Bryansford

EDITED EXTRACTS FROM THE PARLIAMENTARY GAZETTEER OF IRELAND, PUBLISHED IN 1846

BRYANSFORD, a village in the parish of Kilcoo, barony of Upper Iveagh, County Down.

It stands two miles south of Castlewellan, and about the same distance west of Newcastle.

Though small, it is a pretty village; and it stands amidst compositions of beauty, romance, and grandeur in landscape, inferior to few in Ireland.

In its vicinity are the noble and brilliant demesne of Tollymore, the surprising coast scenes adjacent to Newcastle, and many of the most interesting features of the mountains of Mourne.

Bryansford (Image: Robert John Welch (1859-1936)

The Guide through Ireland informs us that "the traveller, anxious to know this beautiful part of the country, will find comfortable accommodation at the inns of Bryansford, Newcastle, or Dundrum, which are about three miles from each other."

The Bryansford rivulet tumbles, leaps, and makes grand falls along a channel of rocks and precipices, and leads out to a magnificent view of the coast and sea.

The village gives name to a Roman Catholic parish.

Fairs are held on Ascension Day and June 3rd.

Population in 1831, 185.

First published in March, 2021.