Dufferin () is a historic

barony 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 ...

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 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It is on the southern half of the west shore of

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough () is a large sea lough or inlet in County Down, in the east of Northern Ireland. It is the largest inlet in Ireland and the wider British Isles, covering . The lough is almost fully enclosed by the Ards Peninsula and is linke ...

, and is bordered by three other baronies: Castlereagh Lower to the north;

Castlereagh Upper Castlereagh Upper (named after the former barony of Castlereagh) is a historic barony in County Down, Northern Ireland. It was created by 1841 with the division of Castlereagh into two. It is bordered by eight other baronies: Castlereagh Lower an ...

to the west; and

Lecale Lower Lecale Lower (named after the former barony of Lecale) is a barony in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies to the east of the county with Strangford Lough to its north and the Irish Sea to its right. It is bordered by five other baronies: Lecale ...

to the south.

History

Dufferin, along with the barony of

Kinelarty Kinelarty () is a former Irish district and barony in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies east of the centre of the county, and is bordered by five other baronies: Iveagh Upper, Lower Half to the west; Lecale Upper to the south and south-eas ...

and part of Castlereagh was at one time part of the territory of the ''Cenél Foghartaigh'' (Kinelarty), ruled by the ''Mac Artáin'' (MacCartan) sept. The ''Ó Labhradha'' (Lowry, Lavery) sept are also noted in Dufferin. In the reign of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

the White family, who were originally from Flemington in

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, became Lords of the Manor of Dufferin.

Patrick White Patrick Victor Martindale White (28 May 1912 – 30 September 1990) was an Australian novelist and playwright who explored themes of religious experience, personal identity and the conflict between visionary individuals and a materialistic, co ...

(died 1561), the first of the White family to own Dufferin, was second Baron of the

Court of Exchequer (Ireland) The Court of Exchequer (Ireland), or the Irish Exchequer of Pleas, was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was the mirror image of the equivalent court in England. The Court of Exchequer was one of the four royal courts of jus ...

. The Whites, although they were driven away for a time due to local disturbances, owned Dufferin until 1610, when they sold the barony to

James Hamilton, 1st Viscount Claneboye James Hamilton, 1st Viscount Claneboye (c. 1560 – 24 January 1644) was a Scot who became owner of large tracts of land in County Down, Ireland, and founded a successful Protestant Scots settlement there several years before the Plantation o ...

.''Ulster Journal of Archarology'' Vol. 13 pp. 126-128

Baron Dufferin and Claneboye Baron Dufferin and Claneboye, of Ballyleidy and Killyleagh in County Down, Northern Ireland, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 30 July 1800 for Dame Dorcas Blackwood, widow of Sir John Blackwood, 2nd Baronet, Member of t ...

, of Ballyleidy and Killyleagh in County Down, is a title in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

, created in 1800 for Dorcas Blackwood from Killyleagh, who was a direct descendant of the 1st Viscount Claneboye.

Settlements

Below is a list of settlements in Dufferin: * Killinchy *

Killyleagh Killyleagh (; ) is a village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the A22 road between Belfast and Downpatrick, on the western side of Strangford Lough. It had a population of 2,787 people in the 2021 Census. It is bes ...

Civil parishes

Below is a list of civil parishes in Dufferin: * Killinchy (also partly in the baronies of Castlereagh Lower and Castlereagh Upper) *

(also partly in the barony of Castlereagh Upper)

References

Barony of Dufferin Earldom of Ulster Ulaid {{Down-geo-stub