Barony of Iveagh Upper, Lower Half
Union Of Kilkeel
1863 Griffiths Valuation Index
Midifile playing is "The Spinning Wheel"
(Landowners in 1876 can be got from the index on the main page of the website under Land Deeds)
Condition of the poorer classes in Ireland,
appendix, baronial examination on food, cottages ,clothing, furniture,etc.
Account of Sums applotted by Vestries in
Ireland under Parochial Rates, 1827
Kilcoo parish church records, source and dates,
Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist churches
I would like to thank Tom Porter of Newcastle for his help with some of the material on the website,
This section of the website is being worked on, anyone having information or photographs they would like to put on here please email me.
Newcastle, one of Northern Ireland's premier seaside resorts, owes much of its popularity to its proximity to Slieve Donard, the highest peak in the Mourne range, which towers over it. For beauty of situation, few resorts can rival what was once considered 'the Queen of Irish watering places' and 'The Brighton of the North'.
The town is often closely associated with Percy French who wrote the song Where the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea, and there are at least four houses in the town where it is supposed to have been written. (In fact the song was inspired by the view from the beach at Skerries, north of Dublin, and written in London!). Nevertheless, a fountain was erected in his honour on the promenade. Newcastle is built facing the sea and stretches for almost two miles along the most westerly curve of Dundrum Bay and is noted for its invigorating air, its excellent golf links of championship standard and the numerous facilities it affords for recreation and amusement.
The town received its name from a castle which was built around the time of the Spanish Armada near the bridge which crosses the Shimna River. All traces of the castle have now disappeared and on the site is the Newcastle Centre and Tropicana catering for the thousands of visitors during the summer. Castle Park, in the middle of the town, offers facilities for tennis, bowls, putting, etc. and has a boating lake. The harbour which now affords shelter for pleasure craft was once a fishing port but two tragedies in the nineteenth century, resulting in the loss of over one hundred fishermen, decimated the fishing fleet. The Widows' Row, on a site overlooking the harbour, was built by public subscription for the dependants of some of the 46 local victims who perished in the disaster of Friday the 13th of January 1843.
The coming of the railway in 1869 injected new life into Newcastle when the railway company built a plush hotel and offered an excursion fare of three shillings and six pence (17 1/2 p) - a new resort was in business!
The Mourne Mountains, in the south east corner of County Down are known, by name at least, all over the world. This is due, in some part to the popular song by Percy French, "Where the Mountains sweep down to the sea". The range stretches from Newcastle, where Slieve Donard, the highest peak in Northern Ireland (852m), towers over the holiday resort to Rostrevor, some fifteen miles to the south west. At its widest point this mountain mass is around seven miles and above 200m is not arable and virtually uninhabited.
The Mourne's are among the youngest of Ireland's mountains. For millions of years the hard granite from which they are formed lay buried deep beneath several thousand feet of sedimentary rocks and it was not until the long process of erosion was well advanced - possibly around twenty million years ago - that the more resistant igneous granite was exposed. Various ice ages have played their part in altering the appearance of the mountains when countless gigantic boulders were swept down to the coastal plain to form raised beaches.
The range contains more than sixty separate hills, with nine of them rising to more than 600 metres. Most of the highest peaks are grouped together in the north-east part of the range in what is generally regarded as the High Mournes. According to tradition it was a cow-herd king named Boirche who, during Celtic times, ruled his Kingdom "from Dunseverick to the Boyne" from the summit of Slieve Binnian, that gave the Mournes their earlier name of "Beanna (peaks of) Boirche".
The are two schools of thought on the present day name of Mourne. According to Harris, (1744) the name derives from the Gaelic words more and rinn (great headland). The other version is that the name was brought to the area in the twelfth century by members of the McMahon clan from their homelands in Cremourne, "the territory of the Mughdhorna" in Co. Monaghan. The latter version of the origin of the name is now generally accepted.
