Killyleagh (; ) is a village and

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of Parish (administrative division), administrative parish used for Local government in England, local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below district ...

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 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

. It is on the

A22 road A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes' ...

between

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

and

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be th ...

, on the western side of

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough (from Old Norse ''Strangr Fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet"PlaceNames N ...

. It had a population of 2,483 people in the 2001 Census. It is best known for its twelfth century

Killyleagh Castle Killyleagh Castle is a castle in the village of Killyleagh, County Down, Northern Ireland. It dominates the small village and is believed to be amongst one of the oldest inhabited castles in the country, with parts dating back to 1180. It follows ...

. Killyleagh lies within the

Newry, Mourne and Down Ulster Scots: ''Newrie, Morne an Doon'' , settlement_type = District , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_type1 = Constituent country , subdivision_type2 = , subdivision_type3 = , subdivisi ...

district.

Demography

Killyleagh is classified as an intermediate settlement by th
NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)
(i.e. with population between 2000 and 4000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 2,483 people living in Killyleagh. Of these: *22.5% were aged under 16 years and 20.3% were aged 60 and over *49.5% of the population were male and 50.5% were female *60.4% were from a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

background and 37.8% were from a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

background *4.4% of people aged 16–75 were unemployed. For more details see
NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Places of interest

is a private family residence that is said to be the oldest inhabited castle in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It has been the home of the Hamilton family since the 17th century

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation ('' plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the se ...

and acquired its fairy-tale silhouette in the 1850s when the turrets were added, but it is mostly the same castle that the second Earl of Clanbrassil rebuilt in 1666. The castle hosts occasional concerts. In the past performers have included

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in ...

Arlo Guthrie Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his father, Woody Guthrie. G ...

, Jackson Browne,

Glen Hansard Glen Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and actor. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top ten ...

and Bap Kennedy. * Delamont Country Park is just outside Killyleagh on the road to Downpatrick.

People

*It was the birthplace of

Sir Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...

, 1st Bt. He began collecting plants and birds' eggs on the shores of

Strangford Lough Strangford Lough (from Old Norse ''Strangr Fjörðr'', meaning "strong sea-inlet"PlaceNames N ...

and his accumulation grew into a priceless collection that formed the nucleus of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

. He was also personal physician to King George II. *Reverend

Edward Hincks Edward Hincks (19 August 1792 – 3 December 1866) was an Irish clergyman, best remembered as an Assyriologist and one of the decipherers of Mesopotamian cuneiform. He was one of the three men known as the "holy trinity of cuneiform", with S ...

, a renowned

Assyriologist Assyriology (from Greek , ''Assyriā''; and , ''-logia'') is the archaeological, anthropological, and linguistic study of Assyria and the rest of ancient Mesopotamia (a region that encompassed what is now modern Iraq, northeastern Syria, southea ...

and

Egyptologist Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...

, was appointed

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second l ...

rector of Killyleagh in 1825, an office he was to hold for the remaining forty-one years of his life. *Killyleagh's adjacent townland, Moymore, was the birthplace of William Carr, who emigrated to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

USA, became an entrepreneur and left his fortune "to his Irish relatives." * Henry Cooke was the minister of 1st

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

, who went on to become Moderator of the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of pres ...

and a leading exponent of orthodox Presbyterianism in

in the mid 19th century. His statue in Belfast, standing outside the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

, is known as "The Black Man". *Killyleagh is the home town of David Healy, the retired

football player. Healy is Northern Ireland's record goalscorer by a considerable distance, with 36 goals. The second highest total is 20 goals. He also holds the record for most goals scored in a European Championship Qualifying Phase, with 13 goals during the country's failed bid to reach

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

. Healy's former Bury teammate

Trevor Carson Trevor Carson (born 5 March 1988) is a Northern Irish professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Scottish Premiership club Dundee F.C., Dundee. Born in Killyleagh, Northern Irel ...

is also from Killyleagh. * The present

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of List of English monarchs, English (later List of British monarchs, British) monarchs. ...

, The Prince Andrew, also has the title Baron Killyleagh. * Robert Lowry (1824–1904), born in Killyleagh, emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and became a judge and U.S. Representative from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

. * Thomas L. Young (1832-1888), born in Killyleagh, served as

Governor of Ohio A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

from 1877 to 1878. * Henry Blackwood (1781–1830), born and buried in Killyleagh, vice admiral in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by Kingdom of England, English and Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were foug ...

Twin town

Killyleagh is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with

Cleveland, North Carolina Cleveland is a town in the Cleveland Township of Rowan County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 871 at the 2010 census. History The town dates from 1831 but was not incorporated until 1833. The first post office in Cleveland ...

Civil parish of Killyleagh

The civil parish is mainly in the barony of Dufferin, with one

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

in the barony of Castlereagh Upper. It also contains the village of Killyleagh.

Townlands

The civil parish contains the following townlands: * Ardigoa * Ballyalgan * Ballygoskin * Ballymacarron * Ballymacromwell * Ballytrim * Ballywillin *

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay part ...

* Cluntagh *

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

* Corbally *

Corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

* Derryboy * Dodd's Island * Dunnyneill Islands * Gibb's Island *

Island Taggart An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

* Killinchy in the Woods *

Kirkland and Toy Kirkland may refer to: Places Canada * Kirkland, Quebec, Canada * Kirkland Island, British Columbia, Canada * Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada United Kingdom * Kirkland, Allerdale, Cumbria, England, a hamlet * Kirkland, Copeland, Cumbria, Engl ...

* Lisinaw * Moymore * Mullagh *

Pawle Island Pawle may refer to: *James and Janet Pawle, characters in '' Village of the Damned'', a 1960 British science fiction film * John Pawle (1915–2010), English sportsman, stockbroker, and painter *Lennox Pawle Lennox Pawle (27 April 1872, in Mary ...

* Rathcunningham * Ringdufferin *

Simmy Island Simphiwe Majobe Nhlangulela, better known by her stage name Simmy, is a South African singer-songwriter. She gained prominence in 2018, after signed a record deal with EL World Music and release her debut album ''Tugela Fairy'' (2018), spawne ...

Toy and Kirkland A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and ...

* Tullykin * Tullymacnous * Tullyveery

Sport

Killyleagh Youth F.C. Killyleagh Youth Football Club (also known as Killyleagh YC) is a Northern Irish, intermediate-level football club based in Killyleagh, near Downpatrick, playing in the Premier Division of the Northern Amateur Football League. The club was formed ...

play

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

in the

Northern Amateur Football League The Northern Amateur Football League, also known as the Northern Amateur League and often simply as the Amateur League, is an association football league in Northern Ireland. It contains 13 divisions. These comprise four intermediate sections: ...

References

External links

Killyleagh Primary School
{{authority control Villages in County Down Former boroughs in Northern Ireland