Spelga Dam: In history, From the air and a Tourist Walk
The area that is now home to Spelga Dam reservoir was called Deer’s Meadow.
The Irish Red deer roamed in the mountains surrounding Deer’s Meadow.
There was a road that ran through the meadow linking Hilltown with Kilkeel in County Down.
The River Bann flowed through the Deer’s Meadow.
1000's of people visit Spelga Dam to walk on hidden road and Bridge
This road and bridge which is usually submerged by the water of the reservoir has been exposed by the drop in water levels due to the hot summer of 2018.
This has become a temporary tourist attraction with the road coming back to into use with 1000’s of people walking along it.
Check out our video below!
The Dam is 1200 foot above sea level.
The Construction of Spelga Dam
The dam at Spelga was initially conceived to supply water to Belfast.
The dam was designed by Robert Ferguson and Samuel McIlveen who were an architectural and engineering partnership from Belfast.
They specialised in public housing schemes, waterworks and sewerage schemes.
The dam was built by John Laing and Sons.
John Laing founded the company in Carlisle, England in 1848.
It grew to become a major construction company listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1953
The dam was built between 1953 and 1957.
The project cost £650,000 to complete.
It now supplies water to Portadown and Banbridge.
The area of Spelga dam is a Pleistocene glacial drift formed at the last Ice Age in Ireland which lasted from 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago.
Check out the impressive drone footage of Spelga Dam by JMC Aerial Media!
Mourne Mountain Water
NI Water carried out a cheeky experiment last year with the launch of a pure, natural bottled water to rival any of the big bottled water brands – Mourne Water
‘Locally sourced from the Green Hills of the Mourne Mountains’
It was called “refreshing”, “pure”, “lovely”!!!
The power of a strong marketing message indeed – the testers were given new Mourne Water bottled water!!!
It was a spoof! The Mourne Water that the testers had tasted came straight out of the tap!
Where does the Mourne Mountains get it’s name from?
Mughdorna Clan from the Barony of Cremorne took control of the area and named the mountain range after themselves.
Cremorne in Irish is Crioch Mhurn and is said to be a pre or early Celtic tribe who settled in Ulster.
The Cremourne Barony extended across much of County Monaghan.
RIP Coolio 2022 – do you know the rap legend played in Warrenpoint!