Holywood (/ˈhɒliwʊd/ HOL-ee-wuud; from Latin Sanctus Boscus 'holy wood'[2]) is a town in the metropolitan area of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland.

This was the name the Normans gave to the woodland surrounding the monastery of St Laiseran, son of Nasca.

[4][5] In the early 19th century, Holywood, like many other coastal villages throughout Ireland, became popular as a resort for sea-bathing.

Many wealthy Belfast merchants chose the town and the surrounding area to build large homes for themselves.

This growth, coupled with that of other towns and villages along the coastal strip to Bangor, necessitated the construction of the Holywood Bypass which was completed in 1972.

The Priory graveyard is the resting place for many distinguished citizens including the educational reformer, Robert Sullivan, and the Praeger family.

[10] On 17 June 1994, Garnet Bell, a former pupil bearing a grudge, entered an assembly hall at Sullivan Upper School and used a flamethrower to attack students taking A-level examinations.

[20] Records of the marine algae include: Polysiphonia elongata, Laurencia obtusa, Chondria dasyphylla, Pterothamnion plumula, Rhodophyllis divaricate, and Coccotylus truncates.

Nearby Craigavad is the home of the Royal Belfast Golf Club, the oldest in Ireland, dating from 1881.