1800AD borderlands a journey through changing times 1600AD 1200AD 500AD 500BC 1500BC THE HISTORICAL SITES OF IRELAND’S EASTERN BORDER REGION 4000BC This project is part financed by the European Union through the Ireland/Northern Ireland Interreg IIIA Programme 1800AD managed for the Special EU Programmes Body by the East Border Region Interreg IIIA Partnership. WELCOME TO A JOURNEY THROUGH THE EVER CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF IRELAND’S EASTERN BORDER REGION. Recent changes in the region now 1600AD allow easy access to many wonderful sites spanning 6ooo years of history. Here you’ll find wonderful scenery, warm and welcoming people as well as a wealth of archaeological history. 1200AD Our region covers Newry & Mourne, Banbridge and Armagh in Northern Ireland and Monaghan and Louth in the Republic of Ireland. 500AD 1 As well as historical sites, you’ll also find plenty to do in our thriving towns, cities and villages. 500BC 1500BC borderlands 4000BC CLOUGHMORE STONE CASTLE ROCHE Dromore Finnis Richhill Gilford ARMAGH Tandragee BANBRIDGE NAVAN MULLAN LISNAGADE/LISNAVARAGH Emyvale CENTRE LEGANANNY CO. ARMAGH Scarva TYNAN CROSS NEWRY Glaslough CANAL CO. DOWN Markethill DANES CAST Middletown DANES CAST TASSAGH DANES CAST VIADUCT Keady NEWRY Raithfriland ULSTER CANAL CANAL Castleshane MONAGHAN NEWRY Three Mile House Newtownhamilton CANAL Bessbrook NEWRY Camlough Clones NEWRY & MOURNE WATCH TOWER Newbliss MONAGHAN NARROW WATER ANNAGHMARE Killeavy LISNADARRAGH Rockcorry Ballybay THE DORSEY Warrenpoint KILBRONEY EDERGOLE Castleblaney WATCH TOWER Rostrevor Crossmaglen Kilkeel GAP OF THE NORTH WATCH CARLINGFORD TOWER FAUGHART LOUGH PROLEEK GREENCASTLE Shantonagh CASTLE ROCHE Carlingford Jenkinstown Greenore DUNDALK MANNAN Iniskeen LISANISK CUCHALAINN’S STONE Carrickmacross Blackrock Louth Tallanstown Castlebellingham LOUTH Ardee Togher Dunleer SMARMORE Collon Termonfeckin MONASTERBOICE BEAULIEU MELLIFONT DROGHEDA 2 contents 3 INTRODUCTION : TONY ROBINSON P04 AN EARLY DAWN - 4000BC P12 THE BRONZE AGE - 1500BC P22 THE IRON AGE - 500BC P32 EARLY CHRISTIAN IRELAND - 500AD P42 HIGH MEDIAEVAL PERIOD - 1200AD P56 THE STRUGGLE FOR IRELAND - 1600AD P72 MODERN IRELAND - 1800AD P86 MAPS AND INDEX P104 1800AD 1600AD introduction BY TONY ROBINSON 1200AD I’ve always been fascinated by the search for new places to visit and explore, so Borderlands was a real find, a treasure trove of ancient stories and mysterious sites. 4 500AD Borderlands! Its very name conjures up images of blood- 5 stained swords, clan skirmishes, heroes in hiding and all the other paraphernalia of Irish myth, doesn’t it? So now let me recommend it to you. If you’re interested in history and archaeology, or just looking for new experiences in a stunning setting, this warm and welcoming region is a must. Stand beside the stone pillar that supported the dying 500BC Cúchulainn; enter the ancient fortress of Emain Macha, home to the Red Branch knights; visit the grave of ‘the world’s tallest man’ at Kilbroney; Have I whetted your appetite? Start by taking a look at this booklet. It guides you through time, from man’s first appearance on this island to the present day, and it gives you a taster of the fascinating history, archaeology, architecture, folklore and mythology of Ireland’s eastern border region covering Armagh, Banbridge, Louth, Monaghan and Newry & Mourne. 1500BC But be warned. Once you’ve seen what Borderlands has to offer, you’ll want to start planning your trip right away. So make sure you’ve cancelled the papers and arranged a cat- sitter, and treat yourself to a fancy suitcase, or if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, a brand new rucksack. Rest assured you’re going on a journey you’ll never forget! Tony Robinson 4000BC SILENT VALLEY, MOURNE MOUNTAINS introduction OUR REGION HAS AN IMMENSE WEALTH OF FUN , WARMTH , CHARACTER AND HISTORY PLEASE TAKE YOUR TIME AND ENJOY THE JOURNEY That the borders of our mind are ever CARLINGFORD LOUGH shifting, and that many minds can flow into one another, as it were, and create or reveal a single mind, a single energy. from W. B. Yeats, Ideas of Good and Evil (1907) 6 7 BORDERS What is a border? A border is a line that separates the land on either side. However, this is a crude and simplistic description. A border might not be visible. It may or may not be defended. It may be natural. It may be manmade. It may be imagined. It is not CUSTOMS CHECKPOINT THE PALACE CHAPEL necessarily a barrier. Most importantly, it is never constant! Borders change. And so it is with Ulster… NATURAL BORDERS: THE LIE OF THE LAND Tá cúige Ulaidh síos is cúig mhíle croc ina lár is condae na Mídhe ina suídhe chomh chomthrom le clár ‘Ulster sits in the middle of five thousand hills but the county of Meath lies level as a board’ Ulster Proverb The name Ulster, or Ulaidh, is a relatively recent addition in the long history of this island. However, before Ulster was Ulster, before it