Dromore, County Down

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Not to be confused with Dromore, County Tyrone.

Coordinates: 54°24′52″N 6°08′57″W / 54.4145°N 6.1491°W / 54.4145; -6.1491

Dromore
Irish: Droim Mór
Dromore is located in Northern Ireland
Dromore

 Dromore shown within Northern Ireland
Population 4,968 (2001)
Irish grid reference J201533
    - Belfast  19 miles 
District Banbridge District
County County Down
Country Northern Ireland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DROMORE
Postcode district BT25
Dialling code 028, +44 28
Police Northern Ireland
Fire Northern Ireland
Ambulance Northern Ireland
EU Parliament Northern Ireland
UK Parliament Lagan Valley
List of places: UK • Northern Ireland • Down

Dromore (from the Irish: Droim Mór meaning "large ridge") is a small market town in the Lagan Valley, in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies 19 miles south-west of Belfast, on the A1 Belfast to Dublin road. It had a population of 4,968 people in the 2001 Census. The town is in the Banbridge District Council area.

The town's centre is Market Square, which has a rare set of stocks. It is in the linen manufacturing district. Remains of a castle and earthworks are to be seen, together with a large ráth or encampment known as the Priest's Mount, on the Maypole Hill.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] The Troubles

For more information see The Troubles in Dromore (Down), which includes a list of incidents in Dromore during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.

[edit] Today

Market Square, Dromore, before the redevelopment of the town hall grounds.

The Dromore Town Centre Development Plan, published in July 2003, outlines that of the 190 units within Dromore Town Centre, over one quarter are vacant. This is despite the recent population growth in the town; a result of the proximity to the A1 and resultant commuting access to Belfast. The green-field development in recent years has mostly been around the edges of the town, and the doughnut effect has led to these houses being disconnected from the town centre. The population of Dromore tends to travel to nearby Banbridge or Sprucefield to shop, which has caused the high levels of obvious dereliction. Despite this, the fast-food trade is booming in the town centre, with no less than six fast-food outlets in the Market Square and Bridge Street area.

The plan highlights the under use of the River Lagan as a resource in the town, as well as the poorly used public space around the Town Hall in the Market Square. The square's 18th Century layout is protected, however is identified as a traffic problem, which is exacerbated by poor parking provision and enforcement of parking restrictions. The introduction of privatised NCP Parking Attendants in Northern Ireland has helped to relieve this particular problem, although in the evenings and at peak times, regularity in the style of parking is often non-existent. A pelican crossing has been introduced into the centre of the town (in 2009) between the inside and outside of the square, bringing centuries of crossing the road at one's own risk to an end.

In 2008, the area surrounding the Town Hall was cleared in order to facilitate the construction of leisure space. The project was completed in six months and now has benches and pathways in place of a cramped car park. The general aesthetics of the site have also been improved.

[edit] Demographics

Dromore is classified as a small town by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 4,500 and 10,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 4,968 people living in Dromore. Of these:

  • 23.9% were aged under 16 years and 17.5% were aged 60 and over
  • 48.2% of the population were male and 51.8% were female
  • 13.0% were from a Catholic background and 83.4% were from a Protestant background
  • 2.5% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

[edit] Transport and Communications

Dromore is well served by the Translink Goldline Express bus service 238, running between Belfast and Newry. Translink Ulsterbus service 38 links the town with Belfast, Banbridge and Lisburn (which the 238 express bypasses). However the 38 can stop at all urban and rural bus stops, adding roughly an extra thirty minutes to the Belfast bound journey.

Dromara Road at Ballysallagh, facing Kinallen and Dromara.

Local residents enjoy short journey times to Belfast (approximately 25-30 minutes off-peak), Lisburn and Banbridge due to the high-quality A1/M1 expressways. Belfast International Airport is around 40 minutes away using the A26 (Moira-Antrim road) while Dublin Airport is around 80 to 90 minutes away using the A1/M1.

The area is also linked with Craigavon (in particular Lurgan) and Ballynahinch, with the B2 Lurgan Road and B2 Ballynahinch Road respectively. Surrounding villages, such as Kinallen, Dromara and Donaghcloney, are served by unclassified rural routes.

Presently, a grade separated junction featuring an underpass, is being constructed at the junction of the B2 Banbridge Road, A1 dual-carriageway and Rowantree Road. It is one of four junctions being grade separated along the route as part of £30 million of safety improvements.[1]. It follows the successful construction of a similar style junction at the B2 Hillsborough Road/A1 junction on the northern end of the town.

For the main article, see Lisburn telephone exchange code

The town's (and the province's) official area code is 028 (048 from the Republic of Ireland). All local BT numbers begin with '9269' ('92' being the code for Lisburn and its surrounding towns). Therefore local numbers usually appear as (028) 9269 xxxx. Prior to the introduction of province-wide 8-digit dialling, Dromore was covered by the Lisburn '01846' area code and it is still not uncommon to hear details quoted with the old 6-digit local number (69xxxx) and the area code being said incorrectly as '02892'.

