Near Kilkeel are two interesting earthen forts or 'duns', at Dunavan and Dunavil and to the east of the town is a fine cromleac that is known locally as the Crawtree Stone. In a field beside the Catholic cemetery at Massforth is a good example of a 'giants grave' (Kistvaen). The covering stones are missing but the upright ones are still intact.

PLACES TO VISIT

The Old Church of St Colman’s and Graveyard
Kilkeel Old Church and graveyard is situated to the west of Newcastle Street and north of Bridge Street. The Church represents the historic monument from which Kilkeel takes its name. Kilkeel is the anglicised version of the Gaelic “Cill Choal” which translated is thought to mean “The Church of the Narrow Way” and its location on an elevated site would confirm this. Dating back to the 14th Century, the Church was dedicated to St Colman and was known in 1388 as "St Colman Del Morne".

Kilkeel Harbour
Visit the harbour, which is Northern Ireland’s largest fishing fleet. While away the hours by watching the boats load up supplies and ice before setting sail or watch for their return after a fishing expedition and landing at the fish market. The harbour is a hive of activity with fishermen mending nets, loading supplies, or carrying out maintenance. The harbour is also home to a couple of seals, which can be seen swimming around the harbour on the look out for a handy supper.

Nautilus Centre
The Nautilus Centre is home to the Harbour Store, which sells fresh locally caught fish and seafood, as well as fishing tackle and nautical craft. If you want to try your had archery then Archers Edge is the place to have a go. It is also home to Kilkeel Tourist Information Centre and Kilkeel Development Association, which has been regenerating Kilkeel for the past 15 years.

Opening in Summer 2007 will be Northern Ireland’s first Seafood Cookery School and “The Big Catch” a family fun visitor attraction which brings to life the heritage of the local fishing and maritime industry. There will also be a new seafood restaurant and new shops.

The Silent Valley
The Silent Valley is situated in the Mourne Mountains. The Silent Valley and Ben Crom reservoirs supply water to Belfast and Co. Down.

The information centre is open all year from 10.00am – 6.30pm. It provides an informative exhibition through photographs etc. Admission to the Centre is free.

The coffee shop is open daily from 11.00am – 6.30pm in June, July & August and on Bank Holidays in April, May & September.

The reservoir grounds are open daily from 10am – 6.30pm (Summer) and 10am – 4pm (Oct – April) A charge is payable at the entrance.

Shuttle Bus During the months of May, June and September at weekends and during July and August daily a bus service operates frequently between the Silent Valley car park and Ben Crom reservoir. There is a charge for this service.

Cranfield Beach
Cranfield beach is A Blue Flag Beach and is set in an idyllic location at the mouth of Carlingford Lough with the majestic Mourne Mountains as a backdrop. The long, south facing beach offers excellent facilities for all visitors whether it be for a gentle stroll or for water based activities.

Greencastle Castle
The early 13th century castle stands on high ground overlooking the entrance to Carlingford Lough. If you take the Cranfield Road south out of Kilkeel and follow signs to Cranfield West and then to Greencastle.

The Crawtree Stone Dolman
This dolman in Kilkeel came to be known as The Crawtree Stone. Heading out of the town on Newcastle Street there is a mini-roundabout. From the car park at Asda store you can see a laneway and it is up there.

Kilfeaghan Dolman
From Kilkeel going towards Rostrevor you will see a brown sign on the right hand side of the road for it.

Mourne Esplanade
Kilkeel Leisure Centre which boasts a swimming pool, squash courts, gym is located on the Mourne Esplanade. It is also home to Kilkeel Bowling Pavillion, tennis courts, football pitches, childrens play area, with slides, swings etc and you can also access Kilkeel Beach which lies south of Kilkeel Harbour.

The Crawtree Stone Dolman
This dolman in Kilkeel came to be known as The Crawtree Stone. Heading out of the town on Newcastle Street there is a mini-roundabout. From the car park at Asda store you can see a laneway and it is up there.

Kilfeaghan Dolman
From Kilkeel going towards Rostrevor you will see a brown sign on the right hand side of the road for it.

Kilkeel Town and Heritage Trail
In 1740 Harris in his History of County Down described Kilkeel as "a small Village and a Church situated between the Foot of the mountains of Mourne and the Sea, in a narrow Vale, which extends for some Miles along the Coast; the soil good, and the Country well inhabited.” Kilkeel is the Principle Town in the Kingdom of Mourne.

