Doreen McBride 
Banbridge 
The Star of County Down

Banbridge gets its name from the bridge built across the River Bann in 1712. It’s a thriving modern town, rife with history and culture, surrounded by beautiful scenery that provided an iconic location for the internationally acclaimed television series Game of Thrones. It’s the setting of the well-known folk song ‘The Star of the County Down’, contains Europe's first flyover bridge and an ancient church founded by St Patrick himself. Travel from Ballievey along the Lower Bann, discover ancient Celtic sites, the remains of old linen mills and a Second World War aeroplane factory. Look, too, for the famous names attached to Banbridge, including Ernest Walton, the first person to see an artificially split atom; F.E. Mc William, the renowned sculptor; and Captain Francis Crozier, the explorer who discovered the North West Passage.

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DOREEN Mc BRIDE is a retired biology teacher with an interest in the environment, folklore, local history and storytelling. She spent a year seconded to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum to develop materials for schools using the grounds from a scientific point of view. The museum published those materials and asked her to write a guide for children, which was published by Longmans in 1988. She had a career change in 1991 and became an international, award-winning professional storyteller. She served for 12 years on the then Southern Education and Library Board and was President of Association of Northern Ireland Education and Library Boards (2004-2005). She is a prolific author of local history books, including seven for The History Press and contributes to local periodicals. She has had three plays broadcast on Radio Ulster and she lives in Banbridge, Co. Down.