was Ulaidh, before it had any name, it was separated from the rest of the island. A natural barrier between the region we today call Ulster and the remaining provinces is formed by hill, mountain, lake, river and bog. From east to west this is created by the deep fjordic inlet of VIKINGS AT ANNAGASSAN Carlingford Lough, the great heights of the Mournes and Slieve Gullion and the drumlin belt which stretches from Carlingford Lough in the East to Donegal Bay on the Atlantic coast. The drumlin belt is interspersed with a multitude of pretty lakes, including Upper and Lower Lough Erne, and patches of marshland and bogland. These hillocks have since prehistoric times been a barrier to communication and a cultural divide. These natural boundaries were often the basis for manmade boundaries, from townlands to counties; the River Bann, for example, divides counties Derry (Londonderry) and Antrim, whilst the River Shannon forms the border between many counties in Connacht and Leinster. ANCIENT BORDERS: FROM ULAIDH TO ULSTER For many centuries Ulster has certainly been an area of ST. PATRICK’s interaCTIVE MUSEUM northern or north-eastern Ireland, and it has been the dwelling- place of a distinct community of one kind or another; but the variations in the accepted frontiers of that area have been enormous. Hugh Sherman, Ulster (1949) 8 Ulster (Ulaidh) is the most northerly of the five historic provinces. Ulster, as with the 9 provinces of Munster (Mumhain) and Leinster (Laighin), apparently results from the addition of a Norse Suffix to the Gaelic Province name. It contains the counties of Donegal, Derry (or Londonderry), Antrim, Down, Armagh, Monaghan, Cavan, Fermanagh and Tyrone. Although the name Ulster is now often used in place of Northern Ireland, three of its counties (Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan) are in the Republic of Ireland. HERITAGE WEEK SMARMORE CASTLE The earliest reference to the ancient Ulaidh (also known as Ullagh, Ulaid and Ulidia) comes from the mythical tale of the Táin Bó Cuailgne (Cattle Raid of Cooley) which provides an account of Ulster during the Iron Age. From this tale it is known that Ireland was divided into five kingdoms, the largest of which was Ulaidh, which contained all of the north of the island and extended as far south as the River Boyne and as far west as the River Shannon. The provincial capital was at Emain Macha (believed to be Navan Fort, outside Armagh). Attacks from its provincial neighbour Míde (Meath, later incorporated into Leinster) in the 4th century AD broke it up into smaller kingdoms: Tír Chonaill covering much of Donegal; Tír Eoghain covering most of modern Tyrone and Derry; Oriel which included Monaghan, Louth and Armagh; and Ulaidh which, although claiming the name of the province as a whole, in fact only incorporated the modern counties of Down and Antrim. After the Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century, Ulster’s eastern seaboard fell into the hands of the invaders. Hugh de Lacy founded the Earldom of Ulster based around the modern counties of Antrim and Down. By the end of the 15th century, however, the Earldom had collapsed and Ulster became the only province completely out of Anglo-Norman control. CAMLOUGH Over the centuries the territorial limits of the kingdom of Ulaidh were fluid, and it was never clear just where Ulaidh ended and another province began. It was not until the Flight of the Earls (1607) that Ulster’s borders and those of the nine counties were clearly defined by English officials. The ancient province of Meath vanished and Louth, despite its cultural affinities to Ulster, was placed in the expanded Leinster. The Red Hand, which has come to symbolise the province, is believed to originate from a mythical tale in which two rival chieftains were racing across a stretch of water. The first one to reach dry land would claim it as his own. On realising that his adversary would touch the shore first, one chieftain cut off his hand and threw it onto the shore thus claiming victory. The red hand represents the bloody severed limb. MODERN BORDERS: PARTITION It is decreed by the Government of Northern Ireland that on Sundays public-houses must remain closed. Across the border, the Free State Government permits alcoholic liquors to be sold between the hours of 1pm and 8pm. Along the border, Northern residents can, if they so desire, ‘step across’ and drink to their heart’s content. Belfast Newsletter, June 1929 10 11 The present border is between six of the nine counties of Ulster which comprise Northern Ireland and the 26 counties of the Republic. This partition (from the Latin partitio, meaning division) of Ireland took place in 1921 under the Government of COOLEY PENINSULA Ireland Act (1920) which created Northern Ireland. The rest of Ireland, including three of the Ulster counties, became Saorstát Éireann under the terms of the Anglo BOYNE VALLEY BRIDGE FAMILY FUN Irish Treaty (1921).