There is a Heritage Trail around Kilkeel which highlights the main attractions in the town it starts of at:-

1. The Lower Square, it was constructed in 1997 as part of a major regeneration initiative for Kilkeel. The Sculpture “Narrows Journey was erected in 1998 and depicts the rich heritage and culture of the Kilkeel area linked to fishing, farming and granite industries.

2. Kilkeel Riverwalk, it was established in 1998 and provides a scenic tranquil 10 minute walk down to Kilkeel Harbour.

3. Manus’s Lane, it was improved and upgraded in 1999. Local Fishermen and school pupils are all using this as a short cut from the Harbour to the Harbour road which leads to the school and the leisure and sports facilities

4. The Nautilus Centre, it was established in November 1997 it is located with the panoramic views overlooking the inner harbour basin. A living celebration of Kilkeel, the Centre also houses a Fishing heritage and tells stories of Kilkeel’s rich fishing tradition. It houses a conference and training Suite, meeting rooms, a restaurant/café, a fresh fish and maritime craft retail outlet, 12 net stores, and a net mending loft.

5. Kilkeel Harbour, Kilkeel is home to 55% of Northern Ireland’s fishing fleet, and with over 105 boats, it boasts the largest fishing fleet in Ireland. The 1970’s saw a substantial extension of the harbour to the west and the diversion of the river into its upper end. Kilkeel’s fishing industry remains a vibrant one, and the Harbour is a hive of commercial activity with fish processing factories, marine engineer, ice factory, fish market, and ship repair works. It is a key tourism attraction, many visit the harbour to see the spectacular sight of the Boats coming in after fishing.

6. Mourne Esplanade, it represents the key recreational and sporting area in Kilkeel with the leisure centre, swimming pool and fitness gym, multi floodlit synthetic pitch, outdoor bowling green, tennis court and kiddies play area.

7. Knockcree Avenue, it is one of main access routes into town centre and Greencastle Street from the Esplanade and the Harbour area. Kilkeel High School is situated on Knockcree Avenue, which is one of the three Secondary schools on Kilkeel.

8. Kilmorey Square, Kilmorey Arms is situated at the top of Knockcree Avenue. It has provided lodgings and accommodation since before the 1850’s. The Kilmorey Square was improved recently as part of an environmental improvement scheme to the town in 1999 and is the location of a watering trough, which dates back to the 1800’s. A memorial statue was erected just below Kilmorey Square in 1999.

9. Kilkeel Library, it was constructed in the early 1970’s. The entrance to the library was the former site of the old Kilkeel Urban District Council, it was demolished in the 1970’s. The entrance to the library is now the main entrance to the newly built clinic.

10. Parochial house/Oratory/St.Colman’s, the Roman Catholic Parochial House on the corner of the Manse road was built in 1890 on a site formerly known as “The Circus Field”. Our Lady of the Angels Oratory is a small church built at the beginning of the 1960’s. St. Colman’s Hall positioned beside the Oratory, was once the parish centre for concerts, dances and drama up until the recent years. It is now used as a youth facility.

11. Morne Abbey, it refers to a Moravian religious house originally located here dating from 1763. Brother James O’Harril ministered there from 1797 until 1807, when he died. There was originally a graveyard behind the house however over the years it has been covered leaving the last headstone, which is now built into a outhouse wall. The old buildings were incorporated into the house of Quinn Henry who was agent to the Kilmorey Estate.

12. The Banking Tradition, the northern Bank situated on Greencastle Street is a Victorian House which was previously the Belfast Bank established in 1868. The First Trust Bank also situated on Greencastle Street was formerly the Provincial Bank, which amalgamated with the Munster and Leinster Bank in the early 1900’s. The Munster and the Leinster Bank was formerly situated in the Building adjoining Christ Church House, which was built in the 1920’s. The Bank of Ireland is located at 19 Greencastle Street.

13. Mourne Presbyterian Church, it was completed in 1831 replacing an old thatched three corner Church which was built in 1756 and a former meeting house constructed in 1736 at the upper end of the present graveyard. The present church has been renovated on several occasions. In front of the church there is a sun dial, which was presented to the congregation in 1757 by the son of the first known minister. In 1923 a War Memorial was placed in front of the church. A marble figure representing a soldier with arms reversed stands on a granite base and marble pedestal. Adjoining the church is a League Hall which was opened originally as a school in 1853.

