Quoile Castle and Saul Early Christian Site

Quoile Castle is a 17th Century towerhouse, now ruined, located beside the Quoile River, which winds its way from its source (Strangford Lough) initially quite widely through the townland before it hooks back on itself towards Killyleagh where it becomes the Annacloy River, then meandering to become the Ballynahinch River where it peters out. Certainly at the widest points it is impressive, and on hot days looks exceptionally inviting. Quoile Castle is a monument I was only vaguely aware of, although I have since discovered that the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork in Queen’s University undertook an excavation there in 2011 that you can read here: Quoile Castle Excavation Report.

Map of the south Co. Down area and sites/monuments

The summer has been good....well....that’s perhaps a slight exaggeration, we have had a fortnight of hot weather and perhaps due to the complete lack of any summer weather for the last few years, when it arrived in July it was hailed and loved like a long forgotten remnant of youth (which I am guilty of joining!). There are numerous monuments from history around the surrounding area....Downpatrick is, of course, famous for them, but also has its impressive motte and bailey as well as the cathedrals. Inch Abbey is also relatively close by, and the area is strewn with raths. There are chambered graves (three of them I think) near Lough Money along with something called “The Long Stone” so the area has seen some action for millennia. Saul is also located to the south east, and is another site that is on my doorstep, yet I had never visited or really read much about. There is a holy well there, yet I only discovered when writing this that there is a further holy well and bath house to the south of the main church site. What I thought was the holy well is, I think, the mortuary house.

With the weekend providing the last good days of weather in the foreseeable forecast, I decided to charge the Tiger’s battery one last time for this current few weeks riding and visit these sites. As ever, I took the roads hugging the coast contours of the western shores of Strangford Lough to Lisbane, Balloo and Killyleagh. I was overtaking slower cars with ease on the sections of long straights, the road undulating to the drumlins of the countryside. I could feel the heat of the engine and exhausts against my legs, as today, for some reason, I was more throttle happy than usual. I looked down and the speedometer was certainly....interesting....at times! On hot days I have, recently, had a tendency to have the helmet as half face and fully open. This is not something I had done until recently, but I think the airflow is a necessity! There were, however, the obligatory bugs that hit off my exposed face some of which left a stinging sensation as their arse went through their head on impact. The air is tangibly warmer and heavier with pollen in the countryside roads before you encounter the fresher and clearer sea air near Killyleagh.

Every River Bends
I powered through the tree tunnelled roads towards the small bridge over the Quoile River that is a near 90° turn with the large hump in the middle providing something else to think about! The road hugged the river, with the reeds providing a curious smell in the summer heat. I pulled off the main road to Quay Road and immediately came across the ruins of Quoile Castle.The tower stump sits beside a visitor and countryside centre and the site has wildlife cameras everywhere, although you can’t see them, there are also plenty of picnic tables and a willow tree that looked particularly inviting to sit under (I wish I had brought a book, or even a notepad and pen to jot down my thoughts that the zen motorcycle experience seems to bring on).

Quoile Castle

I explored what there was to see in the castle, the lower vaulted levels and the first floor looking out the 'arrow' loops to the gardens immediately adjacent to the site. I thought that it must be nice to live there; the castle providing an imposing yet somehow protective large garden ornament. I sat on the grass and took in my surroundings, the occasional high whine of a racing bike on the road nearby...clearly there was some other people out with the same thought as me! And who could have blamed them! Immediately beyond the castle is an agreeable green lane that leads to no-where but a spot on the river bank at one of its widest points where you can park up and take in the view. I, of course, took this lane, and as the tarmac became rougher, and the road narrowed and the trees enclosed it, the more I found I enjoyed it. I decided to double back on myself and head to Saul, a small hamlet that is eerily quiet and seems to be a location that people simply drive through. Saul (so the sign says) is the site of the first Christian church in Ireland, founded by St. Patrick in 432AD.

The ruined mortuary house and stone lined trackway at Saul

Given its apparent significance, I found the place somewhat underwhelming. The yew tree lined avenue towards the round tower of the modern church is agreeable enough, but the church itself left me with the feeling of a Disney version of and Irish early Christian site, which is what it is I suppose and I can’t help the feeling that the site is either a fraud or (if it is the site of the founding of one of the earliest Christian sites in Ireland) has been the victim of hideous under funding and care. One single wall is left upstanding that to my eye appears to be medieval or post medieval remains. There is a curious small building that is situated in grass that has been left to grow wild, juxtapositioned with the neatly cut grass around the ruined wall and modern church. Stumps of very old headstones just peak through the top of the grass that are like fingers guiding you towards this strange structure. Whether it’s the holy well or the mortuary house is, I suppose, moot. The greenery of nature is now attempting, and succeeding, in reclaiming it. My mind was brought to sites such as Nendrum, Inch, Clonmacnois, Mellifont, Cashel, Kilkenny etc and they are far more imposing, physically but also spiritually.Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I visited the place (I do love adding dots to a map!) but I guess I had wished for more of an impact. Although in Ireland, you are spoilt in this regard. In the bacck of my mind, I hanker after a longer and more epic trip; even if it is in my own back yard, I find myself yearning fore real adventure and exploration.