Rostrevor

For the suburb of Adelaide, see Rostrevor, South Australia.

Rostrevor Irish: Ros Treabhair
Rostrevor seen from Kilbroney Forest
Location within County Down
Population	2,800 (2011 Census)
District	Newry, Mourne and Down
County	County Down
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NEWRY
Postcode district	BT34
Dialling code	028
UK Parliament	South Down
NI Assembly	South Down
List of places UK Northern Ireland Down 54°06′04″N 6°12′04″W / 54.101°N 6.201°W / 54.101; -6.201

Rostrevor seen from Rostrevor Forest in 2010 (Carlingford Lough is to the left of the picture)

Rostrevor welcome sign in Irish and English, with Slieve Martin in the background

Kilfeaghan dolmen

Rostrevor (Irish: Ros Treabhair)^[1] is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the foot of Slieve Martin on the coast of Carlingford Lough, near Warrenpoint. The Kilbroney River flows through the village and Rostrevor Forest is nearby. 7.5 miles (12 km) south-east of Newry, the village is within the Newry, Mourne and Down local government district.

Rostrevor had a population of 2,800 in the 2011 Census.^[2]

Name

The first part of the name "Rostrevor" comes from the Irish word ros, meaning a wood or wooded headland.^[1][3] The second part of the name comes from Sir Edward Trevor from Denbighshire in Wales, who settled in the area in the early 17th century and was succeeded by his son Marcus Trevor, who later became Viscount Dungannon. Walter Harris, writing in 1744, mistakenly believed that the first part of the name came from Sir Edward Trevor's wife Rose, a daughter of Henry Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh. His etymology was later repeated by some other writers.^[3][4] Before Sir Edward Trevor's renaming of the area it was known as Caisleán Ruaidhrí (English: Rory's castle), anglicised "Castle Rory" or "Castle Roe", after one of the Magennis lords of Iveagh.^[3]

Today the spelling Rostrevor is used for the village, while the spelling Rosstrevor is used for the townland.^[3]

Places of interest

Nearby Cloughmore is a 50-ton granite boulder perched on the slopes of Slieve Martin, 1,000 ft above the village of Rostrevor, and known locally as 'the big stone'. It was deposited there by retreating glaciers during the Last Glacial Maximum. Local legend states that the stone was thrown by Irish mythological hero and frequent giant Finn McCool from the Cooley Mountains, on the other side of Carlingford Lough, to settle a fight with a local frost-giant named Ruiscairre, burying him underneath the boulder. Walking around the stone seven times will allegedly bring good luck.

The old church, supposedly built on an original site established by St Brónach, stands in the graveyard on the Kilbroney road. It became a listed building in 1983. Within the graveyard is a large, weathered cross that is patterned on its west face and has been dated to the 9th century.

9th Century Cross in Kilbroney Cemetery, Rostrevor

In the village's Catholic church is the bell of Brónach, dating from around 900 A.D. There are many stories of how the bell used to scare locals walking past St Bronach's church on stormy nights. All they could hear was a mighty sound and did not know the source; many believed it to be a calling from God. It was said that the ringing of the bell warned of rough water on the lough. In 1885, the bell was found in the fork of an old oak tree, where it had been hidden many years before, probably at the time of the Reformation.^[5][6]

The village has two rivers, the Ghan and the Fairy Glen, so named because many fairies are suspected of living along the banks of the river.^{[citation needed]}

Culture

Since 1987^[7], Rostrevor has hosted the Fiddler's Green International Festival, an annual multi-day event celebrating folk music and the arts. The festival features up to 200 events, including concerts, workshops, dances, art exhibitions, and nature walks. Activities take place at various venues throughout the village, such as local schools and churches, the social club of St Bronaghʼs GAA, YWAM An Cuan, a temporary open-air stage in the village centre, and a meadow in Kilbroney Park known locally as Fiddler's Green. ^[8]

