Kircubbin, County Down

Kircubbin
Irish: *Cill Ghobáin*
Kircubbin Irish: Cill Ghobáin;
	Kircubbin Location within County Down
County	County Down;
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Police	Northern Ireland
Fire	Northern Ireland
Ambulance	Northern Ireland
	List of places UK Northern Ireland Down 54°29′N 5°32′W / 54.483°N 5.533°W

Kircubbin is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. The village had a population of 1,153 people in the 2011 Census.^[1]

History

The settlement was originally known as Kilcubin, which is thought to come from Irish Cill Ghobáin, meaning "St Goban's church". This later became Kirkcubbin, from the Ulster-Scots word for church, kirk.^[2]^[3]

1798 Rebellion

The Rev. William Warwick, a Presbyterian minister in Kircubbin, was hanged in 1798 near his church, for the writing of seditious documents in support of the Irish Rebellion of 1798.^[4]

The Troubles

Two significant incidents occurred during the Troubles. In 1974, St Mary Star of the Sea Church, Nunsquarter, which still stands and is used today, was badly damaged by a bomb planted at the side door of the chapel. One man, a local joiner who was working in the church hall adjacent to the church, left the premises shortly before the bomb went off.

Boys' Home abuse

In 2014, the Christian Brothers admitted to the physical and sexual abuse of boys in their care from 1951 to 1985 at the De La Salle Boys' Home, Rubane House, Kircubbin, often referred to as the "Kircubbin Boys' Home".^[5] or simply "Kircubbin", and issued an apology to its victims.^[6]^[7]

Population

2011 Census

In the 2011 Census Kircubbin had a population of 1,153 (471 households).^[1]

2001 Census

Kircubbin is classified as a village by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,214 people living in Kircubbin. Of these: