 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Kilkeel" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(April 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Kilkeel
| |
|---|---|
 The Square, Kilkeel | |
  Kilkeel Location withinCounty Down | |
| Population | 6,633 (2021 census)[1] |
| District | |
| County | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | NEWRY |
| Postcode district | BT34 |
| Dialling code | 028 |
| Police | Northern Ireland |
| Fire | Northern Ireland |
| Ambulance | Northern Ireland |
| UK Parliament | |
| NI Assembly | |
| |
Kilkeel (fromIrishCill Chaoil, meaning 'church of the narrow')[2][3] is a small town andcivil parish on theIrish Sea coast ofCounty Down, Northern Ireland. It is the main fishing port on the Down coast,[4] and its harbour is home to the largest fishing fleet in Northern Ireland.[5] It had a population of 6,633 people at the2021 census.[1] The town contains the ruins of a 14th-century church and fort, winding streets and terraced shops. It lies just south of theMourne Mountains, in the historicbarony ofMourne,[6] and is the southernmost town in Northern Ireland.
Kilkeel town sits on a plain south of theMourne Mountains, west of where the Kilkeel River flows south into theNorth Channel. The town is centred in the townland of Magheramurphy (from Irish Machaire Mhurchaidh 'Murphy's plain'), and extends into the neighbouring townlands of:[7]
Altogether there are 69 townlands in the civil parish and barony.[8]
.jpg)
Kilkeel takes its name from the old church overlooking the town, it being theanglicised version of theIrishCill Chaoil meaning "church of the narrow". The name may refer to the church itself or perhaps the church's location on a narrow site between the Aughrim and Kilkeel rivers.[3] The church was built in 1388 and dedicated to Saint Colman of Mourne. 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 theMiddle Ages. There are references to Kilkeel as a Christian settlement as far back as the 11th century. The church was rebuilt in the 1600s, and was later used as a school in the 19th century, before being abandoned.
The cemetery attached to the church was used for burials until 1916. The last burials at the cemetery were victims of a collision between twosteamers, theRetriever and theSS Connemara, inCarlingford Lough.
The town is split by the Aughrim river. The northern part falls into the Kilkeel townland, while the southern part falls into Magheramurphy.
Kilkeel grew slowly from a small village to a town by the late 1700s. The earliest recorded dates are a kerbstone inscribed 1772, and a second story arch window in Newry St inscribed 1790, while the map alongside from 1777 shows that Kilkeel's current layout of 5 main streets was already established.
The population of Kilkeel peaked at about 15,000 at the time of the great famine, after which it fell to about 11,000, with about 1,000 people in Kilkeel town.
Fishing is a major industry in Kilkeel, with Kilkeel Harbour the home port for the largestfishing fleet in Northern Ireland.[5] There are fish-processing factories around the port, pleasure angling off the piers andlobster farming along the coastline.[citation needed]
As of the early 21st century, Collins Aerospace (previously known as BE Aerospace and Rockwell Collins) had become the largest employer in the area. As of 2014, its Kilkeel facility, which manufactures aircraft seats for a worldwide customer base, employed over 800 people.[9]
The Kilkeel area is home to fourteen marching bands:
The town is also known as the location where the 19th-century serial killerWilliam Hare died.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, grandson of the late QueenElizabeth II and son of KingCharles III of the United Kingdom wasgranted the titleBaron Kilkeel along with that ofDuke of Sussex andEarl of Dumbarton.
On census day 2011, 27 March 2011, there were 6,541 people living in Kilkeel (2,557 households), accounting for 0.36% of the Northern Ireland total.[11] Of these:
In 2011, 44.31% of persons in the administrative area indicated that they had an Irish national identity, 30.39% had a Northern Irish national identity and 28.53% had a British national identity.[12][contradictory]
On census day in 2021, 21 March 2021, there were 6,633 people living in Kilkeel.[1] Of these:
In 1659, 80% of inhabitants were Catholic, and by 1901, this had fallen to half. 60% of the remainder were Presbyterians and most of the rest were Church of Ireland.
 | This sectionis written like adirectory. Please helprewrite it in aneutral,encyclopedic style, potentially as alist. If this is not possible, it will likely bemerged,redirected, ordeleted. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page.(February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Sports played in the Kilkeel area includeGaelic football,football,hockey,fishing,golf,hurling, andswimming.[citation needed]
There are fiveGaelic Athletic Association clubs in the area: An Ríocht, Longstone, Atticall, Ballymartin, and Glasdrumman, with associated bars, facilities and community activities. In 2023 the five clubs came together to form Clann Mhúrn (people of Mourne) Hurling club and rotate their training and playing around the five different facilities.The most seniorassociation football team is Valley Rangers Football Club of theMid-Ulster Football League. Other local teams include Ballyvea FC, Dunnaman FC and Mourne Rovers.
Kilkeel Elks Basketball Club was based at An Ríocht Hall, it is now defunct.
Kilkeel Hockey Club play at McAuley Park, and is the only hockey club inMourne.
There is also a golf course at Kilkeel Golf Club and Cranfield formerly had a pitch and putt course. Fairways Golf, an indoor golf simulator, opened in 2023.[citation needed]
Baron Kilkeel is a title in thepeerage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 19 May 2018 by QueenElizabeth II as asubstantive title for her grandsonPrince Harry on the occasion ofhis marriage toMeghan Markle.[18] It is named after the town of Kilkeel.[18] The full title and designation of the barony is "Baron Kilkeel, of Kilkeel in the County of Down".[19]
At Kilkeel, the largest fishing port...
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
