Holywood

Holywood (from the Latin: Sanctus Boscus meaning "Holy wood"; also Ard Mhic Nasca meaning "the height of the son of Nasca" in Irish) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the shores of Belfast Lough, between Belfast and Bangor. It had a population of 12,037 according to the 2001 Census. Holywood Exchange and Belfast City Airport are nearby. The town hosts an annual Jazz and Blues Festival.

Although it is pronounced in the same way, Holywood is not to be confused with Hollywood, the home of the US movie industry; Holywood was named Sanctus Boscus ("Holy Wood") by the Normans after the woodland surrounding a monastery founded by St. Laiseran before 640.

1 History
2 Demographics
3 Places of interest
4 Holywood people
5 Education
6 Sport
7 See also
8 References
9 External links

[edit] History

The Irish name for Holywood is Ard Mhic Nasca, 'the height of the son of Nasca', but the ‘holy wood’ from which the town takes its modern name was beside the early Christian church on the site of the present ruins of the medieval Old Priory. It appears first in latinised form as Sanctus Boscus. The earliest written use of the anglicized version occurs in a document dating from the fourteenth century in which the name is written as 'Haliwode'.

In the early 19th century Holywood, like many other coastal villages throughout Ireland, became popular as a resort for sea bathing. Many wealthy Belfast merchants chose the town and the surrounding area to build large homes for themselves. These included the Kennedys of Cultra and the Harrisons of Holywood. Dalchoolin house stood on the site of the present Ulster Transport Museum, while Cultra Manor was built in 1902–1904 and now houses part of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.

The railway line from Belfast to Holywood opened in 1848 and this led to rapid development. The population of Holywood was approximately 3,500 in 1900 and had grown to 12,000 by 2001. This growth, coupled with the growth of other towns and villages along the coastal strip to Bangor, necessitated the construction of the Holywood Bypass in the early 1970s. Holywood today is a popular residential area and is well known for its fashionable shops, boutiques, arts and crafts.

The Old Priory ruins lie at the bottom of the High Street. The tower dates from 1800, but the oldest ruins date from the early 13th century. The Priory graveyard is the resting place for many distinguished citizens including the educational reformer Dr. Robert Sullivan and the Praeger family: Robert Lloyd Praeger (1865-1953) was an internationally renowned botanist and his sister Rosamund (1867-1954) gained fame as a sculptor. A sculpture of hers, Johnny the Jig is situated in the town. Praegar House at Sullivan Upper Grammar School in the town is named after the family.

[edit] Demographics

First Presbyterian Non-Subscribing Church, Holywood

Holywood Urban Area is a medium Town within Belfast Metropolitan Urban Area (BMUA) as classified by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 10,000 and 18,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 12,037 people living in Holywood. Of these:

19.9% were aged under 16 years and 20.6% were aged 60 and over
50.6% of the population were male and 49.4% were female
23.0% were from a Catholic background and 68.6% were from a Protestant background
3.0% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

[edit] Places of interest

The Maypole and Ned's Bar

Holywood is famous for its Maypole at the crossroads in the centre of town. Its origin is uncertain, but according to local folklore it dates from 1700, when a Dutch ship is said to have run aground on the shore nearby, and the crew erected the broken mast to show their appreciation of the assistance offered to them by the townsfolk. The Maypole is still used for dancing at the annual May Day fair.
Nearly as famous, is the adjacent Maypole Bar[1], locally known as Ned's or Carty's. It was first licensed in 1857, and remarkably, from then then until 2006, it has had only 3 proprietors. Fermanagh man, Ned Carty, bought it from Mick O'Kane in the late 1960s. It had been owned by O'Kane since 1908. It is now run by Ned's son, Brian Carty. (needs updated)
There is a Norman motte in the town which may have been constructed on an earlier burial mound.
The Ulster Folk and Transport Museum illustrating the way of life and traditions of the people of Ulster is nearby, at Cultra.

