Ulster Scots

The town of Kilkeel has a strong Ulster Scots identity and Heritage. In the 1600’s a sizable number of Presbyterian Lowland Scots arrived in Mourne. They settled throughout the locality, which was at that time an extremely sparsely populated, and undeveloped area. Today the excellently preserved ‘Hannas Close cottages’ near the Town, stand as a superb example of a Scottish Clachan style settlement.

From 1606 and onwards many lowland Scots family’s left their homeland areas of Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbright, for various reasons, but for most, it was due to religious persecution, to return to Ulster and to settle in places such as Mourne. The Hanna’s, Austins and Donnelsons of Sorbie, Whithorn.and Wigtown were just some of the many who made the short journey from Scotland to Ulster in the 17th Century. Other Lowland Scots surnames such as the feared Reivers family’s, most notably the Grahams and Johnstons, as well as the Kerrs, Elliotts and Charletons, also made the short journey across the sea and these were soon followed by the McCulloughs of Cardoness, the Murray’s of Broughton, and other surnames such as Hamilton, Gordon, Nichol & Nicholson, Anderson, Ferguson, Irvine, Scott, Thompson, Stevenson, McDowell, Wilson, Beck, Campbell & Burns. All of these families brought with them their fishing, farming, building and weaving skills. They immediately set about working and draining the land, creating sheoughs, building stonewalls and like at ‘Hanna’s Close’, constructing homes built in lowland Scots design, thus changing the face of the Mourne landscape forever. In the lowlands of Scotland the Reiver families had their lands divided into strips known as Marches and even today in Mourne a stonewall or ditch that denotes a different owner either side of that ditch is referred to as a March wall or as a wall that marches one’s property as opposed to property of another.

Scots words such as Thran, Thole, Targe, Blarge, Fornenst, Crack, Coof, Dunt, Cowp, Birl, Lether, Loanin, Glipe, Hirple, Quare, Scraich, Scunner, Shanks, Skelf, Skite, Gulpin, Gulder, Girn, Ganch, and Gadgee, to name but a few, are still spoken and used in everyday Mourne speech. The Presbyterian influence is still strong within the area. There are two Kilkeel town centre Presbyterian meeting houses, one for the congregation of Mourne Presbyterian (locally referred to as ‘The Big Meetin’)and the other for the Kilkeel Congregation (again referred to as ‘The Wee Meetin’). There is also a Presbyterian congregation in the village of Annalong.

A Free Presbyterian meeting house was opened in the late sixties in Kilkeel and an Annalong Free Presbyterian congregation opened their own new meeting house in 2006. In 2001 Kilkeel Central was recorded as being 69% Protestant.

LOCAL ULSTER SCOTS HEROES

Robert Hill Hanna, - Winner of the Victoria Cross.

Born at Aughnahoory, near Hanna’s Close, Kilkeel in 1887 and who was educated at Ballinran School. Company Sergeant Major Hanna won his VC when on the 21st August 1917 he led a courageous action at Hill 70, Lens, France. His nephew also called Robert Hill Hanna still resides today in the family home at ‘The Close’. Hill Hanna’s personal sword is on the wall of Kilkeel British Legion.

Major Joseph Thompson – Medal of Honour

Thompson was born in Kilkeel in 1871. He was awarded his Medal of Honour

for his heroic action during the great war at Apremont, France in 1918.

Margaret Anderson – Royal Red Cross

Miss Anderson was born in Ballinran, Kilkeel. She left school when she was just 11 years old, and at the age of 13 went to Warringstown to train as a medical receptionist. She subsequently went on to train as a nurse. During WW1 she joined the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Reserve, and was awarded the Royal Red Cross (the highest award that could be conferred on a woman for war service). In ww2 despite being 58 years old she rejoined the nursing reserve and took part in several sorties across the channel during the evacuation of Dunkirk.

Robert Scott – Winner Victoria Cross

Robert Scott was born in Haslingden in Lancashire but his roots were firmly in Kilkeel. He and his family spent most of their lives in Ballinran. He was awarded his VC during The Boer War for gallantly defending a gun position for over 15 hours, without food or water, at Caesars Camp, Natal on 6th January 1900.

Capt. Alexander Chesney

Chesney is buried in the grounds of Mourne Presbyterian meeting house. He was second in command of the Royalist forces at the Battle of Kings mountain, during the American War of Independence. His forces were beat at Kings mountain by a force that comprised mostly of Presbyterian Ulster Scots settlers. Chesney was captured, sentenced to death by hanging, freed by the British Commander, Tarleton and repatriated to Britain where the Crown gave him a pension and made him Officer in charge Customs and Excise in Mourne. Chesney built Packolet House, near Cranfield which still stands today as the finest period house in Mourne.

Lord Rawdon Chesney

Son of Captain Alexander Chesney is buried in the Anglian Church of Ireland, burial grounds, Newry Street. He was the man who mapped out the Suez Canal on behalf of the British Government.

Kilkeel is also known as the final Burial place of William Hare, (he of Burke and Hare fame, Edinburgh grave robbers). Hare lived out his final days at Leesstone Road close to the town before dying in the Workhouse, Newry Street. He is buried in an unmarked grave at the Workhouse burial banks, Mountain Road.