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16 October 2014
your place and mine
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Mountains of Mourne

"Mountains - they're a living thing ...."

The Land

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"Mountains - they're a living thing ...."

Send friends or family a Mournes e-card, to view the selection

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Heather and Victor speaking


Mourne walkers speaking


Jimmy Newell speaking

Slievenaglogh, Commedagh and Donard, seen from the Mourne wall on Bearnagh (Photo - M Johnston)
Slievenaglogh, Commedagh and Donard,
seen from the Mourne wall on Bearnagh

Marie McStay loves to be among the Mourne Mountains. She likes nothing better than to don her walking boots and take to the hills. On her travels she comes across others for whom the Mournes are integral to their 'your place and mine'.

Mark Brennan shares Marie's love of the Mournes. His family has lived between Rostrevor and Kilkeel since about the 1660s. Seven generations on the connection to this place is just as strong as ever. Mark says "I would live out here in a tent, before I would live in the town or a city."

Tom Porter was born in the shadow of the mountains and feels there's "no place in the world just like Mourne." He thinks Mourne people have a distinct character because the mountains virtually cut them off from other areas.

Slieve Binnian & Wee Binnian (Photo - M Johnston)
Slieve Binnian & Wee Binnian

Willie Davey looks out his kitchen window at Slieve Binnian every day and "can't see any place to beat the Mournes". He was proud to work on building the Binnian Tunnel in the 1940's, which helped improve the water supply to Belfast. We're a hardy race of people, says Willie Davey. He remembers an agent called Shirley who said "They were the best men I have ever come across - the Mourne men. For it didn't matter what job you wanted done you could get a man in Mourne to do it".
(You can read more about the building of the Binnian Tunnel here on Your Place & mine .)

Mairead White lives in Attical, which lies in one of the Mourne valleys. She feels the mountains have a great influence on her life being... "something that is part of me. It's just a sense of security ... a sense of part of belonging." Locals have an intimate knowledge of the surrounding peaks. Mairead's father used to look up at Long Mountain and be able to tell what the weather was going to do that day. Her mother saw other things.... Listen to

As well as the well known names such as Donard, Lamagan, Bearnagh and Muck there are many other curious and meaningful names.. Deers' Meadow, Miners' Hole, Pigeon Rock, Buzzard's Roost, Diamond Rocks, Brandy Pad and 'Pollaphuca' , which means "pool of the fairies" or "sprite". Just about every acre of this magnificent mountain range has a name; they roll off the tongue like poetry. Parts of the mountains are as familiar to people as the backs of their hands.

Have YOU a favourite place in the Mournes? Is it the beautiful landscape which makes it special or does it evoke particular memories? Have you stories about Mourne people or places you could share? Why not add an entry at the bottom of the page or just drop us a quick e-mail to ypam-online@bbc.co.uk .

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Send friends or family a Mournes e-card. View a selection

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