Dromore, County Down

Dromore is a small market town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies 19 miles south-west of Belfast, on the A1 Belfast to Dublin road. It had a population of 4,968 people in the 2001 Census and is in the Banbridge District.

The town's centre is Market Square, which has a rare set of stocks. It is in the linen manufacturing district. Remains of a castle and earthworks are to be seen, together with a large ráth or encampment known as the Priest's Mount, on the Maypole Hill.

History
The name Dromore—historically Drumore, Drummore and Drummor—is an anglicisation of the Irish Druim Mór (modern Irish Droim Mór) meaning "large ridge".

The town features a well preserved Norman motte and bailey that was constructed by John de Courcy in the early 13th century, shortly after the Norman 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 destroyed by Edward Bruce during the Irish-Bruce wars of 1315. It was the seat of the diocese of Dromore, which grew out of an abbey of Canons Regular attributed to Saint Colman in the 6th century. This was united in 1842 to the Diocese of Down and Connor. The diocese was then divided in 1945, with the Diocese of Connor being independent, and the Diocese of Down and Dromore remaining united.

The town and cathedral were wholly destroyed during the rebellion of 1641, and the present church was built by Bishop Jeremy Taylor in 1661, who is buried there. Also buried in the cathedral is Thomas Percy, another famous bishop of the diocese, who laid out the fine grounds of the palace. A monument to Thomas Percy stands in the Town Park.

Jacobites under command of Richard Hamilton, and rival Williamites fought a battle here on the 14 March 1689. The battle took place about a mile out of the town on the Milebush Road and was known as the 'Break of Dromore'. The Jacobites routed the Williamites and they fled in disorder, but with few casualties. After this Break of Dromore the Jacobites did not meet any resistance while advancing northwards and occupying Belfast.

The Troubles
For more information see The Troubles in Dromore (Down), which includes a list of incidents in Dromore during "the Troubles" resulting in two or more fatalities.

Today
The Dromore Town Centre Development Plan, published in July 2003, outlined that of the 190 units within Dromore Town Centre, over one quarter were vacant. This is in spite of recent population growth in the town; a result of the proximity to the A1 and resultant commuting access to Belfast. The green-field development in recent years has mostly been around the edges of the town, and the doughnut effect has led to these houses being disconnected from the town centre. The population of Dromore tends to travel to nearby Banbridge or Sprucefield to shop, which has caused the high levels of obvious dereliction.

The plan highlights the under use of the River Lagan as a resource in the town, as well as the poorly used public space around the Town Hall in the Market Square. The square's 18th Century layout is protected, however is identified as a traffic problem, which is exacerbated by poor parking provision and enforcement of parking restrictions. In 2008, the area surrounding the Town Hall was cleared in order to facilitate the construction of leisure space. The project was completed in six months and now has benches and pathways in place of a small car park. The general aesthetics of the site have also been improved.

Demographics
Dromore is classified as a small town by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 4,500 and 10,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 4,968 people living in Dromore. Of these:
 * 23.9% were aged under 16 years and 17.5% were aged 60 and over
 * 48.2% of the population were male and 51.8% were female
 * 13.0% were from a Catholic background and 83.4% were from a Protestant background
 * 2.5% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Transport and Communications
Dromore is well served by the Translink Goldline Express bus service 238, running between Belfast and Newry. Translink Ulsterbus service 38 links the town with Belfast, Banbridge and Lisburn (bypassed by express services). However the 38 can stop at all urban and rural bus stops, adding roughly an extra thirty minutes to the Belfast bound journey.

Local residents enjoy short journey times to Belfast (approximately 20–25 minutes off-peak), Lisburn and Banbridge due to the high-quality A1/M1 expressways. Belfast International Airport is around forty minutes away using the A26 (Moira-Antrim road) while Dublin Airport is around seventy to eighty minutes away using the A1/M1. The town, which has been situated on the main Belfast to Dublin route for centuries, was bypassed in 1972.

