Rostrevor

For the place in Adelaide, South Australia, see Rostrevor, South Australia.

Rostrevor seen from Rostrevor Forest in 2010 (Carlingford Lough is to the left of the picture)

Rostrevor seen from Kilbroney Forest in 2006

Rostrevor welcome sign in Irish and English, with Slieve Meen in the background

Kilfeaghan dolmen

Rostrevor is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. It lies at the foot of Slieve Martin on the coast of Carlingford Lough. The Kilbroney River flows through the village.

Rostrevor had a population of 2,444 in the 2001 Census. The village is known for its folk music festival, Fiddler's Green Festival.

Name

Rostrevor was named by Edward Trevor who settled in the area in the early 17th century. Whilst it is accepted that the trevor part of the name derives from Edward's surname, there is confusion over the first element ros. Walter Harris writing in 1744 and Samuel Lewis writing in 1838 both attest the ros element as deriving from the name of Edward Trevor's wife Rose, whom he married in 1612. Hamilton, writing in 1915, discounts both and claims that Edward Trevor adopted the word ros (from Irish: rois) meaning wood as it was very suitable for the area. Harold O'Sullivan states that Edward Trevor named the area after he got married to his second wife Rose Trevor, and that the name was corrupted over time into Rostrevor. Adding to the confusion is the usage in the past of Rostrevor, Rosstrevor, and Rosetrevor to refer to the area.

Today the spelling Rostrevor is used for the village, while the spelling Rosstrevor is used for the townland the village resides in. Before Edward Trevor's renaming of the area it was formerly known as Caisleán Ruairí (English: Rory's castle).

Places of interest

Nearby Cloughmore is a 30-ton granite boulder perched on the slopes of Slieve Meen, 1000 ft above the village of Rostrevor, and known locally as 'the big stone'. It was deposited there by retreating glaciers during the Last Glacial Maximum. However, local legend says that the stone was thrown by a giant from the Cooley Mountains, on the other side of Carlingford Lough. Walking around the stone seven times will allegedly bring good luck. On top of this the views from the stone are stunning looking out over County Louth and Armagh and of course Carlingford Lough.

Kilfeaghan Dolmen is situated on the main Kilkeel to Newry road about three and three quarter miles from Rostrevor. It is a prehistoric dolmen and the site is dated between 2000 and 1000 BC. The capstone is said to be one of the biggest in Ireland and is estimated to weigh between 35 and 40 tons. Excavations at the site earlier this century unearthed various bones and pottery.

The old church, supposedly built on an original site established by St Brónach, stands in the graveyard on the Kilbroney road. It became a listed building in 1983.

In the villages Catholic church is the bell of Bronach, dating from around 900 A.D. There are many stories of how the bell used to scare locals walking past St Bronachs church on stormy nights. All they could hear was a mighty sound and did not know the source, many believed it to be a calling from God.

The village has 2 rivers, the Ghan and the fairy Glen so named because many fairies are suspected of living along the banks of the river.

The Troubles

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

People

• Rostrevor was the birthplace of Major General Robert Ross-of-Bladensburg, a British commander during the War of 1812. Ross's Monument stands above the Warrenpoint Road on the edge of the village. It is a tall granite obelisk erected to his memory in 1826.
• Rostrevor is also the birthplace of Ben Dunne, founder of the chain store Dunnes Stores.
• Peter McGrath, who managed the Down Gaelic football team to All-Ireland titles in 1991 and 1994, was born in Rostrevor. He also got the minor team to an All-Ireland title in 1987 and the under 21 team to an All-Ireland final in 2009.
• Sir Francis Stronge lived in Kilbroney House.
• Former Irish President Mary McAleese and her family lived in Rostrevor village centre before she was elected to office in 1997.
• Internationally acclaimed Irish Folk group The Sands Family live in Rostrevor and the group's independent record label, Spring Records has its recording studio there
• T. K. Whitaker, renowned economist and a pivotal figure in the development of the Republic of Ireland was born in Rostrevor.

Education

• St. Bronagh's Primary School
• Killowen Primary School
• Kilbroney Primary School

Horse Tram

Rostrevor Tram station opened on 1 August 1877 with a horse drawn tram service to Warrenpoint. It closed in February 1915.

2001 Census

Rostrevor is classified as an intermediate settlement by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie population between 2,250 and 4,500). On Census day (30 April 2001) there were 2,444 people living in Rostrevor. Of these:

• 25.7% were aged under 16 years and 17.8% were aged 60 and over
• 48.7% of the population were male and 51.3% were female
• 92.5% were from a Catholic background and 6.1% were from a Protestant background
• 5.1% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Sport

St. Bronagh's GAA club, have won the Down Senior Football Championship on two occasions, 1976 and 1998 and the Down Junior Hurling Championship on one occasion in 1994.^{[citation needed]} Rostrevor also has two soccer clubs competing in the Newry and Mourne District Leagues, the most successful of the two being Killowen Celtic^{[citation needed]} who play in the Premier Division and in 2010 were winners of the Kehoe Cars Bessbrook Cup, defeating one of the most successful teams in the area, Windmill Stars by a winning margin of 5 goals to two.^{[citation needed]}

References

• County Down.com
• UK Attractions - Cloughmore
• Newry and Mourne District Council – Kilfeaghan
• Megalithic Ireland – Kilfeaghan
• Culture Northern Ireland

See also

• List of villages in Northern Ireland
• List of towns in Northern Ireland
• Rostrevor College, a large school in Adelaide, Australia named after 'Rostrevor House', the main historic mansion residence constructed on the site in 1878 which itself was named after Rostrevor, Northern Ireland.