This information was sent to me by Pete Meaney, taken from the
Mourne Observer c 1953
The Old Grey Mare's Still Going Strong
"Time marches on" was the theme at annual licensing meeting of
Newcastle Urban Council when only two of the original 97 hackney licences were
renewed for the coming season.
Gone are the quips and cracks and the comic cards with the visitor's impression
of a six feet jump from the Irish jaunting car, but the tradition is still
carried on by two old timers, Hugh Meaney, Maghera, Dundrum, and Henry
McConville, Ballyloughlin, Dundrum.
Both now in their seventy third year, have been driving for
over 60 years, and recall the "Good old days" of the gay nineties when about 150
cars plied for hire.
Commenting on changed times, Hughie as he is known on the hackney stand, says
despite the numbers of jaunting cars available they were never idle for more
than five minutes, whereas now the main trade is at the weekends. Both recall
the times when the only transport available to Warrenpoint, was by jaunting car,
and remember trains of fifty to fifty five cars end to end ferrying passengers
round the coast at £1 per car for the fifty mile round journey.
Mr. Meaney on one occasion after returning from Warrenpoint and
stabling his horse had to turn out again for a run to Belfast. Starting his
fifty sixth consecutive year driving at Newcastle, Harry says its not only the
passengers who wont make the journey, its the horses, the horses were better
bred then and the corn feeding was better. Horses in the early days did the
fifty mile coast journey with ease, now I would not do any more than ten miles.
Despite the competition of modern conveyances when everybody wants to go
faster, the two old stagers are preparing the cars and hitching old Dobbin for
the coming season.
Newcastle
The Newcastle Fishing Disaster of 1843
Awful Calamity
(More information on this disaster and names involved, is on the Annalong section of the Mourne index page on this website.)
On the morning of the 13th instant, a number of men proceeded to their fishing stations, off the Mourne and Newcastle coast, and were for some hours engaged at their occupation, when a tremendous gale sprang up, against which they were unable to contend, and after a lengthened, but ineffectual struggle to reach the shore. Seventy three individuals perished, leaving thirty seven widows, one hundred and fifty seven children, and forty two other dependents, in a state of total destitution. Of this number forty six men belonged to Newcastle, leaving twenty seven widows, one hundred and eighteen children, and twenty one dependents. Twenty seven men belonged to Mourne, leaving ten widows, thirty nine children and seventy six other dependents.
The humane and benevolent, it is hoped will sympathise with these helpless sufferers, by bountifully contributing to their temporal relief-"For he that giveth unto the poor lendeth unto the Lord".
Below is a list of fishermen lost of the coast of Newcastle, County Down, on the 13th. January 1843, with a list of the number of widows and orphans.
| NAMES | NUMBER | REMARKS |
| OF CHILDREN | ||
| Harry Cunnigan | 4 | No support, the children being all young |
| Pat. Cunnigan | 2 | Infant children, and wretchedly poor |
| William Magill | 4 | Children young, and very poor |
| John Morgan | 4 | Children young, and very poor |
| William King | 5 | Very poor, and no means of support |
| James O'Neal | 3 | Children young, and very poor, the only support of his father |
| James Charleton | 2 | Widow near her confinement and very poor |
| Bryan Harrold | 1 | Son grown up, but poor |
| William McKibbin | 3 | Very poor |
| Pat Burns | 3 | Very poor |
| John Rooney | 5 | All young, her eldest son being drowned with his father |
| Andrew McClelland | 3 | Widow near her confinement and very poor |
| John McClelland | 3 | Very poor and no means of support, near Newcastle |
