtic_onomastics#Surnames, Irish surname, meaning the "son of Angus", which in eastern Ulster was commonly pronounced in Irish as ''Mac Aong ...
family, the
Gaelic
Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
lords of
Iveagh
Iveagh ( ; ) is the name of several historical territorial divisions in what is now County Down, Northern Ireland. Originally it was a Gaelic Irish territory, ruled by the ''Uí Echach Cobo'' and part of the overkingdom of Ulaid. From the 12th c ...
. They built
a castle there in the late 16th century.
[Place Names NI](_blank)
/ref> The ruins (south gable ) may still be seen on the hill upon which Rathfriland sits. It was a square building of 3-4 storeys with a stone barrel vault at the ground floor to lessen the risk of fire. The castle was battered down during the Irish Confederate Wars
The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...
and much of the remainder was carried off by William Hawkins of London, the first Protestant landowner there after the war. The stones were used to build the Town Inn (the building of which still stands on the corner of The Square and Newry Street) and other houses in the village. In 1760 the Market House, which dominates the main square, was built for the linen market by Miss Theodosia McGill. An old map of 1776 prepared for the Meade Estate shows streets, lanes, tenements and gardens forming the early village.
A clock-faced war memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue, or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or (predominating in modern times) to commemorate those who died or were injured in a war.
Symbolism
Historical usage
It has ...
stands in the square on the southeastern side. To this day, the names Meade, Maginess and Hawkins live on in Rathfriland, most notably in Iveagh Primary School where the three surnames are the name of the 'sporting houses' or teams and used on sports day.
Rathfriland lies in 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 ...
, the baronies Barony may refer to:
* Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron
* Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron
* Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
of Iveagh Lower, Lower Half
Iveagh Lower, Lower Half is the name of a barony in County Down, Northern Ireland. It was created by 1851 with the division of the barony of Iveagh Lower into two. It is bordered by six other baronies: Massereene Upper to the north; Castlereagh ...
and Iveagh Upper, Upper Half
Iveagh Upper, Upper Half is the name of a barony in County Down, Northern Ireland. It was created by 1851 with the division of the barony of Iveagh Upper into two. It lies to the west and south of the county, split in half by the Lordship of New ...
, the townlands of Rossconor and Lessize, the district electoral area of Knockiveagh, and the civil parishes of Drumballyroney
Drumballyroney is a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Iveagh Upper, Lower Half.
Settlements
The civil parish contains the following settlements:
*Rathfriland
Townlands
Drumballyroney civil par ...
and Drumgath
Drumgath is a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland, southwest of Rathfriland. It is situated in the historic barony of Iveagh Upper, Upper Half. It is also a townland of 375 acres.
Settlements
The civil parish contains the following se ...
.
Education
Education is provided by three schools:-
Primary Education
* Iveagh Primary School, a coeducational primary school that educates around 350 pupils aged from 3 to 11.
* St Mary's Primary School
Secondary Education
* Rathfriland High School
Rathfriland () is a market town in County Down, Northern Ireland.
History
In older documents written in English, the town's name was usually spelt ''Rathfylan'' or ''Rathfrilan''.
Transport
Rathfriland was served by Ballyroney railway station
Ballyroney railway station was on the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) which ran from Banbridge to Castlewellan in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the ...
, only a few miles away. Goods and passengers were transported from the station to the village. The former GNR (I) line between Banbridge and Newcastle was shut down in 1955 by the UTA.
Translink Translink (or TransLink) may refer to:
* TransLink (British Columbia), the public transport operator in Vancouver, Canada
* Translink (Northern Ireland)
Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a ...
now operates daily services between Rathfriland and Banbridge, Newry and Newcastle.
Sport
Rathfriland Rangers F.C.
Rathfriland Rangers Football Club is a Northern Ireland, Northern Irish intermediate football club, playing in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League.
Overview
The club is based in Rathfriland, County Down, was formed in 1962 and joined the Newca ...
play association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
in 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: ...
.
Other sporting clubs include:
* Rathfriland F.C. - formed in 1962.
* Rathfriland Bowling Club - level green bowls.
* Rathfriland Junior F.C. - formed in 2002.
* Drumgath G.A.C. - Gaelic games.
* Rathfriland Angling Club - game fishing On the Upper River Bann
The River Bann (from ga, An Bhanna, meaning "the goddess"; Ulster-Scots: ''Bann Wattèr'') is one of the longest rivers in Northern Ireland, its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). However, the total lengt ...
and Drumlough Lake.
Demography
Rathfriland is classified as a village by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency
The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA, ga, Gníomhaireacht Thuaisceart Éireann um Staitisticí agus Taighde, links=no) is an executive agency within the Department of Finance (Northern Ireland), Department of Finance in No ...
(NISRA). On census day (27 March 2011) there were 2,467 people living in Rathfriland.[ This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th]
Open Government Licence v3.0
© Crown copyright. Of these:
*21.44% were aged under 16 years and 18.00% were aged 65 and over
*48.24% of the population were male and 51.76% were female
*39.64% were from a Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
background and 55.41% 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 ...
background
Media
The town has had its own newspaper ('' The Outlook'') since 1940.