[edit] Places of interest

  • The Cathedral Church of Christ the Redeemer is situated on a monastic site founded by St Colman in 510 AD. Dromore Cathedral is the Anglican/Episcopal (Church of Ireland) parish in the town of Dromore, County Down, Northern Ireland, as well as being one of the sister Cathedral churches in the United Diocese of Down and Dromore. The Cathedral Church of Christ the Redeemer is a Seventeenth Century Church, built on a site used for Christian worship for almost 1500 years. St Colman of Dromore set up a small daub and wattle church on this site in 510 AD. Probably thatched with reeds from the River Lagan which flows beside it, this church site has been, for the fifteen centuries since, a location for the worship of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of all humanity. The Cathedral stands in the centre of the historic, yet rapidly growing market town of Dromore in the heart of County Down, on the North bank of the River Lagan. Some 570 families make up the Parish of Dromore and the pattern of worship in the Cathedral reflects the wide range of ages and tastes across the parish. The Church serves mainly as a Parish church for the developing community but is also a centre of Diocesan life. Little evidence is available for the first 700 years of St Colman’s Church. There is no indication of either its size or style. In the twelfth century, the English King Henry II revised a system of dioceses and bishops which covered the entire island of Ireland. One of those dioceses, named Dromore, took as its base this Cathedral Church. There had been bishops and abbots before then, but from this time the history becomes more complete. A medieval church, about which no record exists, was destroyed in the late 1500’s. it was King James I who, in 1609, issued letters Patent giving the Church of St Colman a new title and a new status: The Cathedral Church of Christ the Redeemer, Dromore (known as Dromore Cathedral). That building was destroyed in 1641 by Irish Insurgents. A new structure, of which small portions are still visible, was built by Bishop Jeremy Taylor some twenty years later in 1661. A narrow structure of around twenty feet wide and one hundred feet long was first built. This forms the base of the current tower aisle. A tower was then built, but soon dismantled. The Percy aisle was added by Bishop Thomas Percy in 1811. This aisle sits at right angles to the Tower aisle, opposite the pulpit. A semi-circular Sanctuary in memory of Jeremy Taylor was designed by Thomas Drew FRSA during the ministry of Canon Beresford Knox in 1870. The Organ aisle and Baptistery were added at the same time creating an ‘L’ shaped building. Finally, the church was made rectangular with the addition of the Harding aisle parallel to the Tower aisle in 1899.
  • Dromore contains the best preserved Anglo-Norman motte-and-bailey castle in Ireland, which dates from the 13th century. Dromore Mound or Dromore Motte and Bailey as it is commonly known is probably Dromore’s most recognisable feature. It was built by Sir John de Courcy after the Norman Conquest in the 13th Century. The bailey or lower courtyard was said to have been protected by palisading and the mound itself was an archery tower, which gave good vision and a reasonable field of fire. The height and well-defined slopes provide unsurpassed views of the town and the upper Lagan Valley.

[edit] People

Past and present famous residents include:

[edit] Education

[edit] Sport

Despite the town's small population, Dromore has a multitude of sport teams and venues.

The two most prominent sports in the town are soccer and rugby union, with hockey, lawn bowls and athletics having some popularity also.

[edit] Soccer

The town has one senior soccer team, Dromore Amateurs, who compete in a regional league.

Dromore also has its very own Grassroots Football set-up, Dromore Amateurs Youth Football Club which coaches kids from all over the Banbridge district. Having only recently formed in 2005/06 the Club has continued to grow from strength to strength and the Club now cater for an impressive 200 kids from ages 7 to 14.

The Club currently runs 6 youth teams. For the 2008/09 season they had teams from the Under 9s & Under 10s playing in the Mid Ulster Mini Soccer League. There are also four teams in the Mid Ulster Youth League, one at Under 12s, one at Under 13s and two at Under 14s level. The club is also affiliated to the Northern Ireland Boys Football Association and enters teams into the N.I.B.F.A. Cup.

Soccer is also very popular as a social sport, with many groups playing on a daily basis at one of the several municipal pitches.

[edit] Rugby

Rugby union is represented through Dromore Rugby Football Club, who have had some success in recent years.

[edit] Facilities

The major sporting locations in the town are Ferris Park, named after local Olympian Sam Ferris, and Dromore Leisure Centre, which offers both indoor and outdoor pitches, as well as a gymnasium. Both are maintained by Banbridge District Council.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ ""Northern Ireland Roads Site: New & Future Road Schemes.". Wesley Johnston. http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/roads/a1banbridgeroaddromore.html. Retrieved 2008-07-09. 
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