Editing Crossgar (section)

== History ==
Crossgar has had an interesting and varied past, dating from the establishment of ancient Gaelic royal and ecclesiastical sites, the settlement of Anglo-Norman invaders, to Scots settlers, to the St. Patrick's Day riots in the 1800s. According to a history of Down and Connor by a Fr. O'Laverty, the parish of Kilmore, in which Crossgar lies, was likely to have been established around 800 AD and was the ecclesiastical centre of this part of County Down. It was thought that the area had seven chapels and these can be reasonably evident by the remains of burial grounds. But the seventh cannot be traced to a burial ground and is referred to as the "lost chapel of Cill Glaise". O'Laverty says that by tradition this chapel was built by [[Saint Patrick]] and left in the care of his disciples Glasicus and Liberius.

The name Crossgar comes from the Irish ''An Chrois Ghearr'' meaning "the short cross". There is a holy well known as St. Mary's Well (''Tobar Mhuire'') which suggests that in this case ''crois'' (cross) is likely to refer to an ecclesiastical cross, no trace of which now remains. The adjective ''gearr'' (short) may suggest that the cross was damaged or in some way defective. The parish of Kilmore comes from the Irish ''Cill Mhór'' meaning "big church" or another possible meaning is ''An Choill Mhór'' meaning "the big forest", which suggests that the area was covered by a large forest. Another location of one of the seven chapels is the townland of Killinchy (''Cill Duinsí'') meaning "Duinseach's Church".

Another early name derived from the bridge in the village named after Éimhear Óg Uí Néill was ''Ever Oque'' or ''Everogue Bridge''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stranney |first1=William |title=A Lecale Farmer's Diary 1767-1797 |journal=Lecale Review |date=2014 |issue=14}}</ref>

In June 1920, during the [[Irish War of Independence]], [[Irish Republican Army (1917–22)|Irish Republican Army]] volunteers attacked the [[Royal Irish Constabulary]] barracks in Crossgar. They opened fire on the building, wounding two officers, and attempted to breach the walls with explosives before withdrawing.<ref>Lawlor, Pearse. ''The Outrages: The IRA and the Ulster Special Constabulary in the Border Campaign''. Mercier Press, 2011. pp.24-25</ref>