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Newry

Newry (from the Irish: Iúr Cinn Trá meaning "Yew at the strand's head" — often shortened to an tIúr) is the fourth-largest city in Northern Ireland and eighth in 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 (55 km) from Belfast and 67 miles (108 km) from Dublin. Newry had a population of approximately 27,430 at the 2001 Census,^[1][2] while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population of 87,058.^[3] 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.^[4] 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 the north of Ireland, with the Buttercrane Centre and The Quays attracting large numbers of shoppers from as far away as Cork.^[5]

Newry's hinterland was predominantly Irish-speaking until the early 20th century and today the city has a vibrant Irish language community, with one of the highest concentrations of Irish speakers not only in the north but throughout Ireland.

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.^[6] 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.^[7]

Since the inception of the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, shoppers from the Republic of Ireland have increasingly been crossing the border to Newry in order to buy cheaper goods. This owes to a combination of factors: the harsh budget in the Republic of Ireland in October 2008; the growing strength of the euro against the pound sterling and VAT reductions in the United Kingdom, compared with increases in the Republic of Ireland. This remarkable increase in cross-border trade has become so widespread that it has lent its name to a general phenomenon known as the Newry effect. In December 2008, The New York Times described Newry as "the hottest shopping spot within the European Union’s open borders, a place where consumers armed with euros enjoy a currency discount averaging 30 percent or more".^[8]

However the increased flow of trade has led to 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".^[9]

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.^[10] 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.

Saint Patrick's church was built in 1578 on the instructions of Nicholas Bagenal, who was granted the monastery lands by Edward VI, and is considered to be the first Protestant church in Ireland.

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. Newry and Mourne District Council is scheduled to be merged with the adjoining Down District Council in 2011 as part of the reorganization of local government in Northern Ireland.

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 pronounced "An Te~lé-ur".

The small medieval town was enlarged in 1142 with the rebuilding of an old monastery, and there is strong evidence of continual human habitation in the area from 6th century. The first monastery only lasted until 1162, when it was burned to the ground, it was later restored to some degree & enlarged 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 Henry Bagenal, marshal of the Army in Ireland, took over the site around 1550, it is said he later built a castle in Newry but there is not one scrap of documented evidence to prove this. . 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.Locating the Abbots house would be the key to this story, 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 parts of the great Cistercian church of Newry can be found today on Castle Street, near to the LIDL store, on what was once the 2nd 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 fake 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[11]

By 1881 the population of Newry had reached 15,590.^[1]

Newry Urban District Council was unusual in that during the period from the 1920s to the 1960s it was one of only a handful of councils in Northern Ireland which had a majority of councillors from the Catholic/Nationalist community. (The others were Strabane UDC and a handful of rural district councils.) The reason according to Michael Farrell was that this community formed such a large majority in the town, around 80% of the population, that it was impossible to gerrymander. Also an oddity was that for a time it was controlled by the Irish Labour Party, after the left wing of the Northern Ireland Labour Party defected to them in the 1940s.^[12]

The Troubles

Newry saw a number of violent incidents during the conflict known as the Troubles. These were ongoing into the late 90's and even now trouble such as bomb scares are still being called, Disturbing the population of Newry.

See also: The Troubles in Killeen, 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^{[citation needed]}. 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.^[13][14] 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.

Notable 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.^[15]

Julia Glover, an 18th and 19th century stage actress was born in the town.^[16]

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^[17] 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.^[18] 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.^[19]

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.^[20]

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, was born in Newry in 1834. He 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.^[21]

The 4 of Us - local band who in 1989 had a number one hit with Mary.

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 to the south east. 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

a

Association Football (soccer)

Newry City F.C. play at the Showgrounds in the city.

GAA

The Down GAA team plays at Páirc Esler in the city

Newry Bosco GFC

Newry Shamrocks GAC

John Mitchel GFC

Thomas Davis GFC, Corinshego

Ballyholland GFC

St. Monnina GFC, Killeavy

Rugby Union

Newry RFC play their home games at Telford Park on the outskirts of the city.

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.^{[citation needed]} 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 and the new station opened on September 7 2009.

Newry is on the main M1/A1 route from Dublin to Belfast. The road is of high-quality dual carriageway/motorway standard on the Southern side, with a similar high-quality dual carriageway from the Border to near Newry. The single-carriageway bypass of Newry is being upgraded to high-quality dual carriageway standard for completion by 2010. The rest of the A1 from Newry to the M1 motorway (Northern Ireland) is conventional dual-carriageway. Newry suffers from very heavy traffic notably with shoppers coming from across the border.^[22]

2001 Census

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.^[23]

5.5% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.^[24]

99% of people are White European.

Education

Abbey Christian Brothers Grammar School

Ballyholland Primary School

Bunscoil an Iúir

Cloughoge Primary School

Killean Primary School

Newry High School

Our Lady's Grammar School

Sacred Heart Grammar School

St Clare's Convent Primary School

St Colman's Abbey Primary School

St Colman's College

St. John's Primary School

St Joseph's Boys' High School

St Joseph's Convent Primary School

St Mary's High School

St Patrick's Primary School

St Ronan's Primary School

Windsor Hill Primary School

Newry and Kilkeel Institute

Mullaglass Primary School

St. Paul's High school Bessbrook

Churches

Newry Cathedral - Roman Catholic Cathedral and parish church

St. Mary's; St Patrick’s - Church of Ireland

First Presbyterian Church (Non-Subscribing) - Non-Subscribing Presbyterian Church

Housing areas

Altnaveigh

Ashton Heights

Barcroft Park

Carlingford Park

Carnagat

Ashfield Avenue

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