Down, county in the south-east of Northern Ireland, bounded by Antrim and Belfast Lough to the north, the Irish Channel to the east, Carlingford Bay to the south, Armagh to the west and Antrim to the north-west. It has a land area of 2,448 sq km (945 sq mi). The county is a rich mixture of rural life, seaside resorts, and a dormitory area for Belfast.
Nearly all the county is lowlying but undulating. In the south Slieve Donard in the Mourne Mountains rise to 852 m (2,796 ft) and Slieve Croob to 534 m (1,755 ft); both ranges are of granite. Except for the fertile north-east where clay is predominant, the soil tends to be shallow and stony. The uplands have poor soil and are predominantly moorland. To the north and east slate is found. A feature of the area are the drumlins, hillocks formed from boulder clay by glacial action. In Strangford Lough, a tidal inlet, the land is submerged and only the tops of the drumlins can be seen. In the Ards peninsula, the Neury basin, and around the river Bann, the land is lowlying and fertile.
Water for Belfast and neighbouring towns is supplied by reservoirs constructed in 1927 at Silent Valley; at Ben Croom in 1957 by damming the river Kilkeel; and at Spelga, the source of the river Bann, in 1960.
The principal rivers are the Lagan, Bann, Newry, and Quoile. Down has a mild climate: the average January temperature is 5° C and July 15° C. On the coast annual rainfall averages 825 mm (32 in) and in the Mourne Mountains 1,650 mm (65 in). It is the sunniest county of Northern Ireland.
The people of North and East Down are mainly Protestant, while the Catholic population centres are found in South Down.
Ards is a rural area east of Belfast and an administrative district with an estimated population of 5,500 (1992). It is a peninsula 32 km (20 mi) long and 6 km (4 mi) wide that separates Strangford Lough from the Irish Sea. The Lough foreshore has been designated as a nature reserve. The whole area is popular with tourists for its sandy beaches and many camping and caravan sites. At Portaferry there is a marine biology station.
Bangor, a popular seaside resort and residential area for Belfast, is also the administrative centre for North Down District which has an estimated population of 72,500 (1992).
Downpatrick is the administrative centre for Down District which has an estimated population of 58,800 (1992). It was at one time the regional capital. It is a busy market town, with a Protestant cathedral. St Patrick died at Saul Abbey near by. The Presbyterian church still has its original pews and pulpit.
Snipe and redshank can be seen at Quoile Pondage, and gannets, shearwaters, and skuas on the coast at St Johns and Ballyquintin Point-all in the vicinity of Downpatrick. Castle Ward is a National Trust property near Strangford with a dressing-up room and toys for children.
Banbridge is an administrative district with an estimated population of 33,800 (1992). The town is a residential, shopping, and commercial centre with some industry. The area is mainly agricultural, growing potatoes, root crops, rye grass for seed, and raising pigs, poultry, and cattle. Within the area are a number of small towns such as Dromore, a cathedral town on the river Lagan, Rathfriland, a small country town built on a Boulder clay drumlin 15 m (50 ft) high, and Scarva, where in July each year the local Orangemen commemorate the rendezvous of William III's armies before the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
Castlereagh, is an administrative area with an estimated population of 62,000 (1992) south-east of Belfast. It is a post-World War II residential area with a large industrial estate. Dundonald is a residential area for people working in Belfast, as is Newtownbreda where many residents supply the skilled labour needed in the aerospace industry.
Castlewellan, a market town, has an arboretum open to the public and a nursery for reforestation. Near Saintfield are the beautiful gardens of Rowallane, the headquarters of the Northern Ireland National Trust.
Ardglass was the main port for Down, and famous for its herring fishery. Ballynahinch is an agricultural town with chalybeate and sulphur springs. It manufactures textiles, agricultural machinery, and metal goods.
Newcastle, at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, and Killyleagh, are both popular seaside resorts. Nearby is Tollymore Park, a Forest Park noted for its conifers. It was the first to be established with its own environmental museum. Much valuable material was lost in a fire in 1972.
Other small resorts are Donaghadee, Ballywater, and Rostrevor, which is a centre for walking, boating, angling, and pony trekking.
Lisburn is an administrative district with an estimated population of 100,300 (1992). The industrial town has a cathedral with Huguenot graves in the churchyard. Many Huguenots sought refuge in Ireland and brought their advanced knowledge of textiles with them. With the decline in the linen industry the town has had to diversify.
Newry and Mourne district was formed in 1975 partly from Down and partly from Armagh and has an estimated population of 83,700 (1992). Newry is the administrative centre. It is an old frontier town with a small port connected to the sea at Carlingford Lough by the Newry Canal. It has a Roman Catholic Cathedral and the oldest Protestant church in Ireland.
Agriculture is the most important contribution to the economy. Varying soil conditions make the northern area suitable for dairying and market gardening; on the Ards peninsula and lowlying east, on the other hand, wheat, barley, and oats are grown; potatoes are grown wherever the soil is fertile enough. Sheep, cattle, and pigs are reared.
Shale and clay are quarried near Killough Bay. Much of the traditional manufacturing of the area has declined and diversification into synthetic textiles, agricultural machinery, and light engineering has taken its place.
The county was reorganized in 1975 and divided into seven local government districts formed from part of Armagh and part of Down: Ards, Banbridge, Castlereagh, Down, Lisburn, North Down, and Newry and Mourne.
"Down," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 97 Encyclopedia. (c) 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
[Home]