Notable people
Famous personalities with local connections include:
* Agnes Macready Australia's first war correspondent was born here in 1855.
*Theodosia Meade, Countess of Clanwilliam
Theodosia Hawkins-Magill (5 September 1743 in Brighton – 2 March 1817 in Brighton), later Countess of Clanwilliam, was a great heiress and landowner in County Down, Ireland.
Early life and family
She was the daughter and heir of Robert Hawkins ...
.
* Patrick Brontë
Patrick Brontë (, commonly ; born Patrick Brunty; 17 March 1777 – 7 June 1861) was an Irish Anglican priest and author who spent most of his adult life in England. He was the father of the writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, and of ...
, the father of the Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne) was born in 1777 in a cottage in Edenagarry on the outskirts of Annaclone
Annaclone () is a village and civil parish between Rathfriland and Banbridge in south County Down, Northern Ireland, about 7 km south-east of Banbridge. The village is situated in the townlands of Ardbrin and Tullintanvally and both it and ...
, where he lived until a local vicar paid his way to Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in 1802. While studying at Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
, he changed his name from Brunty to Brontë. He preached and taught at Drumballyroney Church and School House, between Rathfriland and Moneyslane. The Brontë Homeland Interpretative Centre is at Drumballyroney
Drumballyroney is a civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the historic barony of Iveagh Upper, Lower Half.
Settlements
The civil parish contains the following settlements:
*Rathfriland
Townlands
Drumballyroney civil par ...
.
* Andrew George Scott (alias " Captain Moonlight") was born in Rathfriland in 1842 in a house on Castle Hill. A notorious Australian bushranger
Bushrangers were originally escaped convicts in the early years of the British settlement of Australia who used the bush as a refuge to hide from the authorities. By the 1820s, the term had evolved to refer to those who took up "robbery under ...
.
* Margaret Byers
Margaret Byers (, Morrow; April 1832 – 21 February 1912) was an Irish educator, activist, social reformer, missionary, and writer of the long nineteenth century. She was the founder of Victoria College, Belfast. Byers was involved in philanthro ...
(née Morrow) was born in Rathfriland in 1832. Margaret Byers was a teacher, a businesswoman, a pioneer of higher education for girls, a philanthropist and a suffragist
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
. She said: "My aim was to provide for girls an education...as thorough as that which is afforded to boys in the schools of the highest order." She was given an honorary degree by Trinity College, Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
in 1905, and in 1908 Queen's University, Belfast
, mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back?
, top_free_label =
, top_free =
, top_free_label1 =
, top_free1 =
, top_free_label2 =
, top_free2 =
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public research university
, parent = ...
appointed her to its senate.
* Francis Brooks (1924-2010) was born in Rathfriland. He was a former bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dromore
The Diocese of Dromore is a Roman Catholic diocese in Northern Ireland. It is one of eight suffragan dioceses which are subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Armagh.[William Huston Dodd
William Huston Dodd (1844-17 March 1930) was an Irish politician, barrister and judge. He held the Crown office of Serjeant-at-law (Ireland), Irish Serjeant-at-law, sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as member for North Tyrone (UK ...]
(1844–1930) was born in Rathfriland, and was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution
The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...
and Queen's College, Belfast
, mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back?
, top_free_label =
, top_free =
, top_free_label1 =
, top_free1 =
, top_free_label2 =
, top_free2 =
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public research university
, parent = ...
. In 1873 he was called to the bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...
, and in 1896 he was appointed president of the Statistical and Social Enquiry Society. He served as a High Court judge from 1907 to 1924.
* Patrick Shea OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(1908–1986) was born in County Westmeath and since his father was a policeman, he spent his childhood in Athlone, Clones, County Monaghan, Rathfriland and Newry, County Down. His father served in the Royal Irish Constabulary
The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...
and had various postings until the RIC was disbanded on the Partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. I ...
in 1922. He later joined the Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...
, achieving the rank of head constable and later clerk of petty sessions in Newry
Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011.
Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...
. Patrick was educated by the Irish Christian Brothers, The Abbey, Newry. He joined the Northern Ireland Civil Service and attained the rank of permanent secretary in the Department of Education. He wrote ''Voices and the Sound of Drums''. He was made an honorary member of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects
The Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) is the professional body for registered architects in Northern Ireland.[Royal Society of Arts
The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...](_blank)
in 1977.
* John McAlery
John McCredy McAlery (29 November 1848 – 3 December 1925) was an Irish association football pioneer. His accomplishments include organizing the first ever properly organized football match in the history of Irish football in 1878, founding the ...
(1848/49–1925), Irish association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
pioneer, founder of first Irish football team (Cliftonville F.C.
Cliftonville Football & Athletic Club is a Northern Irish, semi-professional association football club playing in the NIFL Premiership – the top division of the Northern Ireland Football League. The club was founded in September 1879 by John ...
) in 1879, captained 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 ...
in its first ever international match in 1882
References
External links
{{authority control
Villages in County Down
Plantations (settlements or colonies)
Civil parish of Drumballyroney