The name 'Donaghadee' comes from Irish
Domhnach Daoi, which has two possible meanings: "church of Daoi", after an unattested saint, or "church of the
motte". In the early 17th century,
Hugh Montgomery settled Scottish Protestants there as part of the
Plantation of Ulster, and it began to grow into a small town. The town featured in the
Irish Rebellion of 1798. On the morning of Pike Sunday, 10 June 1798 a force of
United Irishmen, mainly from Bangor, Donaghadee,
Greyabbey and
Ballywalter attempted to occupy the town of
Newtownards. They met with
musket fire from the
market house and were defeated. Donaghadee was used in the 1759–1826 period by couples going to
Portpatrick in
Scotland to marry, as there was a daily packet boat. During this period, Portpatrick was known as the "
Gretna Green for Ireland". The population at the time of the 1841 census was 3,151. The
RNLI lifeboat station at Donaghadee harbour, founded in 1910, is one of the most important on the Irish coast. The
Sir Samuel Kelly is a noted lifeboat once based in Donaghadee and now on show and preserved at the harbour for her efforts over 50 years ago. On 31 January 1953, the lifeboat rescued many survivors in the
Irish Sea from the stricken
Larne–
Stranraer car ferry,
MV Princess Victoria.
Donaghadee railway station, which was open for passenger traffic from 1861 to 1950, was on the
Belfast and County Down Railway. == Demography ==