Down

Mourne Mountains, Northern Ireland

Down, Irish An Dún, former district (1973–2015) within the former County Down, now part of Newry, Mourne and Down district, situated on Northern Ireland’s eastern coast fronting Strangford Lough (inlet of the sea) and the Irish Sea. It was bordered by the former districts of Ards to the north; Castlereagh, Lisburn, and Banbridge to the west; and Newry and Mourne to the south. Its extreme southern and western portions are mountainous; the dome-shaped Mourne Mountains reach an elevation of 2,789 feet (850 metres) at Slieve Donard in the south. Most of Down is covered by clusters of drumlins (oval mounds of glacial till). The area was invaded by the Anglo-Norman John de Courci in the late 12th century, and the town of Downpatrick was his stronghold until 1203. In Downpatrick the Protestant cathedral is reputedly built over the burial site of St. Patrick, who began his mission in Ireland (432 ce) in the nearby village of Saul.

Down has a rich agricultural production; the chief crops are oats, barley, wheat, and hay. Livestock raising (sheep and pigs) is also important. Downpatrick was Down’s market and administrative seat and has some textile industry, while Ballynahinch, located farther west, has agricultural machinery and metal-fabrication industries. Newcastle in the south and Killyleagh in the east are popular seaside resorts. Tollymore Forest Park, about 1,200 acres (500 hectares) of forest on the slopes of the Mourne Mountains in southern Down, was the first such park established in Northern Ireland (1955). Area former district, 249 square miles (646 square km). Pop. (2011) 69,731.