14. Buildings of Interest Greencastle/Newry Street, at the bottom of Newry Street (John Quinn Limited; McErlane) at numbers 4-6 are two listed buildings which date back to 1790. Originally a three-storey five bay house with one extra at the western end, the ground floor is now in shops fronts but the upper floors are all Georgian-glazed.

15. The Church of Christ, the Church of Christ the Redeemer, it was consecrated in the year 1815. tablets in the Church include one soldier and explorer General Francis Rawdon Chesney of Packolet House, Ballyardle. He devoted the last 20 years of his life to literary and scientific pursuits. He is buried in the cemetery at Christ Church. The graveyard also contains graves of many other local notables including the Kilmorey Family and Robert Scott (d 1961) who won a VC in the Boer War.

16. Mourne Hospital/Workhouse, probably the “Handsome House” referred to in the “Picturesque Handbook” 1846 described as “lately erected”, Mourne Hospital was once the Fever hospital attached to the Workhouse. The Housing Estate and Brooklands Nursing Home are built directly on the site. When latter closed, part of the building was used first as an integrated post primary school from 1918-1925 and then as a Technical School until the new College was built on Greencastle Street. The building was also used by the RUC “A” as a special barracks in the early 1920’s. At the rear of the buildings are the “Burying Banks” which mark the site of many unmarked graves.

17. The Knitting Factory, Erected by the very Rev. Richard Marner D.D.P.P in 1889, Kilkeel Knitting mills was formerly St.Colman’s “Dunavan” Roman Catholic male, female and infant National Schools up to 1963. St. Colman’s school is now located on Greencastle St.

18. St. Louis Grammar School, it was founded in 1921. It was previously known as “Thornmount” which was owned by McClymot who had sawmills there. Additions were made to the school in 1973 and it now houses 573 pupils (1999). There is an old fort behind the school which is of rich archaeological interest.

19. St. Colman’s Roman Catholic Church, it stands about a mile from Kilkeel on the Newry side of Kilkeel. It is close by the Mass Rock used in the Penal days and replaced an earlier small chapel. It was completed in 1879 replacing an older building dated 1810. The church was erected through the dedication of the very Rev, Richard Marner D.D.P.P V.F who was born in the parish of Kilmore 1834. In the field behind the cemetery there is a “Kistavaen” or “Giants Grave” which is of significant archaeological interest.

20. Site of the Old Royal Hotel, Bridge Street, in the1830’s the building was then renovated and extended. The building traded as “The Royal Hotel” up until the mid 1980’s, when it was burned in a fire and remained derelict up until 2000 when it was redeveloped.

21. The Old Church of St. Colman’s and Graveyard, it represents the historic monument from which Kilkeel takes its name translated to mean “The Church of the Narrow Place”. In the 14th century the church was dedicated to St. Colman and was known in 1388 as “St. Colman Del Morne”. Within the ground of the church there is a defaced equal armed medieval cross which stands beside as a wart well fro curing warts. Detailed information about the surrounding area is found on the interpretive boards in the graveyard.

22. Site of the Old Temperance Hotel, the former site was where the current Housing Executive Building on Newcastle Street is. Percy French used to stay there on his many visits to Kilkeel.

23. The Alfred Eadie Hall/Kilkeel Presbyterian Hall, was originally a Moravian Church until 1916. it was erected in 1832 and its foundation stone with the inscription “Church of the United Brethren 1832” is built in to the porch of the present day Manse. The present church replaced an older building at the end of the 19th century. In recent years, it has undergone extensive renovations.

Other Ecclesiastical Associations, the recently Constructed Baptist Tabernacle which stands at the edge of the town on the Newcastle road. The former tabernacle site is opposite the new structure it was built in 1933. The Brethren have their Meeting House on the mountain road, which was built in 1932. There is also a Brethren Meeting House on Newcastle Street. The Mourne Free Presbyterian Church is on the out skirts of Kilkeel on the Carginagh road on the Newcastle side.

FURTHER AFIELD:-

Annalong Cornmill
Built in the early 1800s and powered by a waterwheel, the mill overlooks the harbour. It operated until the 1960's.

Guided tours April – Oct daily (ex Tues) 2-6pm also Nov – March daily (ex Tues) 3-5pm

Kilbroney Forest Park in Rostrevor
This area of parkland and forest has a children’s play area, caravan and camping facilities, a restaurant and numerous walks. You can walk on the flat through the grounds or climb to the Cloughmore Stone, a large boulder from where the stunning views of the mountains and lough can be seen. There is also a forest drive in the park.