Book delves into tales and history in Co Down

Book delves into tales and history in Co Down

23 January 2019

A NEW book looking at often fascinating, sometimes obscure but always entertaining facts about Co Down has been written by a Ballynahinch woman. 

Author Doreen McBride has put together a charming collection of little-known quirky anecdotes entitled The Little Book of County Down. 

While it may be little, it packs a big punch and asks some questions that would challenge even the most knowledgeable Co Down people.

Have you given anyone a ‘Killinchy Waistcoat’ lately? Would you know what it was, even if you have? 

Did you know Charles de Gaulle’s ancestors came from Loughinisland? In fact you can still visit their graves.

Did you also know the man who designed the Titanic and lost his life on its ill-fated maiden voyage came from Comber?

And Errol Flynn, the swashbuckling, hard-drinking, ’40s Hollywood idol grew up for a time at ‘Kurrajong’ — a humble ‘Tazmanian-looking’ dwelling in Kilclief.

Doreen has included all kinds of folklore tales, such as the stories behind Maggie’s Leap and Dolly’s Brae, as well as much else besides. 

You will also learn about the man famed for introducing drinking chocolate to Britain — Sir Hans Sloane, who was born in Killyleagh. He was a royal physician and his life’s work made up the greater part of the British Museum collection which opened in 1753. 

If your surname is Savage, Martel, Ridal, Copeland or Jordan, you’ll be intrigued to know that your early Norman ancestors built strong castles to protect themselves against attacks from locals in the 12th century. 

John de Courcy, a prominent Anglo-Norman caused far-reaching change in Ireland around this time. He defeated the Irish at Downpatrick and gave these families who followed him large estates. 

Their strongholds were no match, however, for the energy and enthusiasm of the locals and eventually it was easier for them to adopt Irish manners and dress and conform to the customs of Down. 

According to Irish custom, land didn’t belong to the king — it belonged to the people and usually went to the strongest chieftain. The residents are reported to have disliked taxes, not much change there down the centuries. 

McBride dedicates a chapter to the United Irishman — immortalised as ‘The Man From God Knows Where’ — who was hanged outside Downpatrick Gaol 1803.

And where would society be if it wasn’t for the humble rubber tyre, whose inventor, John Boyd Dunlop, worked for several years in his brother’s veterinary practice in Downpatrick. 

Of course no book on the history of Co Down would be complete without a chapter on some of our ghosts and ghouls. 

McBride has included some of the most interesting. The book tells the story of Noel Killen, originally from Loughinisland, who rode his bike passed the old derelict Ballydugan Flour Mill, near Downpatrick, when he was a young lad and dreamt of restoring it. 

His dream came true. By virtue of his hard work he recaptured the mill’s former glory and turned it into an award-winning wedding venue, complete with three happy ghosts who attend weddings and bring luck. 

There’s a Presbyterian minister who loiters around the basement and sometimes appears on the ground floor in the corner near the fire. Then there is Bobby, who danders across the first floor. He can be unpredictable as he is often said to slam the occasional door.  

Then there is the young girl dressed in sackcloth who loves to dance. She can sometimes be seen to be dancing to the music provided at the wedding breakfast. 

The book also notes the fable of Maggie who leapt across a deep chasm between the cliffs near Newcastle in a bid to outrun a group of soldiers while carrying a basket of stolen bird’s eggs. 

Not an egg was broken in her successful attempt to clear the cliff and she lived to see a ripe old age. Her ghost is said to loiter around the area know to locals as Maggie’s Leap. 

Every quirky illustration that appears in the 142-page book has been drawn by the hand of the multi-talented Doreen.

• The Little Book of County Down can can be found on Amazon and in all good book stores.