The Dunadry Inn, one of Northern Ireland's best-known hotels, is not about to be demolished to make way for upmarket houses and apartments, it was stressed today.

Instead the custom-built hostelry at Templepatrick is about to be relaunched by its owners, the Mooney family.

And today John Mooney was at pains to dismiss the rumour that has been circulating for more than a year that the four-star establishment, which his family took over in 1986, is soon to disappear.

"I want to kill this tale once and for all," he said. "Come September we are relaunching the Dunadry in keeping with the bright future which beckons the whole province.

"I don't know how the story started or who is responsible for this myth. But it simply isn't true. The hotel is flourishing, business is booming and the only plans we have are to continue the Dunadry as a favourite place to stay and have wedding receptions and conferences."

From September the hostelry will be known as the Dunadry Hotel, the Middle Fort, which is to remind visitors and guests that sitting in the middle of a picturesque five-acre site, it is steeped in an historic corner of south Antrim.

For example there is the true story that there was once a print works here where King William of Orange ordered a proclamation to be run off on his way to the Battle of the Boyne.

The present hotel, built in 1966 by Paddy Falloon, was on the site of an old linen mill and paper mill.

"But the legendary stories of Dunadry go back to the fifth century AD," explained John Mooney, "to the days of Conor mac Nessa (Conchubar) who sat on the throne of Ulster while the warriors of the Red Branch strode the land.

"Dunadry, in fact, means Middle Fort which was proclaimed as the camping ground of the Red Branch Knights.

"What we want to do in future is rekindle all these old stories about Dunadry and the area where we are catering for guests and wedding parties.

"The Sixmilewater River which runs through our acreage was once called The River of the Rushes and there was a military camp at its mouth."

The Red Knights of history and legend had their poets who chanted of their daring deeds in song and the greatest Knight of all was Cuchulainn - known as The Hound of Ulster. The stories of the Red Knights were written down by Christian monks in that fifth century who made a point of retaining and preserving the pagan character of the myths.

In the more recent 19th century there was a compact little village at Dunadry where mill workers lived and Mr Mooney is anxious to track down the facts about one family of 13 who lived in a tiny house close to where the Dunadry stands today.

"The story goes that all the men worked in the shipyards in Belfast, but illness eventually overcame every single member of the family and they all died one after the other of tuberculosis," he explained.