Donaghadee

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  –  ·  ·  · scholar · JSTOR (February 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Donaghadee Scots: Tha Dee[1][2] Irish: Domhnach Daoi
Aerial View of Donaghadee.
Donaghadee Location within County Down
Population	6,869 (2011 Census)
District	Ards and North Down Borough
County	County Down
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	DONAGHADEE
Postcode district	BT21
Dialling code	028
Police	Northern Ireland
Fire	Northern Ireland
Ambulance	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	North Down
List of places UK Northern Ireland Down 54°38′N 5°32′W / 54.63°N 5.53°W / 54.63; -5.53Coordinates: 54°38′N 5°32′W / 54.63°N 5.53°W / 54.63; -5.53

Donaghadee (/ˌdɒnəxəˈdiː/ DON-ə-khə-DEE^[3] or /ˌdɒnəˈdiː/ DON-ə-DEE;^[4] from Irish: Domhnach Daoi, meaning 'Daoi's church')^[5] is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northeast coast of the Ards Peninsula, about 18 miles (29 km) east of Belfast and about six miles (10 km) south east of Bangor. It is in the civil parish of Donaghadee and the historic barony of Ards Lower.^[5] It had a population of 6,869 people in the 2011 Census.^[6]

History[]

The town featured in the Irish Rebellion of 1798. On the morning of Pike Sunday, 10 June 1798 a force of United Irishmen, mainly from Bangor, Donaghadee, Greyabbey and Ballywalter attempted to occupy the town of Newtownards. They met with musket fire from the market house and were defeated.

Donaghadee was used in the 1759–1826 period by couples going to Portpatrick in Scotland to marry, as there was a daily packet boat. During this period, Portpatrick was known as the "Gretna Green for Ireland".

The lifeboat station at Donaghadee harbour, founded in 1910, is one of the most important on the Irish coast. is a noted lifeboat once based in Donaghadee and now on show and preserved at the harbour for her efforts over 50 years ago. On 31 January 1953, the lifeboat rescued 32 survivors in the Irish Sea from the stricken Larne–Stranraer car ferry, MV Princess Victoria.^{[citation needed]}

Demography[]

On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 6,869 people living in Donaghadee (2,997 households), accounting for 0.38% of the NI total.^[6] The Census 2011 population represented an increase of 6.1% on the Census 2001 figure of 6,470.^[7] Of these:

• 18.43% were aged under 16 years and 22.03% were aged 65 and over;
• 51.89% of the usually resident population were female and 48.11% were male;
• 82.84% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion and 6.39% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic faith;
• 76.58% indicated that they had a British national identity, 31.26% had a Northern Irish national identity and 5.71% had an Irish national identity (respondents could indicate more than one national identity);
• 44 years was the average (median) age of the population;
• 11.98% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots and 2.48% had some knowledge of Irish (Gaelic).

Places of interest[]

Harbour and lighthouse[]

Donaghadee is known for its lighthouse and harbour. For centuries, it has been a haven for ships, and the harbour has been there from at least the 17th century.^{[citation needed]}

Viscount Montgomery's harbour (1626; improved 1640), superseding what had hitherto been probably only a small jetty, was built and maintained as a result of the Royal Warrant of 1616 which limited travel between the Ards and the Rhins of Galloway to this port, and that at Portpatrick also owned by Montgomery. It was described by Harris in 1744 as 'a curving quay about 400 feet (120 m) long and 22 feet (6.7 m) wide built of uncemented stones'. It ran from the shore at the north end of the Parade in a broad arc, bent against the open sea, towards the southern end of the present north pier. Much patched and decrepit, the quay was virtually rebuilt, though along the original line, between 1775 and 1785 by the landlord, Daniel Delacherois, probably with the help of John Smeaton, a civil engineer who had apparently made earlier more elaborate plans for extending the harbour, and had just rebuilt Portpatrick harbour.^{[citation needed]}

The old quay remained until after the completion of the new harbour, and then, despite its continued favour by local fishermen, was removed for local wall building about 1833. (It appears in the 1832 drawing but not on the first O.S. map of 1834). The foundation stone of the new harbour was laid by the Marquess of Downshire on 1 August 1821. The initial plans and surveys for this ambitious undertaking were made by John Rennie Senior, the celebrated engineer whose works included Waterloo, Southwark and London Bridges over the Thames. He died within two months of work beginning, and was succeeded by his son, John, later Sir John Rennie, who had as his resident engineer a fellow Scot, the seasoned marine builder, David Logan, who had assisted Robert Stevenson at the Bell Rock Lighthouse (1807–1810).

The new harbour had to have greater depth to accommodate steam packets. Rock blasted from the sea bed, within the harbour area and further south in what became known as the "Quarry Hole" at Meetinghouse Point was used to form the outer slopes of the two piers; but the inner faces were built of limestone from the Moelfre quarries of Anglesea. This "Anglesea marble" lends itself to the finest ashlar dressing and the new piers remain a triumph of stone carving. The flights of steps display special skill in the deep diagonal binding of each solid step, providing a typically robust engineer's response to the wear of seaboots and waves alike. The harbour consists of two independent piers running north westwards out to sea; parallel nearer the shore, they converge at the outer ends to form a harbour mouth 150 feet (46 m) wide. At low tide the water in the harbour is fifteen feet deep.^{[citation needed]}

The Moat[]

The Moat in Donaghadee was built to house the explosives for the blasting involved in the construction of the harbour. It is one of the most prominent features of the town. The Motte, or the Moat as it is known, dates back to 1818. Today it is part of a park, giving views across the town and seawards towards the Copeland Islands. The original mound was of Norman origin, when a motte and bailey stood on the site. It was initially used as a defensive structure, and provided an excellent look-out post.

