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Newry
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Newry (short form An tIúr, "The Yew") is the fourth-largest city in Northern Ireland and eighth on the island of Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, forms the historic border between County Armagh and County Down: Newry was included entirely in the latter by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. It is 34 miles (60 km) from Belfast and 67 miles (108 km) from Dublin. Newry had a population of approximately 27,430 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population of 87,058.
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Encyclopedia
Newry (short form An tIúr, "The Yew") is the fourth-largest city in Northern Ireland and eighth on the island of Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, forms the historic border between County Armagh and County Down: Newry was included entirely in the latter by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. It is 34 miles (60 km) from Belfast and 67 miles (108 km) from Dublin. Newry had a population of approximately 27,430 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population of 87,058. . Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery and is one of Northern Ireland's oldest towns.
The city of Newry is one of the constituent cities of the Dublin-Belfast corridor and sits at the entry to the Gap of the North, close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. It grew as a market town and a garrison and became a port in 1742 when it was linked to Lough Neagh by the first summit-level canal in Britain or Ireland. In March 2002, as part of Queen Elizabeth's Golden Jubilee celebrations, Newry was granted city status alongside Lisburn. Despite being the fourth largest city in Northern Ireland, however, it is not the fourth largest settlement. Newry was an important centre of trade in early Ireland because of its position between Belfast and Dublin. Newry has a reputation as one of the best provincial shopping-towns in Northern Ireland, with the Buttercrane Centre and The Quays attracting large numbers of shoppers from as far away as Cork..
In 2006 Newry topped the league of house prices increases across the whole United Kingdom over the last decade. Prices in the city increased by 371% since 1996.. The city itself has become markedly more prosperous in recent years. Unemployment has reduced from over 26% in 1991 to scarcely 2% in 2008 of .
The harsh budget in the Republic of Ireland in October 2008, along with the growing strength of the euro against sterling increased cross-border shopping dramatically as did VAT reductions in the United Kingdom, compared with increases in the Republic of Ireland. Large numbers of shoppers from the Republic of Ireland now visit Newry regularly, with resultant tailbacks, sometimes several kilometers long, on approach roads from the south. This has created huge traffic and parking problems in Newry and the surrounding area. It has also become a political issue, with some politicians in the Republic of Ireland claiming that such cross-border shopping is "unpatriotic".
Notable buildings
The Cathedral of SS. Patrick and Colman on Hill Street was built in 1829 at a cost of £8,000. The structure, which consists of local granite, was designed and built by Thomas Duff, arguably Newry's greatest architect to date. Incidentally, Thomas Duff also was the architect for the Cathedral in Dundalk, a town just over the border in County Louth, and it is said that he mixed up the plans for both cathedrals and sent Dundalk Cathedral to the builders in Newry, and Newry Cathedral to the builders in Dundalk.
The town hall is notable for being built over the River Clanrye which is the historic boundary between the counties of Down and Armagh.
The city also boasts a museum, an arts centre and, in recent years, has seen a number of art galleries being opened.
The impressive Craigmore Viaduct lies just north of the city on the Northern Ireland Railways Belfast-Dublin mainline. The bridge was designed by Sir John O’Neill with construction beginning in 1849. The bridge was formally opened in 1852. The viaduct consists of eighteen arches the highest being 126 feet, the highest viaduct in Ireland. It is around a quarter of a mile long and was constructed from local granite. The Enterprise Train link from Belfast to Dublin crosses the bridge.
Every week the Newry Reporter newspaper highlights a historic building in Newry and the surrounding area, giving a brief outline of its history.
Administration
The headquarters of Newry and Mourne District Council are in Newry. The area has a majority nationalist population, leading to a council dominated by Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party, but there are some Ulster Unionist and Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) councillors and one councillor from the Green Party.
History
The English version of the name of the city comes from the original Irish Iúr Chinn Trá (in older spelling, Iubhar Chinn Trábha), which translates as "the yew at the head of the strand", which relates to an apocryphal story that Saint Patrick planted a yew tree there in the 5th century. In modern Irish, the full name of the town is rarely used; instead it is abbreviated to An tIúr.