| William Burns | 5 | Children all young and helpless, limited means |
| James Hunter | 4 | Young children |
| Thomas Cunningham | 1 | Child young |
| The above 16 men who were drowned, left 16 widows | ||
| Richard Savage | 1 | Son grown up but very poor |
| John Hamill | 3 | Very poor and no means of support in Newcastle |
| Daniel Magennis | 1 | Daughter grown up but poor |
| John Magennis | 5 | Very poor |
| Thomas Cunnigan | 1 | Orphan, mother and orphan, wretchedly poor |
| Pat Cunnigan | 3 | Poor and no means of support |
| John Cunnigan | 2 | Poor and no means of support |
| Francis Ward | ||
| Arthur Ward | 2 | Much distressed, having lost her principal support |
| John Ward | ||
| Pat Curlett | 1 | Two old aunts to support |
| The above men who were drowned left 11 widows, | ||
| Robert Lowey | 1 | Orphan children |
| Henry Smyth | 2 | |
| William Doran | 2 | Very poor |
| Samuel Menarry | 5 | Very poor |
| William Kerr | 5 | Very poor |
| Robert Teer | 6 | Very poor |
| Phelemy Harrold | Father and mother, very old | |
| James Groves | 2 | Very poor |
| William Henderson | 3 | Afflicted by sickness, and very poor |
| Joseph Laws | 2 | Poor, having lost 2 sons and 2 grand children |
| James Rooney | 1 | |
| William Rooney | 6 | Large family and poor |
| Charles Smith | 3 | Poor |
| Edward Burns | 3 | Poor |
| Peter McRickard | 5 | Poor |
| John Rooney | Son to John | Who is lost |
| Frank McClelland | 1 sister 1 child | Sister very poor |
| Pat Rogers | 1sister | poor |
Below is a list of fishermen lost of the coast of Annalong, County Down, on the 13th. January 1843, with a list of the number of widows and orphans. and dependants.
| Names | Remarks |
| Alexander Orr * | Left widow and 4 children, Poor |
| John Doran * | Left widow and 7 children, very poor |
| John Mc Crum * | 7 dependants, a widowed mother,3brothers and 3 sisters, very poor |
| Samuel Gordon * | 4 dependants, father and mother and 2 sisters, poor |
| Henry Burden * | Left widow with one child, very poor |
| Patrick Savage * | 8 dependants, father and mother with 6 children, very poor |
| James McKibbin * | 5 dependants, father and mother and 3 sisters, poor |
| John McGrory * | 5 dependants, widowed mother, widowed sister,2 brothers,& sister, poor |
| Hugh Mc Grory * | An orphan child about 8 years old |
| Thomas McGrory * | 6 dependants, father and mother, 3 brothers and 1 sister, poor |
| John McStay * | Left widow and 5 children, widow pregnant, extremely poor |
| Bernard McGrory * | 4 dependants, a father, mother and 2 sisters, very poor |
| Daniel McNeilly | Left a widow and 4 children, extremely poor |
| Robert McIlveney | 3 dependants, a widowed mother and two orphan children, extremely poor |
| Pat. McIlveney | Left a widow and 2 children, extremely poor and widow pregnant |
| Adam Trew | Left a widow and 5 children, and widowed mother, extremely poor |
| James Hughes | 3 dependants, father and mother very old and 1 sister, very poor |
| John Skillen | Left a widow and 4 children, poor |
| James Morrison | 4 dependants, father and mother and 2 sisters, poor |
| Bernard Doran | Left a widow, poor |
| Hugh Curran | 1 dependant, an orphan sister, poor |
| Hugh Smith | 4 dependants, father and mother, 1 brother and 1 sister poor |
| Daniel McGrory | 3 dependants, an aged aunt and 2 brothers, poor |
| John Cunningham | 6 dependants, father and mother, 3 sisters and 1 brother |
| John McCreanor | 7 dependants, father and mother with 5 young children, poor |
| John Orr | 6 dependants, a widowed mother, 3 sisters and 2 brothers, poor |
| * These 12 men lost their lives to save the lives of others. The boat of John and Hugh McGrory was also lost | |
Slieve Donard
( How the mountain got its name by Tom Porter )
Slieve Donard, at 2796 feet (852metres), is the highest mountain
not only in the Mournes but also in
How this came about is as follows ...
