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Newcastle
Irish: an Caisleán Nua
View from main street in Newcastle towards Slieve Donard, the highest peak of the Mourne Mountains.
Newcastle  Newcastle shown within Northern Ireland
Population	7,444 (2001 Census)
District	Down District
County	County Down
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NEWCASTLE
Postcode district	BT33
Dialling code	028
Police	Northern Ireland
Fire	Northern Ireland
Ambulance	Northern Ireland
EU Parliament	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	South Down
NI Assembly	South Down
List of places: UK • Northern Ireland • Down

Newcastle, County Down

The town aims to promote itself as the "activity resort" for Northern Ireland and its most special attribute is its location at the foot of Slieve Donard. The town has benefitted from a multi million upgrade which makes it a high quality seaside attraction. The town is twinned with New Ross, County Wexford, in the Republic of Ireland.

The name of the town derives from a castle (demolished in the 18th century) built by Felix Magennis in the late 1500s which stood at the mouth of the Shimna River.

In the 17th century Ulster ports began to rise in prominence. In 1625 William Pitt was appointed as Customer of the ports of Newcastle, Dundrum, Killough, Portaferry, Donaghadee, Bangor and Holywood.^[1]

On 13 January 1843, boats from Newcastle and Annalong set out for the usual fishing stations, and were caught in a gale. 14 boats were lost in the heavy seas including a boat which had gone to the rescue. Only two boats survived, the Victoria and the Brothers.^[2] 76 men perished, 46 of whom were from Newcastle. They left twenty seven widows, one hundred and eighteen children, and twenty one dependents. A Public Subscription was raised and the cottages, known as Widows Row, were built for the widows and dependants. A local song about the disaster says "Newcastle town is one long street entirely stripped of men"

In 1910 Harry Ferguson flew a small plane across Newcastle beach in one of the first engine powered flights by aircraft in Ireland. He completed the flight in an attempt to win a £100 prize offered by the town for the first powered flight along the strand. His first take off ended badly, but according to a modern newspaper report 'He flew a distance of almost three miles along the foreshore at a low altitude varying between fifty and five hundred feet'. This event is recorded by a plaque on the promenade.

The town's history is poorly recorded and is held mostly by local people and their stories of the past. Information on the town is available on signs throughout the forests and hills. The Mourne Mountains is the setting for many local myths and legends. There are stories of 'The Blue Lady', a woman abandoned by her husband who's ghost still haunts the mountains, and more recently the idea of a wild cat living in the Mournes. Many of the stories although have true origins are only folklore and give many of the towns attractions their names, such as Maggie's Leap being named after a local girl called Maggie, who leapt over the impressive chasm to her death while fleeing soldiers with a basket of eggs. Many other places in the Newcastle area get their names from other sources, 'The Brandy Pad', a popular spot in the mountains is named so because of the illegal brandy smuggling that took place through the area. Another example would be the Bogey Hill just above the harbour at the Southern end of the town, which is named after the carts that carried Mourne granite from the quarry on Thomas' Mountain down to the harbour.

Newcastle was fortunate enough to escape the worst of the Troubles and its residents both Catholic and Protestant lived in relative peace with each other.

23.5% were aged under 16 years and 21.7% were aged 60 and over

47.4% of the population were male and 52.6% were female

69.3% were from a Catholic background and 28.4% were from a Protestant background

4.1% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

Percy French - a songwriter

Slieve Donard Hotel - a four star hotel in the area, which has held host to many famous people^{[citation needed]}

Royal County Down Golf Club - The golf course in the town is one of the ten best in the world, and is said to be^{[citation needed]} one of Tiger Woods' favourite golf courses.

Mourne Granite - which was quarried here for many years and shipped all round the world. It was used to make paving stones in many cities including London and New York. Mourne granite is also being used to make the base of the 9/11 memorial in New York.

The Mourne Mountains lie south of the town and the local area includes the Tollymore Forest Park and Donard Park. The Shimna River flows through Tollymore Park and enters the sea at Newcastle.

The Murlough nature reserve is situated between Dundrum and Newcastle. The rugged sand dunes and beach are National Trust property.

Saint Patrick's Stream — in popular mythology, the Mourne Mountains was the site where Saint Patrick banished the snakes from Ireland. and that in his first landings to Ireland he visited the Mournes and even converted the local hill folk to Christianity.^{[citation needed]} The small stream is said to mark the boundary of the Kingdom of Mourne and legend has it that there is a rock in the stream with his hand print in it where he knelt down to drink the water.

Newcastle Harbour — In the 1820 Lord Annesley created a pier as a loading point for the famous Mourne granite.

The Bloody Bridge - Although the name evokes images of battles fought on this site, it is not known from where exactly this beautiful yet wild coastal area derived its poignant name, although the 1641 rebellion is often thought to be the impetus. What is certain is that its beauty is widely appreciated by tourists who flock to see the old ‘Brandy Pad’, called after the trade of illegal brandy which was smuggled down this route and from there onwards at the dead of night to Hilltown. The remains of an ancient church and the old bridge which once carried the coast road has made the bloody bridge a must-see area.

Widows Row. A set of listed cottages just south of the harbour, built by public subscription after the Newcastle Fishing disaster of 1843.

Shimna Integrated College

St. Mary's Primary School (formerly St. Mary's Boys Primary School and St. Mary's Girls Primary School). The school is currently split over two sites, one for younger children and one for older children.

Newcastle Primary School

All Children's Integrated Primary

Newcastle Technical College

Newcastle railway station opened on 25 March 1869 and finally closed on 2 May 1955.^[3]

Newcastle is unable to view some television channels, and listen to certain radio channels because they are blocked by the Mourne Mountains. In the town the television channel 'Five' is unavailable as well as all Irish television channels, although these can be viewed through Sky Digital with the exception of the Irish channel TV3. Certain Freeview services are also unavailable. Broadband is available in the town with speeds up to 8MB.

The town has its own website, run by the 'Newcastle Chamber of Commerce'.

The local newspaper is called The Mourne Observer.

Poet and writer, Richard Rowley (1877 - 1947), lived in Newcastle in later life. During World War II he founded, and ran from his Newcastle home, the short-lived Mourne Press, which failed in 1942^[4]. The poet's Newcastle home, Brook Cottage, has been demolished^[5]. In Newcastle his name is remembered through the Rowley Meadows housing development and the Rowley Path, which runs along the southern boundary of the Islands Park^[6].

Florence Balcombe, wife of writer Bram Stoker

Cormac Neeson, lead singer of rock band The Answer is from the town.