The area is also linked with Craigavon (in particular, Lurgan) and Ballynahinch, with the B2 Lurgan Road and B2 Ballynahinch Road respectively. Surrounding villages, such as Kinallen, Dromara and Donaghcloney, are served by unclassified rural routes.

In 2009, a grade separated junction featuring an underpass was constructed at the junction of the B2 Banbridge Road, A1 dual-carriageway and the Rowantree Road. It was one of four junctions that were grade separated along the route as part of £30 million of safety improvements. It followed the successful construction of a similar style junction at the B2 Hillsborough Road/A1 junction on the northern end of the town.

The dialling code for Dromore, like the rest of Northern Ireland, is 028. Local landline numbers typically appear in the format 028 9269 xxxx. The town's local telephone exchange falls under the Lisburn telephone exchange code, which prior to the Big Number Change in 2000, used area code 01846.

Townlands
Dromore sprang up within the townland of the same name. The following is a list of townlands that are now within the town's urban area, alongside their likely etymologies:


 * Balleny, historically Ballyeany
 * Ballymacormick
 * Ballymaganlis, historically Ballymagarly
 * Ballyvicknacally
 * Drumbroneth, historically Drumbrony, Drumfrony
 * Lurganbane

People
Past and present famous residents include:
 * Harry Ferguson - (1884–1960) - inventor of tractor
 * Jeffrey Donaldson - Northern Ireland politician, presently both DUP MLA and MP for Lagan Valley
 * David Humphreys - Irish rugby international
 * Sir Clarence Graham, Bt. - former Ulster Unionist Party politician
 * Tyrone Howe - Irish rugby international and former local UUP Councillor
 * Barry FitzGerald - Photographer, author, and international paranormal investigator, on the TV show Ghost Hunters International, also appearred in some episodes of Ghost Hunters

Education

 * Primary Schools
 * Dromore Central Primary School - opened 1938
 * St. Colman's Primary School
 * Secondary Schools
 * Dromore High School - opened 1958. formerly Dromore Secondary Intermediate School

Sport
Despite the town's small population, Dromore has a multitude of sport teams and venues.

The two most prominent sports in the town are football and rugby union, with hockey, lawn bowls and athletics having some popularity also.

Association Football
The town has one senior association football team, Dromore Amateurs, who compete in a regional league and play home matches at Ferris Park.

Dromore also has its very own grassroots football set-up: Dromore Amateurs Youth Football Club, which coaches kids from all over the surrounding district. Having only recently formed in 2005/06, the Club has continued to grow from strength to strength and now cater for an impressive 200 kids from ages 7 to 16.

The Club currently runs six youth teams. In the 2010/2011 season they have teams from the Under 10s & Under 11s playing in the George Best Youth League, and Under 12s, Under 13s, Under 14s, Under 15s and Under 16s playing in the Mid Ulster Youth League. The club is also affiliated to the Northern Ireland Boys Football Association and enters teams into the N.I.B.F.A. Cup.

Football is also very popular as a social sport, with many groups playing on a daily basis at both municipal sports facilities.

Rugby
Rugby union is represented through Dromore Rugby Football Club, who have had some success in recent years. The club are based on Barban Hill in the town and have three rugby pitches and a clubhouse on that site. The club's 1st XV team presently compete in the Ulster Branch of the IRFU's Qualifying League.

Ladies Hockey
The town is represented on a provincial level in ladies field hockey by Dromore Ladies Hockey Club, whose 1st XI competed in the Ulster Women's Hockey Union Senior One league for the 2010/11 season, having won the Ulster Women's Hockey Union Club of the Year title in 2007/8. The club have six senior teams and junior teams at all age levels, playing home matches and training at Ferris Park.

Facilities
The principal sports facility in the town is Dromore Community Centre (also known as Holm Park), which offers two grass soccer pitches, two tennis courts and a bowling green. In addition to this, the main building contains a gymnasium and an indoor court. The secondary facility is Ferris Park, named after local Olympian Sam Ferris, which provides a full-sized sand-based floodlit hockey pitch, two floodlit tennis courts, a grass soccer pitch and a changing pavilion. Both are maintained by Banbridge District Council.