The town was established in 1144 with the building of a monastery, although there is strong evidence of continual human habitation in the area from 8th century. The monastery only lasted until 1162, when it was burned to the ground, and later replaced by a cistercian monastery. This monastery itself was later converted to a collegiate church in 1543, before being surrendered to the crown in 1548.
Sir Pedro Winter, marshal of the Army in Ireland, took over the site around 1550, later building a castle there. The remains of the original Cistercian monastery were still standing when Bagenal acquired the land and it may well have been the abbot's house that Bagenal proclaimed as his castle. The site was said to consist of a 'church, steeple, and cemetery, chapter- house, dormitory and hall, two orchards and one garden, containing one acre, within the precincts of the college'. The remains of Bagenal's Castle can be found today on Castle Street, near to the LIDL store, on what was once the site of McCann's Bakery.
A rental roll, dated 1575, provides a unique insight into life in the town at the time. It listed the names of the tenants in 'the High Street', 'tenements within the Fort' and the Irish Street without the Fort'. These three distinct areas also appear in a map of the same time, along with a drawing of the castle.
During the Williamite War, the forces of King James II set fire to the town in 1689, while retreating from William.
The town was rebuilt shortly afterwards, and its fortunes changed dramatically. A further period of economic prosperity, evidence of which can be seen in the many fine buildings and public places that can still be seen today.
By 1881 the population of Newry had reached 15,590.
In October 1924, Éamon de Valera was arrested at Newry Town Hall for "illegally entering Northern Ireland" and held in solitary confinement for a month in Crumlin Road Gaol, Belfast.
The Troubles
Newry saw a number of violent incidents during the conflict known as the Troubles.
See also: The Troubles in Meigh, for information on incidents at the border and customs post at Newry on the border with the Republic of Ireland and close to Newry. The British Army moved in during the 1950s. In 2003, the hilltop watch towers were taken down. The Army finally withdrew from the area in 25 June 2007 when they closed their final base at Bessbrook . As there are no garrisons in the area the Army has no official presence in Newry or South Armagh since the end of Operation Banner.
People
- John Mitchel, a 19th century Irish patriot who inspired the Young Ireland Movement, is buried in the Old Meeting House cemetery in the town.
- Pat Jennings, a former goalkeeper and most capped player for Northern Ireland, was born in the town.
- John Magee, Roman Catholic Bishop of Cloyne
- Actor John and his actress sister Susan Lynch, were both born in Newry.
- Gaelic footballer, Seán O'Neill, regarded as one of the outstanding forwards in the game, was born in Newry.
- John Dunlop, prominent Presbyterian churchman, was born in Newry in 1939.
- Actor Gerard Murphy was born in Newry, and was a prominent member of the Newpoint Players theatre group.
- Peter McParland, a former soccer player, who scored for Northern Ireland in 1958 FIFA World Cup, was born in Newry.
- Seán Hillen, artist, was born and grew up in Newry, and made a large body of photomontage artworks related to the 'troubles', many of which are based on his own photographs taken in and around Newry. They include a series satirically titled "LondoNewry, a Mythical Town.."
- Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, (1832–1900), Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, was born in Newry on 10 November 1832.
- Michael Legge - actor, best known for his recurring role in the Channel 4 series Shameless and for his part in the film Angela's Ashes. He was born in Newry and attended St Colman's Abbey Primary School and St Colman's College
- Ronan Rafferty (13 January 1964), golfer, was born in Newry.
- Susan McCann, world-famous Irish Country singer is from Newry and she now has a show on local radio station FiveFM
- BML Hillen Keene, a published author of the book Land in Mist, born in Newry on August 20, 1986.
- Sir William Hill Irvine GCMG (6 July 1858 - 20 August 1943), the 21st Premier of Victoria was born in Newry.
- Thomas Duff, Architect, (1792 - 1848) was born in Newry. Duff is renowned for having designed the Cathedral of St. Patrick and St. Colman in the town.