On his journey from Saul to Tara, Patrick and his entourage encamped in or near
what is now the village of Maghera near Newcastle. Patrick approached Domangard
and asked him to help him on his journey. Domangard, who is said to have been a
ferocious and war like chief, had little sympathy for Patrick and offered him a
bull. This was not as generous as it sounds for Domangard knew that the bull was
so fierce that it could not be taken. However, Patrick plaited a rope from straw
and placed it over the head of the animal and led it out like a lamb the bull was
killed cut up salted and packed away. When Domangard heard that the animal had
been taken, he denied that he had given it to Patrick and accused him of theft,
Domangard swore by the wind sun and moon that he would banish Patrick and all his
followers from the territory an argument ensued and eventually Patrick said he
could have the bull back. He called for a sheet to be spread on the ground and
reassembled the bulls remains as best as he could, He
then knelt down and prayed to the disposer of all things to restore the animal to
its former life and ferocity. The distorted joints of the bull were replaced in
their respective sockets and all the organs restored to their original functions,
the animal immediately started into life as ferocious as ever.
Domangard was terrified at the sight and threw himself at the feet of the Saint,
begging him to take him under his protection and baptize him. From that moment
the ferocious and warlike chief became a meek and humble disciple of Patrick, he
resigned his chieftmanship, abandoned his fortified
residence and betook himself to the summit of Slieve Slanga to spend the rest of
his life fasting and praying. Nearer to the present day, Walter Harris, in his
antient and present state of County Down (1744), notes that the mountain was for
a time called Mount Malby, seemingly one Nicholas
Malby served in
Tollymore Forest Park
Although Tollymore Forest Park was opened to the public in its present form in 1955, Tollymore Park has long been a famous beauty spot, and finds a place in a number of travel books written more than two hundred years ago. An advertisement offering lodgings in Bryansford village, taken from the Belfast News-Letter for 26th April, 1785, declares that the house has "a most pleasing prospect of the Right hon. Earl of Clanbrassil's much admired demesne which is beautiful to the sight and extensive in its bounds and the herbage on which the goats feed makes it, much frequented by ladies and gentlemen for the recovery of their, lost health".
Tollymore was one of the seven and a half townlands granted to Brian MacHugh MacAgholy Magennis in 1611 by James 1st. The property remained in the Magennis family until about 1685 when Bryan Magennis died unmarried and Tollymore became the property of his sister Ellen who had married Captain William Hamilton. From the Hamiltons (Lord Limerick) the estate passed, again through the distaff side, to the Jocelyns, one of whom was later created Earl of Roden.
Tollymore Park remained in the Roden family until it was sold to the Department of Agriculture in 1941 and is now one of Northern Ireland's main tourist attractions. The house was demolished in the 1760's
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH RECORDS
Bryansford and Newcastle
| Location | Reference | Nature |
| National Library of Ireland | Pos.5477 | Microfilm |
| Baptism | Marriage | Burials |
| Feb.24th.1845 to Dec.30th.1880 | March 25th.1845 to Dec.28th.1880 | April 18th.1860 to Nov.8th.1880 |
CHURCH OF IRELAND CHURCH RECORDS
Kilcoo
| Location | Reference | Nature |
| None | Pos.5477 | Microfilm |
| Baptism | Marriage | Burials |
| 1786 to 1879 | 1828 to 1845 | 1828 to 1879 |
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH RECORDS
Newcastle
| Location | Reference | Nature |
| Public Record Office of Northern Ireland | MIC.1P/383 | Microfilm |
| Baptism | Marriage | Burials |
| 1881 to1921 | 1846 to 1912 |
METHODIST CHURCH RECORDS
Newcastle
| Location | Reference | Nature |
| Local Custody | Original | |
| Baptism | Marriage | Burials |
| 1892 |
1836- 1836
