About Ardglass

Welcome to Ardglass
- a beautiful little fishing village on the County Down coast overlooking the Irish Sea - just south of Strangford Lough.

WEB SITE PRODUCED BY ADA THE ARDGLASS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

Belfast, the Capital City of Northern Ireland, is thirty miles (48km) to the North, and six miles in the same direction is the ancient and venerable County Town of Downpatrick - where lie the bones of St. Patrick, long since turned to dust - buried on a wooded hill above the Town one thousand five hundred years ago.

Twenty miles to the South the Mountains of Mourne sweep down to the sea, and a hundred miles beyond lies Dublin, the Capital of the Republic of Ireland. Clearly visible across the Irish Sea is the Isle of Man, a fine 30-mile sail on a summer's day.

Ardglass itself has been a fishing port for over two thousand years - during a period when the Celts developed from nomadic hunting and fishing to a sound agricultural and trading economy. The sheltered deep-sea inlet of Ardglass grew into a fishing port to the point where, 150 years ago, some four or five hundred sail powered craft habitually crowded into the harbour (many from as far away as the east coast of Scotland) fishing during the summer months for herring - the 'silver darlings' of the Irish Sea - and in the winter for whiting and cod. Towards the end of the 19th century larger steam drifters replaced these tiny craft.

Today Ardglass is the home port of thirty diesel powered vessels, and is a major fish marketing and processing centre. Fish and prawns to the value of £4 or £5 million are landed in the port each year, most of it processed locally before shipping to the large cities of Europe.

Farming and fishing are still the major sources of employment in the area, but with the greatly expanding education facilities of the two major Northern Irish Universities (Queen's and the University of Ulster) and many Colleges of Further & Higher education, the population has largely grown into a highly educated and skilled workforce, seeking employment in many branches of modern engineering, technology and design - largely outside Northern Ireland it must be said, though many people are beginning to find it possible to return, bringing developed experience to new industries.

A central aim of ADA - the Ardglass Development Association - is to ensure that these skills are properly harnessed and utilised locally. Investment in modern engineering and manufacturing has tended to be located in other parts of Northern Ireland, and ADA intends to rectify this where possible, in addition to promoting community and environmental facilities in a charming Village where the craic is great, the people are pleasant and well educated, the golf, water sports and sailing are fun, and the salmon, shellfish and herring good to eat. ADA recognises the need to assist in the development of a way of life that is happily productive, so that more people will enjoy living, working and relaxing in a unique and beautiful part of the world.

Have a look around Ardglass and district and see what you think! We are happy that you dropped in. Feel free to take a conducted Tour of the village - or wander where you will by clicking on any link (above left) that takes your fancy.

Thank you for your visit. Please Sign our Guestbook or Let us have your comments by Email - Information supplied by visitors is always welcome!