BELFAST RB BOOKLET 2020 - Flipbook - Page 7
Ci t y of Belf ast Grand Bl ack Chapt er - Dem onst rat i on Bookl et 2020
WELCOME TO DROMORE, COUNTY DOWN .. The name Dromore is
an Anglicisation of the early Gaelic, Druim Mór meaning .. 'the large ridge'. Other
numerous references to the town's name have also been listed historically as ..
Drumore, Drummore and Drummor.
The town still features a well-preserved
Norman motte and bailey, both constructed
by Sir John de Courcy in the early thirteenth
century not long after the earlier invasion of
Ireland
Known locally as the Mound, the fort
occupies a prominent site to the east of the
town centre and has views along the valley
of the River Lagan.
Dromore remained under Anglo-Norman
control until it was captured and then
destroyed during the Irish-Bruce wars of
1315.
The Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer
(right) was the central seat of the diocese of
Dromore which eventually grew out of
the Abbey of Canons which was attributed
to Saint Colman in the early sixth century.
This was further amalgamated in 1842 into
the Diocese of Down and Connor but then
sub-divided again during 1945 with the
Diocese of Connor becoming independent
thus leaving the two merged Dioceses of
Down and Dromore.
The town and its cathedral were wholly
destroyed during the Irish Rebellion of
1641, when a mass sectarian annihilation
of thousands of Protestants took place.
However some twenty years later the
present church was later rebuilt by Bishop
Jeremy Taylor who is also buried there, aside
another famous cleric belonging to the
diocese, Bishop Thomas Percy who was later
instrumental in designing the
fine grounds of the nearby
palace. A civic monument to
him can also be seen in the
local park.
On March 14th, 1689, a
Battalion of the Jacobite
Army, commanded by
Richard Hamilton, was
involved in a skirmish, about a mile out of
the town, called the Break of Dromore on
the Milebush Road, with members of King
William's Army who were encamped and
resting whereby they were taken unawares.
Due to the surprise attack by the Jacobites
the Williamites were routed, leaving about four
hundred of them dead, resulting in those
survivors fleeing in disorder.
Following this battle the Jacobites met
with very little or nil resistance whilst
continuing their advancement northwards
where they afterwards occupied Belfast for
a while until William himself arrived to take
charge prior to his journey to the Boyne.
The rest, as they say is .. history!!
From 1863, Dromore also had its own
railway station serving as a main stop from
nearby Banbridge, with another branch line
joining the main track to the small Knockmore
junction and then on to a direct link through
Lisburn and into the city
centre station in Belfast's
Great Victoria Street.
However in 1876 the
Ulster Railway became part
of the newly created Great
Northern Railway which
took over the company in
1877 then afterwards, in
IN MEMORY OF THE FALLEN - 5 - AND THE FUTURE OF THE LIVING