churches historical around south down

The megalithic tomb of Dunnaman, a court grave with a long gallery, is at Massforth on the A2 west of Kilkeel, just inside the speed limit, behind St. Colman's Church. An unobtrusive sign on the parochial house indicates the path between clipped hedges. St. Colman's is typical of the huge nineteenth century Paman Catholic churches with acres of adjacent concrete car parking which occupy sites on the edge of towns or out in the country miles from anywhere. Designed by O'Neill and Byrne of Belfast...

The rectangular church, possibly of c. 1200, and the now-featureless Round Tower (reduced to a stump in a storm around 1710) both probably belonged to a monastery founded by St. Domangart of Donard in the 6th century on a site probably now occupied by Maghera Church of Ireland church. Excavations in 1965 provided evidence of occupation near the tower during the Early Christian period....

Dates back to the 14th Century and is where the name 'Kilkeel' originates, translated as 'Church of the Narrows'. The Church, dedicated to St.Colman, was once the principal Church for the area. The ruined Church and Cemetery both stand in a Rath in the centre of Kilkeel town....