About Rostrevor
Rostrevor is a picturesque and historic village nestling beneath the majestic Mourne Mountains on the eastern shores of Carlingford Lough, in an “Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty”.
Despite its petite size, Rostrevor is popular among holiday-makers, campers and caravanners not only because of its idyllic location but for its sailing, hillside forests and folk music.
The 4,000-acre Rostrevor Forest is filled mainly with coniferous trees, and visitors climbing through it by car or on foot are rewarded with panoramic views of the surrounding countryside from the Cloughmore Stone. This enormous boulder, standing almost 1,000 feet above the village, comes from the Ice Age but is more often associated, through local folklore, with the legendary giant Finn McCool.
Below the sweeping heights of Rostrevor Forest lie the 91-acre Kilbroney Forest Park, with inviting walks and outdoor facilities, and the Oakwood National Nature Reserve, a smaller but older woodland. Nearby, a clearing called Fiddler's Green is the setting for an annual week-long festival of traditional Irish folk music, culture and craic, where families with children are promised a safe, fun and friendly experience.
In Kilbroney Cemetery, history lives on in the ruins of an ancient church named after St Bronagh and a 5th Century cross thought to mark her grave. It benefits from it’s unique location at the foot of the Mourne Mountains and has become a most desirable place within which to live. It offers all facilities by way of Churches, Schools, Shops and Leisure Facilities. It is also placed to allow easy access to the economic corridor of Dublin to Belfast.
Local Attractions
History of Rostrevor
The description of Rostrevor in the early 1800's as a town unrivalled in its idyllic setting could easily apply today. Sheltered from prevailing winds by the tree-covered slopes of the Mournes, the town commands spectacular views to the west over Carlingford Lough, and it is the combination of glens, hills, sea, wood and rustic dwellings that has given Rostrevor its character.
As the travel writer Inglis wrote in 1832: 'Nature has certainly done much for Rostrevor, and Art enough.'
History
Evidence of Early Christian settlement in the area dates back to the sixth century when a religious community was established by St Bronach at Kilbroney old churchyard.
Although the conversion of Mourne is said to have been slow, the new religion was readily accepted through most of Ireland, and ecclesiastical sites will survive scattered throughout the landscape. Together with St, Brigid and St Blinne of Killevy, the virgin St Bronach was a patron of seafarers and was the subject of traditional prayers.
A Bhrighid ata I bhfochairt,,
A Bhronaigh ata I mBaile na Cille,
A Bhlinne ata I gCill-Shleibhe
Go dtugaid sibh mise go hEirinn
St Bronach's bronze hand bell, found in a hollow wall of the ruined church, can been seen today on the altar of Rostrevor RC Church. While the remains of Kilbroney Church are those of a much later 19th-century parochial church, many of the headstones date from the 17th-century and it is worth viewing the two granite crosses that were placed in the graveyard.
Here also lie the remains of the Irish giant Patrick Murphy, who was born near the Cassy Water and was reputed to be 'a handsome and well proportioned man of 8 feet, 1 inch'
The Naming of Rostrevor
During the 16th century, the settlement of Rostrevor, was called Castle Rory or Castle Roe, named after Rory Magennis who built a stronghold on Carlingford Lough. Much earlier, it was referred to as Carrickavraghard because of its associations with brewing or malting. In the early 1600s' however, the Magennis lands around Rostrevor fell into the hands of the Trevors (the viscounts of Dungannon). Trevor's Castle which perhaps stood on the Sea Point and replaced the Magennis fortification, was erected in 1611-1612, later to be pulled down by the Ross family who purchased much of the estate in the early 18th century.
The name Rostrevor itself first occurs in 1618 and derives not from the Ross family but from Rose-youngest daughter of Sir Marmaduke Whitchurch-who married Trevor, Viscount, Dungannon, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
The Town
The character of Rostrevor derives essentially from a close-knit village core comprising a mixture of 19th-century late Georgian and Regency buildings, set within a fringe of large, individually styled houses and undulating, well-landscaped grounds. A number of impressive hotels were built in the town during late Victorian times to accommodate the tourists who flocked to this fashionable and romantic retreat.
The massive granite obelisk which dominates the shoreline of Carlingford Lough on the west side of Rostrevor was erected to the memory of Major General Robert Ross in 1826. Ross was born at Carrickbawn, now Rostrevor House, and was known as the victor of Bladensburg during the American War of 1812. The British victory resulted in the capture of the capital, Washington, where the White House was 'sacked' and burnt down. Shortly after, Ross was killed during the advance on Baltimore in 1814, and his fame is recorded on both this Egyptian-style obelisk and on the monument erected at his grave in Hailfax, Nova Scotia.
Landscape Park and Ancient Woodland
Rostrevor House and its extensive demesne form an integral part of the town, and in the early 1900s its collection of exotic trees and shrubs was renowned throughout Ireland.
In 1856 the grounds of Rostrevor were planted with 300,000 larch, 27,000 oak, 9000 Scots pine and 1000 alder, and together with ash, Spanish chestnut, sycamore and cherry this formed the foundation of the present woodland on Thunders Hill, later planting in the pleasure grounds concentrated on tender species from Australia, New Zealand and Ceylon. Today, part of the wooded demesne is known locally as the Fairy Glen.
To the east of Rostrevor and covering the lower slopes of Cloghmore Mountain, is the woodland of Rostrevor National Nature Reserve. An almost pure oak woodland with an understorey of holly, its mature trees almost certainly regenerated naturally following felling in the 1700s. On its very steep slopes, no tillage or pasture is believed to have disturbed the regrowth of oak, and the site features many plants found in ancient Irish woods.
Famous Local People
Rostrevor is also the birthplace of Ben Dunne, founder of the chain store Dunnes Stores.
Famous within Ireland is Rostrevor born Peter McGrath. He managed the Down Gaelic Football team to All-Ireland titles in 1991 and 1994, and the Ireland team for the International Rules series.
Mary McAleese - lived in Rostrevor until her election as President of Ireland in 1997
Sands Family Folk Singers
