The Mound of Down is a hill which was built up and fortified with earthworks--ditching, basically, by John de Courcy, a Norman knight who wanted some land and decided to do a land grab in Ulster. It might have pre-existed that time as well as it made a very defensible spot since marsh surrounded most of it and there was a river nearby. It makes a lovely and peaceful spot to wander and wonder and imagine a bunch of men in metal sleeping by fires, hunting and trying to stay dry (they came in winter). Overall the Irish seem really enamoured with hills for building on.
I stopped at Inch abbey which is a good example of a Norman period Cistercian abbey that was founded by John de Courcey in atonement for decimating another monastery nearby. Might've been easier and cheaper to just support the old one. It is a good gothic example. Oh and it was set atop a much earlier monastery dating from at least the 800s which had been burnt out a couple of times by the Vikings. It was originally on an island in the marsh but they must've drained the marshes. You can see the Mound of Down and the cathedral from it.
Did you know Cistercians were classist? They had two kinds of monks, choir monks who basically just prayed all day and did minimal labor and lay monks who did everything else--cook, clean, farm, have contact with--gasp!--the public, etc. The Cistercians believed in being as self-sufficient as possible and didn't believe in slavery, which is good I suppose. Choir monks were better educated and were kept separate from their less educated lay brothers. Oh, and in Ireland back then native Irish were not allowed to be Cistercian monks at all. Too dirty or something! Never mind that Irish monks kept the light of Christianity alive in Europe during the dark ages when they spread knowledge and learning and preserved many important books which were destroyed elsewhere!
From there I went to Strangford and took the ferry to Portaferry. Both are cute little villages. The ferry is a 10 minute deal, open. It crosses Strangford Lough (kind of pronounced lock but more like lokh) at the sea end where it gets more narrow. Loughs seem to be lakes which open into the sea and mix fresh and sea water. Strangford is tidal. From Portaferry I continued by accident up the Mourne Coast road but after awhile I came back via two quaintly named scenic loops and managed to find one of the three sites I was looking for--Millin Bay Cairn. This is a Neolithic burial site right near the bay. Pretty spot. It was unusual for a number of reasons--it incorporated an earlier boundary walk into the site, was oval shaped, and the bones were arranged by kinds of bones (skulls, long bones, etc) and included like 15 people. There were more burials around but they seemed to be later burials. Here's more information:
The last is the site as it looks now. Parts of it are underground. It's right by the bay. I spent some time on the beach as well.
I went around the Lough stopping in Gray Abbey which is a cute little town with actual shops. Mostly antiques and very expensive ones at that but also a darling little shop of locally made art and craft items. I bought a small piece which I just love.
Gray Abbey was another Norman Cistercian site, founded unusually by a woman. She was the wife of John de Courcy and she had applied for dowager lands in Ireland after he died which were granted. It was a quite large establishment and it is fairly well preserved. It's also a fine example of gothic architecture.
I stayed the night again in Downpatrick at the very nice Denvirs. The owners are quite friendly and the food and rooms are nice.
Go to Instagram for more pictures!! They don't upload well here.
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