Other activities[]

Scenic walks include the marine walk at The Commons, which comprises a 16-acre (65,000 m²) semi-cultivated open space with bowls, tennis, putting and an adventure playground. There are several restaurants and pubs in the town, including Grace Neill's, opened in 1611 as the "King's Arms", and which claims to be the oldest bar in Ireland (a claim also made by other pubs, including by Sean's Bar in Athlone).^[8]

Wildlife[]

Birds[]

The Copeland Bird Observatory is situated on one of the three islands not far, and to be seen, from Donaghadee. It collects data on the migrating birds and by ringing them records the movements of the migratory species.^[9]

Flora[]

Among the algae recorded from Donaghadee are Gastroclonium ovatum, , Fucus ceranoides, Desmarestia ligulata, , Codium fragile ssp. atlanticum and .^[10]

Choir[]

Donaghadee Choir was founded in 1932. It began as a small local chorus performing in churches and other local functions. The choir has performed on stage, radio and television as far afield as the US, Canada, Malta and Bulgaria, where it was the first choir from Ireland to perform behind the former "Iron Curtain".^{[citation needed]} The choir has been successful in competition, with over 40 firsts in the male voice and open sections of festivals in Britain and Ireland.^{[citation needed]} These include Whitby, Morecambe, Wharfedale, Cheltenham, Bangor, Coleraine and the AIMS New Ross Festival, where it achieved one of the highest marks ever given.^{[citation needed]} It has also competed at the International Eisteddfod in Wales. The choir celebrated its 75th anniversary during the 2007/08 season.^{[citation needed]}

In the media[]

Donaghadee served as the basis for fictional town Donaghadoo in the children's television series Lifeboat Luke, which was animated by the Donaghadee animation studio STRAANDLOOPER.^[11] It was used as a set for some of the film Mickybo and Me, with dozens of local residents acting as extras.^{[citation needed]} The town also featured in the films Robot Overlords starring Gillian Anderson, Divorcing Jack, Killing Bono and Mo the Mo Mowlam story, starring Julie Walters.^{[citation needed]}

Sports[]

Donaghadee has facilities for a number of sports including cricket, tennis, bowling, darts, golf, women's hockey, football, sailing and rugby with teams that compete in various local leagues.^{[citation needed]}

Donaghadee Rugby Football Club was formed in 1885 during a period of rapid growth for the game throughout Ireland.^{[citation needed]} It was against that background that the new Donaghadee club, formed by the Rev. Coote, made its first match against Bangor on 7 November 1885. The game ended in a draw. The club's grounds are called Donaldson Park.^{[citation needed]}

The golf club in Donaghadee was founded in 1899 and is part links and part open parkland. The club also provides catering facilities in the clubhouse. The golf club won its second all Ireland trophy in 2007. This was the Irish Club Youths. They then won their 3rd All Ireland Title in 2012.^{[citation needed]}

Donaghadee Football Club are junior football who play their home matches at Crommelin Park in the town. For the 2014-15 season they were members of Division 2C of the Northern Amateur Football League.^[12] An earlier club of the same name held membership of the same league from 1948 to 1953. Donaghadee FC and Donaghadee 11s were both promoted from their respective leagues in 2016/17.^[13]

Donaghadee Ladies' Hockey Club has been around since pre-war times.^[vague] They have two teams which play in Ulster Hockey leagues: The 1XI play in Senior League 3, while the 2XI are in Junior 8.^[14]

Other sports clubs include Donaghadee Cricket Club (a member of the NCU Senior League),^{[citation needed]} and Donaghadee Sailing Club (which underwent redevelopment and in May 2009 with a new clubhouse opened).^[15]

Notable people[]

• Bear Grylls, adventurer, writer and television presenter was raised in Donaghadee until he was 4 – his grandmother was Patricia, Lady Fisher.^[16]
• Lord Ashdown
• Maynard Sinclair, Deputy Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, lived in Donaghadee.
• Sir Walter Smiles and his daughter Patricia, Lady Fisher (both Ulster Unionist Party Westminster MPs) lived in the town.
• Sarah Grand, author and feminist
• Sylvia, Lady Hermon, former MP for North Down
• John Magowan, PDC Darts professional
• Two Door Cinema Club, rock band ^{[17][better source needed]}

See also[]

• Lighthouses in Ireland
• List of localities in Northern Ireland by population
• List of towns and villages in Northern Ireland
• List of civil parishes of County Down
• List of RNLI stations
• Market Houses in Northern Ireland
• Belfast and County Down Railway

Further reading[]

• Allen, Harry. 2006.Donaghadee An Illustrated History. ISBN 1870132319
• Hill, I. 1986. Northern Ireland. The Blackstaff Press. ISBN 0-85640-365-2

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Donaghadee.

• Visit Donaghadee
• "How Donaghadee Got Its Name"