Downpatrick

Sister cities

• Listowel
• Bezons

History

An early Bronze Age site was excavated in the Meadowlands area of Downpatrick, revealing two roundhouses, one was four metres across and the other was over seven metres across. Archaeological excavations in the 1950s found what was thought to be a Bronze Age hillfort on Cathedral Hill, but further work in the 1980s revealed that this was a much later rampart surrounding an early Christian monastery. Downpatrick is one of Ireland's oldest towns. It takes its name from a dún, a medieval royal fort, which stood on a drumlin overlooking the River Quoile. In the Middle Ages, the river was an estuary that would have surrounded the drumlin on most sides. It is believed that there was a ringfort on the site in the early Middle Ages. This may have been the site called Ráth Celtchair (later anglicized Rathkeltair), the 'fort of Celtchar', after a hero in the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology. Saint Malachy became the Bishop of Down (Dún da Lethglas) in 1137. He administered the diocese from Bangor and introduced a community of Augustinians (canons) to Dún da Lethglas dedicated to St John the Evangelist. Malachy and his successors repaired and enlarged Down Cathedral. In the late 12th century, the area was conquered by Anglo-Normans led by John de Courcy, becoming part of his Earldom of Ulster. In February 1177, a Norman army of 300 men and 20 knights marched north from Dublin and took the town by surprise. The King of Ulster and Dál Fiatach, Ruaidrí mac Duinn Sléibe (Rory MacDunleavy), tried to retake the town, but was forced to withdraw after a fierce battle. The Normans began building a motte (fortified mound) inside the older royal fort, but abandoned it when de Courcy made Carrickfergus his capital in 1178. He also re-dedicated the cathedral to Saint Patrick, giving it the…