[edit] Holywood people

Garth Ennis, Comic Writer (born January 16, 1970)
Maurice Jay, U105 presenter
Although still an amateur, the young golfer Rory McIlroy comes from Holywood. He was the youngest ever winner of both the West of Ireland Championship and the Irish Close Championship.
Tom Kerr is an artist, specialising in watercolours, he has produced a number of collections of paintings and writings.
BBC News anchorman Dermot Murnaghan is a former resident of Holywood. Although he was born in Devon and spent some of his early years in Yorkshire, his family later moved to Holywood where he lived just off Church View. He attended Sullivan Upper School.
The former BBC security correspendent Brian Rowan was born and raised in Holywood.
Mick Fealty, political analyst and editor of Slugger O'Toole was born in Belfast but raised in Holywood.
Alban McGuinness was born in Holywood.
Sophia Rosamond Praeger was the younger sister of the naturalist Robert Lloyd Praeger (q.v.), and was born in Holywood and educated at Sullivan Upper School, the Belfast School of Art and the Slade School of Art in London. She also studied art in Paris. She wrote and illustrated children's books, but is best known for her sculpture. The Philosopher (which was shown at the Royal Academy) is now in Colorado Springs, U.S.A. Among many other works, her well-loved 'Johnny The Jig' is to be seen in Holywood (between the maypole and the Priory); the Causeway School, near Bushmills, has her 'Fionnuala the Daughter of Lir'. She also modelled figures for such diverse bodies as the Northern Bank, the Carnegie Library on the Falls Road and St Anne's C. of I. Cathedral, Belfast. She was President of the Ulster Academy. She received an honorary MA from Queen's University in 1927, and in 1939 was awarded the MBE. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Ulster Museum and the NGI.
Dr. Robert Sullivan, educational reformer and founding benefactor of Sullivan Upper School.
Sir Charles Brett, architectural historian, born in Holywood.

[edit] Education

[edit] Sport

Holywood Cricket Club is amalgamated with the Rugby Club. Cricket may have been played in Holywood as early as 1860 but the [present club], as we know it, was formed as a result of a meeting held on Monday 28th March 1881.

In the first season games against Ballynahinch, Enfield, Lurgan, North Down and Sydenham followed the opening game against Wellington C.C. when the team was captained by Joe Ross.

The club’s first home was at Kinnegar where the club President and Benefactor for many years gave use of part of his land to the club free of charge. The members worked hard to turn the area into a cricket ground and by 1883 had secured sufficient money to erect a new pavilion.

The first Gaelic Athletic Association club in Holywood was organised in 1927. It was called St Colmcille's. The team's strip was made up of black shorts and black shirts with white collars. This early club team also sponsored a handball team and a drama club. Although successful in the early days, the club lasted only ten years. It was revived in 1948 under the title of Holywood's Patron Saint, St. Laiseran, and lasted until it withdrew from the League in 1956.

The successful Thomas Russell Gaelic Club was formed in 1962 and soon earned the name “the Holywood Giant Killers”. It played on a notoriously uneven pitch in the 'Convent Fields'. But early success did not continue – the club struggled on until 1976 when it withdrew from the Antrim League.

The next milestone in the story is the foundation of the St. Paul’s Gaelic Football Club in 1979: an amalgamation of the Holywood, Bangor and Newtownards clubs. It operated under a deal with Holywood Cricket Club which maintained the Gaelic pitch in return for using a small section of the lower pitch as part of its 'out-field'.

Turning to soccer, Holywood FC was formed in 1983 following the amalgamation of two Northern Amateur League teams, Loughview Star (1961-83) and Holywood Town (1972-83). These two clubs had not been very successful, though Loughview had caused a sensation when they reached the Clarence Cup Final while still a Second Division club, losing 2-0 to Lisburn Rangers in 1964/65.

Loughview won 2b in 1981/82 and after the amalgamation, the new club finished runners up in 2b in 1992/93 but were soon relegated again.

The club's biggest day came when they won the IFA Junior Cup final in 1989/90, beating their town rivals Holywood Rec. in the decider.

The club has enjoyed even more success in recent years, by winning the 2a title and the Cochrane & Corry Cup in the 1999/00 season. As a result the club were promoted for the first time in their history to "Intermediate" status and are currently one of the strongest squads in division 1b. The "Double" squad from 1999/00 can be seen in Photos and Action.