Kilkeel

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Kilkeel
Cill Chaoil

Location

WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
54.059° N 5.992° W

Statistics

Population (2001)

6,338

Kilkeel (in Irish:Cill Chaoil, ie church of the narrow place) is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the main fishing port on the Down coast, and the town’s harbour houses one of the largest fishing fleets in Ireland. It had a population of 6,338 people in the 2001 Census. The town contains the ruins of a 14th century church in the centre, winding streets, terraced shops and a fort also dating from the 14th century. A much newer attraction is the Nautilus Centre.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Economy
4 People
5 Tragedy
6 2001 Census
7 Education
8 References
9 See also

[edit] Geography

Kilkeel is located on the south east most point of County Down, east of the city of Newry and south of the capital Belfast. It is situated on the sea and is surrounded by the Mountains of Mourne. It is about 4 miles away from the important Silent Valley Reservoir which supplies most of the water to Northern Ireland. Four miles from kilkeel is Cranfield beach, which is a European blue flag beach. Facilities here include: shop, tourist information, life guard station, toilets, children's play area and accommodation in the surrounding caravan parks.

[edit] History

Picture of "Narrow Church"

Kilkeel takes its name from the old church overlooking the town, it being the anglicised version of the Gaelic 'Cill Choal'. For many years it was thought to translate to 'Narrow Church' however nowadays it is thought to mean 'The Church of/in the Narrow Place' and because of its location, on an elevated narrow site this seems to have been confirmed.

It is believed that this old church was financed by a Spanish noble family after their son had been drowned and washed ashore and given a Christian burial by the locals. However there are references to Kilkeel as a Christian settlement as far back as the 11th century. Kilkeel is the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Mourne and even today the surrounding area is referred to as the Kingdom of Mourne.

The old church, dating back to the 13th century was dedicated to St. Colman and was known in 1388 as 'St Colman Del Morne'. It was thought to be the principal Church in a group which included Kilmegan and Kilcoo despite the fact that Kilkeel was very sparsely populated in the Middle Ages. The cemetery attached to the church was used for burials until the early years of last century. Some of the victims of the collision between two steamer in Carlingford Lough in 1916 were the last people to be buried there.

[edit] Economy

Picture of Kilkeel harbour

The harbour at Kilkeel bustles with the province's largest fleet, and is busiest during landings and at auction time when fish, including herring, are sold on the quay. There are fish-processing factories around the port, pleasure angling off the piers and miles of lobster pots along the coast.

[edit] People

The town is also known as the location where William Hare died.
Robert Hill Hanna (1887 - 1967), was an immigrant Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was a Company Sergeant-Major in the 29th (Vancouver) Bn., Canadian Expeditionary Force during World War I when on 21 August 1917, he led a courageous action at Hill 70 Lens, France. He was born near Hanna's Close in Kilkeel and still has many members of family remaining in the area. His personal sword is on the wall of Kilkeel British Legion.

[edit] Tragedy

On 14 February 2002 The Tullaghmurray Lass left Kilkeel Harbour to fish for prawns. When the boat failed to return when expected a huge search mission was organised involving local fishing boats, the RNLI, HM Coastguard, the Royal Navy and the Irish Navy.

Two months later the main body of the wreckage and the bodies of the three crew were recovered. Tragically, the three victims were from the same family. Michael Green (54), his son (32) and grandson (8), both of whom were also called Michael, died in the accident. An inquest found that a gas explosion on the boat causing huge damage caused it to sink.

[edit] 2001 Census

Kilkeel is classified as a Small Town by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 4,500 and 10,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 6,338 people living in Kilkeel. Of these:

26.2% were aged under 16 years and 18.2% were aged 60 and over
48.4% of the population were male and 51.6% were female
31.2% were from a Catholic background and 67.9% were from a Protestant background
3.5% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service