About County Down
County Down occupies the southeastern corner of Ulster, a fertile county of gentle drumlins rolling down to Strangford Lough and the Irish Sea. The Mourne Mountains dominate the south, their rounded granite peaks inspiring C.S. Lewis's vision of Narnia. Down is closely associated with Saint Patrick, who is said to be buried in Downpatrick, giving the county a spiritual significance that draws pilgrims from across the Irish world.
History
Down was one of the first areas of Ireland to be Christianised, and its monastic heritage is notable. The county was heavily settled during the Ulster Plantation, creating a mixed demographic that made it one of the most contested territories in Ireland's more recent history. The fishing villages of the Ards Peninsula preserve a way of life that has changed little in centuries.
How Down families left Ireland
Down families emigrated through Belfast and Newry, many going to the Carolinas and Virginia in the 18th century before the Famine swelled the numbers dramatically. The Scots-Irish tradition is strong here, many American families with Down ancestry trace back to Presbyterian farmers who left in the 1700s.
Places worth visiting in County Down
- Downpatrick, the cathedral town where Saint Patrick, Saint Brigid and Saint Columba are said to rest
- Strangford Lough, Ireland's largest sea inlet, a landscape of islands, seals and ancient monasteries
- Murlough National Nature Reserve, ancient sand dunes below the Mourne Mountains
- Inch Abbey, the 12th century Cistercian ruin on the banks of the River Quoile
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