People

Robert Ross Monument, Rostrevor

• Rostrevor is believed^{[according to whom?]} to be the birthplace of Somerled, founder of Clan Donald and Lord of Argyll, Kintyre and Lorne, in the mid 12th century.^{[9][10][better source needed]}
• Rostrevor was the birthplace of Major General Robert Ross-of-Bladensburg, a British commander during the War of 1812. Ross's Monument stands above the Warrenpoint Road on the edge of the village. It is a tall granite obelisk erected to his memory in 1826. The Ross Family lived at Kilbroney Park.^[11]
• Rostrevor is the birthplace of Ben Dunne, founder of the chain store Dunnes Stores.^[12]
• Sir Francis Stronge lived in Kilbroney House.^[13]
• Former Irish President Mary McAleese and her family lived in Rostrevor village centre before she was elected to office in 1997.^[14]
• Three of the four members of the Irish Folk group The Sands Family live in Rostrevor.^[15]
• Another resident of Rostrevor for a time was Eurovision winner, Dana.^[16]
• T. K. Whitaker, economist and a pivotal figure in the development of the Republic of Ireland, was born in Rostrevor to a father from County Westmeath and a mother from County Clare.^[17] The family later moved to Drogheda.
• Catherine McGrath, country singer, is from the village.^[18]
• Cathal McCabe, poet, who grew up in nearby Warrenpoint, has lived in and near Rostrevor since 2004.^[19]
• Laurence McGivern, Irish Paralympic swimmer and World Bronze Medalist (Canada 2013) was also born in Rostrevor.^[20]

Education

• Kilbroney Integrated Primary School
• Killowen Primary School
• St. Bronagh's Primary School
• YWAM An Cuan

Transportation

Rostrevor was previously served by a tram station opened by Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Tramway, a horse-drawn tram service to Warrenpoint. It operated from 1 August 1877 until February 1915.^[21]

Rostrevor is connected to the wider Northern Ireland public transportation system by Ulsterbus route 39, with service to Newry buscentre, Warrenpoint, and Kilkeel.^[22]. The shore road in Rostrevor forms part of the Mourne Coastal route, a designated scenic drive that stretches along the coastline from Newry to Belfast.^[23]

Demography

On Census Day (27 March 2011) the usually resident population of Rostrevor Settlement was 2,800, accounting for 0.15% of the NI total.^[2] Of these:

• 21.14% were under 16 years old and 14.57% were aged 65 and above;
• 48.68% of the population were male and 51.32% were female; and
• 88.96% were from a Catholic community background and 7.75% were from a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' community background.

Sport

The local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club is St Bronaghʼs GAA. The local association football club is Rossowen F.C.

See also

• List of villages in Northern Ireland
• List of towns in Northern Ireland
• Rostrevor College, a large school in Adelaide, Australia, named after 'Rostrevor House', the main historic mansion residence constructed on the site in 1878 which itself was named after Rostrevor, Northern Ireland.

References

1. "Ros Treabhair/Rostrevor". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Retrieved 20 July 2022.
2. "Census 2011 Population Statistics for Rostrevor Settlement". Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Retrieved 21 June 2021. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright.
3. "Placenames NI: Rostrevor". Retrieved 16 March 2023.
4. "Raymonds County Down". Retrieved 18 September 2014.
5. "Calendar of Irish Saints". 19 May 2014. Archived from the original on 19 May 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
6. "The Hidden Bell of Bronach Kilbroney". The Last Leprechauns of Ireland. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
7. "The Fiddler's Green Festival – A Rostrevor Success Story Since 1987". Newry.ie. 22 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
8. "About the Fiddler's Green Festival". Fiddler's Green Festival. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
9. Somerled the Great Sea Lord, http://cunninghamh.tripod.com/somerled/somerled.html
10. "Somerled".
11. "Rooted in history ... idyllic corner of Northern Ireland which is a haven of peace and even hosted the Queen". Belfast Telegraph. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
12. "Dunne, Bernard". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
13. "Obituary. Sir Francis Stronge." The Times, Friday, 22 August 1924; pg. 12
14. "Former President Mary McAleese tells of her life and times at Rostrevor Literary Festival". Newry Reporter. 20 November 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
15. Moriarty, Gerry (27 May 1996). "Battered resort cautious in its expectations". Irish Times. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
16. "Dana and her amazing grace". Belfast Telegraph. 27 March 2009. They were married in ... Derry and set up home in Rostrevor.
17. "The early life and career of T.K. Whitaker". Newry.ie. 26 October 2020.
18. Savage, Mark (28 July 2018). "Catherine McGrath: How a babysitter set the Irish country singer on a path to stardom". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
19. Toldy, Csilla (April 2021). "The Monthly discusses film poetry and the Earth Day project with writer Csilla Toldy". CAP Arts Centre. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
20. "Laurence McGivern wins bronze at IPC World Championships". BBC Sport. BBC. 19 August 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
21. "Rostrevor station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
22. "Timetables: Route T0 (Direction H)". Translink. Retrieved 19 July 2025.
23. "Mourne Coastal Route Brochure" (PDF). Bee & Bramble. May 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2025.

External links

Media related to Rostrevor at Wikimedia Commons