Rostrevor

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

Rostrevor (in Irish: Ros Treabhair, ie Trevor’s Wood, also Caislean Ruairi, ie Rory's Castle) is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on Carlingford Lough and the hill of Slieve Martin, at the base of the Mourne Mountains and on the Kilbroney River. It had a population of 2,444 in the 2001 Census. The town is known for its folk music festival, Fiddler's Green Festival. It lies within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. The name 'Rostrevor' first appeared circa 1618 and was named after Rose Ussher (the daughter of Henry Ussher, the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh) by her husband Edward Trevor (who came from Brynkynallt in Wales).^[1]

Places of interest

Nearby Cloughmore (An Chloch Mhór in Irish or big stone) and the Kilfeaghan dolmen are big stones surrounded by legends. Cloughmore is a 30-ton granite rock perched on the slopes of Slieve Meen, 1000 ft above the village of Rostrevor. It was deposited there by retreating glaciers during the Ice Age. However, local legend says the giant stone was tossed across Carlingford Lough from the Cooley mountains opposite, during a fight between the legendary Irish giant Finn McCool and his archrival Ruscaire, the Ice Giant. One can see the outline of a sleeping Finn McCool in the Cooley Mountains from some places in Rostrevor. Also, walking around the stone seven times will apparently bring good luck.
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 Bronagh) stands in the graveyard on the Kilbroney road. It became a listed building in 1983.

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, a British commander during the American War of Independence. After defeating an American force at Bladensburgh in 1814, he entered Washington on August 24 and burned many buildings including the White House. Not long after, he was killed at the Battle of Baltimore. 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.
Famous within Ireland is Rostrevor born Peter McGrath. He managed the Down Gaelic football team to All-Ireland titles in 1991 and 1994, and the Ireland team for the International rules series.
Sir Francis Stronge lived in Kilbroney House.

Education

Both merged to form

St. Bronagh's Primary School

Other Schools:

Transport

Rostrevor Tram station opened on 1 August 1877 and finally closed in February 1915.^[2]

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

References

^ Raymonds County Down
^ "Rostrevor station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-11-24.