The Annual Dinner of Saintfield Heritage Society, held recently at La Mon Hotel, was attended by over 60 members and guests. The after-dinner speaker was Dame Mary Peters who entertained her audience with reminiscences from her illustrious life. As the Daily Mail once put it, “The greatness of Dame Mary Peters lies in the fact that her finest sporting achievement proved to be a beginning and not an end.”

Some more photographs of the event can be found HERE.

Monday 3rd – Saturday 8th August 2015

Brian Williams Heritage are pleased to announce that they are now taking bookings for a summer excavation which is scheduled to take place during August 2015 in Saintfield.

The excavation, which will be directed by Dr. Brian Williams, will take place on the site of a possible 17th century clachan at Creevyloughgare, in Saintfield, with access to the site being kindly permitted and facilitated by the landowner.

Coinciding with the anniversary of the birth of the renowned 17th century Irish-Scottish philosopher, Francis Hutcheson, who was born near Saintfield on August 8th 1694, this excavation will offer participants a unique opportunity to explore the rich archaeological and cultural heritage of the region.

The group will spend the mornings excavating the site, while the afternoons will be spent on field trips of the surrounding areas. There will also be a number of lectures and social events included on the itinerary for the week.

The cost of participating in the excavation is £295 per person. A discount of 10% will be applied if a deposit of £100 is paid by May 30th. No prior excavation experience is required for this dig as all training will be provided on site.

Early booking is essential as places are strictly limited. For more information, or to make a booking, please contact Dr. Vanessa Ryan on 00353876055150 or email vryan@tcd.ie.

Further details of this and other events can be found HERE.

Saintfield Development Association‘s Litter Pick on Saturday 23rd May is supported by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.

Cleaning up the community not only creates a more pleasant place for us to live, but it also creates a good impression for anyone visiting our community!

Everyone is welcome to come along and help!

The SDA’s “Saintfield Cycle Ride” advertised in Saintfield News as taking place on Sunday 10th May has been moved to Sunday 17th May due to a competing event on the original date. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

The ride will start at the Downpatrick Street car park in Saintfield at 9.30am and the route will be over a distance of about 30 miles through scenic countryside, terminating at The Rowallane Inn.

The entry fee is £10 per head which includes refreshments.

Payment can be made on the day at the starting point from 8.30am.

The ride is suitable for all categories of cyclists and the route will be marshalled and clearly signposted.

Issue 7 of Saintfield Development Association’s Saintfield News
has been published and you can download it HERE.

Saintfield Development Association’s Infrastructure Committee applied for a grant from the Northern Ireland Environment Link to fund the development of a Landscape Masterplan for Saintfield.  After much work the plan has been completed, and the full report can be downloaded HERE.

Have a look at this Swipe Map to see the boundary changes for the new councils!  (Move the vertical bar left and right. Use “+” & “-” to zoom in and out.)

A map of the area covered by the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council can be viewed HERE.

Detailed maps of all of the council wards can be downloaded HERE.  (Large file)

Some statistics from the 2011 census can be seen HERE.