Rathfriland

Rathfriland (in Irish: Ráth Fraoileann, ie Fraoile’s Fort) is a large market village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a hilltop Plantation of Ulster village between the Mourne Mountains, Slieve Croob and Banbridge and is in the barony of Upper Iveagh. It had a population of 2,079 people in the 2001 Census. It is within the Banbridge District Council area.

The town was once owned by John Percy Meade, (1847-1919), (see his great-grandmother: Theodosia Hawkins-Magill), who was the lineal descendant of Alderman Hawkins of London, who received the site and a considerable tract of the country from Charles II for services provided during the Parliamentary Wars.

Although the history of the town began with Ald. Hawkins, the high hill upon which it stands was famous long before his time as the natural fortress upon which the Magennises maintained their strongest castle. At the summit of the hill are the remains of the castle. There is a large water tower on the top of the hill which can be seen from many miles around.

Rathfriland was originally spelt with a y instead of an i.

The town square is located on top of the hill, and a market house (erected around 1764), which dominates the main square, was built for the linen market by Theodosia Hawkins-Magill. A clock-faced war memorial stands in the square on the south eastern side.

1 People
2 Places of Worship
3 Transport and Communications
4 Education
5 Newspapers
6 2001 Census
7 References
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] People

Patrick Brunty, the father of the Brontë sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne) was born in 1777 in a cottage close to Loughbrickland, where he lived until a local vicar paid his way to Cambridge University in 1802. While studying at Cambridge, he changed his name to Brontë. He preached and taught at Drumballyroney Church and School House, between Rathfriland and Moneyslane. The Brontë Homeland Interpretative Centre is at Drumballyroney.

[edit] Places of Worship

The 1st Rathfriland Presbyterian Church
The 2nd Rathfriland Presbyterian Church
The 3rd Rathfriland Presbyterian Church
St. John's Church of Ireland
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church
Rathfriland Reformed Presbyterian Church (Covenanters)
Rathfriland Baptist Church
Elim Pentecostal Church

[edit] Transport and Communications

Rathfriland was served by Ballyroney Railway Station, three miles away. Goods and passengers were transported from the station to the village. The former GNR (I) line between Banbridge and Newcastle closed in 1955.

Rathfriland's official telephone dialling code, like the rest of Northern Ireland is 028. Local subscriber numbers commence with 4063xxxx. Rathfriland was a sub-exchange of Banbridge, and thus until the 2000 Big Number Change, shared its 018206 area code. Like elsewhere in the former 018206 area (now (028) 406) is still normal to hear local numbers quoted in the old 5-digit format (3xxxx)

[edit] Education

Iveagh Primary School
Rathfriland High School
St. Mary's Primary School
St. Patrick's Primary School

[edit] Newspapers

The Outlook

[edit] 2001 Census

Rathfriland is classified as a village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 2,079 people living in Rathfriland. Of these:

22.6% were aged under 16 years and 21.2% were aged 60 and over
48.2% of the population were male and 51.9% were female
33.5% were from a Roman Catholic background and 63.6% were from a Protestant background
3.2% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service