- John Martin (8 September 1812 – 29 March 1875) an Irish nationalist was born in Newry.
- Willie Maley (25 April 1868–April 2, 1958), the first manager of Celtic was born in Newry.
- Kieran Cunningham - actor who has had roles on TV shows such as Shameless on Channel 4, Fair City on Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), Shoot To Kill (1990) on BBC, Hollyoaks: Let Loose on E4 (channel) and Thief Takers on ITV. Currently starring in the soap, Emmerdale.
- Mountaineer Terence 'Banjo' Bannon is from the town. In 2006 Bannon narrowly survived an attempt to climb K2 in which four team members were killed.
- Danny McAlinden - boxer, won the bronze medal for Amateur boxing (Heavyweight) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Kingston, Jamaica. He was born in Newry in 1947.
- Matthew Russell, SJ - Irish Jesuit, poet and editor. Russell was born in Newry in 1834. He entered the Jesuit Order and was ordained to the priesthood at age 33. Father Russell established the 'Irish Monthly' in 1873 and served as editor for nearly forty years. He also wrote many volumes of verse, and corresponded with the English Jesuit poet Gerard Manley Hopkins.
- W. J. Barre - architect who designed the Ulster Hall in Belfast in the late 1850s.
Geography
Newry lies in the most south-eastern part of both Ulster and Northern Ireland. Approximately half of the city lies in County Down and the other half in County Armagh, however officially lies completely in Down since the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898.
The city sits in a valley, nestled between the Mourne Mountains to the east, and the Ring of Gullion to the south-west, both of which are designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Newry also lies in the shadow of the Cooley Mountains. The Clanrye River runs through the centre of town, parallel to the canal. The city also lies at the extreme northernmost end of Carlingford Lough, where the canal enters the sea at Victoria Locks.
Sport
Association Football (soccer)
Newry City F.C. play at the Showgrounds in the city.
GAA
Transport
- The Newry Canal opened in 1742. It ran for 18 miles to Lough Neagh. In 1777, Newry was ranked the fourth largest port in Ireland. Some surviving 18th and 19th century warehouses still line the canal, and now many houses, shops and restaurants.
- MacNeill's Egyptian Arch is a railway bridge located near Newry. It was selected for the design of the British One Pound coin to represent Northern Ireland for 2006.
- Newry is served by an Ulsterbus bus station, located in the city centre, that offers local, regional and cross-border services.
- A Northern Ireland Railways station, just off the Camlough road, offers cross border services on the Dublin-Belfast line. Planning permission for the construction of a new station, to the east of the current station, was granted in May 2006.
- Newry is on the main M1/A1 route from Dublin to Belfast. The road is of high-grade dual carriageway/motorway standard on the Southern side, and single-carriageway/dual-carriageway/motorway on the Northern Ireland side. The remainder of the A1 on the Northern side is expected to be upgraded to dual-carriageway standard by 2012.
2001 Census
Although officially a city, Newry is classified as a large town by the (ie with population between 18,000 and 75,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001), there were 27,433 people living in Newry. Of these:
- 26.2% were aged under 16 years and 16.0% were aged 60 and over
- 48.5% of the population were male and 51.6% were female;
- 89.6% were from a Roman Catholic background and 9.4% were from a Protestant background.
- 5.5% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.
- 99% of people are White European.
Education
Churches
Housing areas
- Altnaveigh
- Ashton Heights
- Barcroft Park
- Carlingford Park
- Carnagat
- Carnagh Park
- Carrivemaclone
- Courtenay Hill
- Daisy Hill Gardens
- Damolly
- Derrybeg Park
- Drumalane
- Drumcashellone
- Drumgullion
- Dublin Road
- Glen Hill
- High Street
- Hollywood Grove
- Liska Road
- Loanda
- Monk's Hill
- Mourne View Park
- Old Warrenpoint Road
- Parkhead
- Shandon Park
- Rooney's Meadow
External links
See also
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