|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Kilkeel
Kilkeel (Kirkeel) is the principle town in the Kingdom of Mourne. It lies on the SE tip of Northern Ireland between the mountain range, immortalized by Percy French in his song 'The Mountains Of Mourne' and the Irish Sea. Kilkeel is primarily a fishing village with the largest fishing fleet in NI, the fleet now fish mainly by trawling for Prawns. The onshore work related to fishing is still very much the mainstay of the local economy. Farming has changed over the years with much newer methods being practised and thus the need for manual work today is much less than years past. The difference with this village is its location, with the Mountains of Mourne at its back and the Irish sea in front it can boast to be in one of the most scenic areas of Northern Ireland. As one might well imagine it has a very rich history that goes back many years, Kilkeel has seen many changes over this last couple of centuries and unfortunately most of the lifestyles and values that held this area together have been forgotten. One of the things that has not been forgotten is how and where to fish, this has been passed from one generation to another till present day, today state of the art trawlers towing two nets trawl the Irish Sea catching more that our forefathers would have thought possible, compared to the hand-rowed boats that used to be used to fish years ago using drift nets and long lines baited with mussels. From times past till today most native people from kilkeel and the surrounding area will always have had a member of their family that has fished at one time or another in their lives. Kilkeel and its outlying areas have adapted to today's requirements, both for the tourist and the local.
|