Newry (; ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

, divided by the

Clanrye river Newry River and River Clanrye ( ga, An Rí; Ulster-Scots: ''Clanrye Wattèr'') are names for one of the rivers of Ireland. The river passes through the city of Newry and empties into Carlingford Lough near Warrenpoint. Course The river, wh ...

in counties

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the ...

and Down, from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

and from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

, although there are references to earlier settlements in the area, and is one of Ireland's oldest towns. The city is an entry to the "

Gap of the North The Moyry Pass is a geographical feature in Ireland. It is a mountain pass running along Slieve Gullion between Newry and Dundalk. It is also known as the Gap of the North.Spring p.105 The pass was of historical military importance as it contr ...

", from the border with the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

. It grew as a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

and a

garrison A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mili ...

and became a port in 1742 when it was linked to

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come ...

by the first summit-level

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface f ...

built in Ireland or Great Britain. A cathedral city, it is the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dromore. In 2002, as part of Queen Elizabeth's

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু� ...

celebrations, Newry was granted city status along with

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

Name

The name Newry is an anglicization of ''An Iúraigh'', an oblique form of ''An Iúrach'', which means "the grove of

yew trees Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Taxus'': * European yew or common yew (''Taxus baccata'') * Pacific yew or western yew (''Taxus br ...

". The modern Irish name for Newry is ''An tIúr'' (), which means "the yew tree". ''An tIúr'' is an shortening of ''Iúr Cinn Trá'', "yew tree at the head of the strand", which was formerly the most common Irish name for Newry. This relates to an

apocryphal Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...

story that

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints b ...

planted a yew tree there in the 5th century. The Irish name ''Cathair an Iúir'' (City of Newry) appears on some bilingual signs around the city.

History

Hill Street, Newry, County Down (31007700052)

There is strong evidence of continual human habitation in the area from early times, where it is seen during the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

that Newry had a factory-type community who were producing in abundance very detailed jewellery for garments. Three of these Newry Clasps can be found in the

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasure ...

, and a massive arm clasp from the same period was also found in Newry. In recent times the survey for the new bypass revealed a number of standing stones on a central area down the Omeath Road. These, like many other finds, such as that of an ancient cave at the top of the Dublin Road area, have seemingly been noted and forgotten about. It is estimated that as many as 130 ancient sites were discovered at the top of the Camlough Road. Among them three Neolithic homesteads were discovered. At the time, all were noted and left to be destroyed by the new road. Standing stones were also seen on at least one of these sites, but they stand no more. In AD 820, the Danes made one of their "earliest irruptions at Newry abbey, from whence they proceeded to Armagh, taking it by storm, and plundering and desolating the country around". In AD 835 the Danes again made a sudden incursion into Newry, with a large body of

Danes Danes ( da, danskere, ) are a North Germanic ethnic group and nationality native to Denmark and a modern nation identified with the country of Denmark. This connection may be ancestral, legal, historical, or cultural. Danes generally regard t ...

landing at Inbher-Chin-Tra-gha, or Newry, and raided the area before attacking Armagh, where they set fire to the churches and university, plundering gold and other items from them and killing an estimated one thousand people in the city and surrounding area. The Victorian era historian James Henthorn Todd goes into further detail in his 1867 Volume, (Chronicles and memories of England and Ireland in the Middle Ages) recording that the abbey was attacked in AD 824. A small medieval town was on the site to the north and south of the abbey, which was rebuilt in 1142 (Keating G) by King O Carroll of the Oriel at the request of Saint Malachi (Ibid). The landing stage of the abbey was situated close to the western bank of the Newry River in what is now Kilmorey Street. From these early times, it was the main pier and port of the town; it remained as such until the construction of the new canal took place. The abbey was later converted to a collegiate church in 1543, before being surrendered to the Crown in 1548. The abbey is seen to be giving its earnings to the Crown almost 200 years before this date. It is described as being one of the richest and largest in Ireland. The

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

attacked the Abbey many times, slaughtering its occupants. The town was granted its first charter between 1157 by

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ga, Ardrí na hÉireann ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and later sometimes assigned an ...

Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn Muircheartach Mac Lochlainn (old spelling: Muirchertach mac Lochlainn, IPA: �mˠɪɾʲəçəɾˠt̪ˠəxmˠəkˈlɔxlən̪ʲ was king of Tír Eoghain, and High King of Ireland from around 1156 until his death in 1166. He succeeded Toirdheal ...

. In 1162 the monastery was attacked and raided by the

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

s of

Irish clans Irish clans are traditional kinship groups sharing a common surname and heritage and existing in a lineage-based society, originating prior to the 17th century. A clan (or ''fine'' in Irish) included the chief and his patrilineal relatives; howe ...

. De Courcy's lordship ensured a safe spell for the abbey after he had built several castles in and around Newry. These were typical Norman affairs, of motte-and-bailey construction. In 1539 an English

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

, Nicholas Bagenal, fled to Ireland after murdering a man in

Leek, Staffordshire Leek is a market town and civil parish in the county of Staffordshire, England, on the River Churnet. It is situated about north east of Stoke-on-Trent. It is an ancient borough and was granted its royal charter in 1214. It is the administra ...

, apparently with the aid of his two brothers. After some time in the employment of the O Neill he reached a high status, was granted a pardon in 1543, and became

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

of the army. During his early years in the Louth area he lived at Carlingford where his son Henry was born. Lord Bingham is seen sending Oriel labourers to Newry in 1546 at which time Bagenal is seen restoring the castle of Newry, which belonged to Hugh O Neill, being first built by John De Courcy in 1186 (De Arcy McGee See also Lewis 1815). Not long after this the Marshal, in 1552, secured a 21-year lease on the Newry property, which was confiscated from the Cistercians. The castle was then razed to the ground by Shane O'Neill, who banished Bagenal from Newry in 1566. The nearby convent was also part of the Abbey, and is mentioned in the Bagenal patent. A small medieval church can be found in its grounds. The abbey site is mentioned in the rent rolls of 1575, and said to consist of a church, a steeple, a cemetery, a chapterhouse, dormitory and hall, two orchards and one garden, comprising , within the precincts of a monastic college. During the 1689

Raid on Newry The raid on Newry took place in November 1689 during the Williamite War in Ireland when a Franco-Irish force loyal to James II attacked the Williamite garrison of Newry in County Down. The raid was carried out by the French Major General ...

Williamite A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs. O ...

forces under

Toby Purcell Toby Purcell or Tobias Purcell was an Irish soldier in the Williamite War in Ireland. He served in the forces of William III of Ireland, William of Orange during the conflict. Purcell was in command of the garrison of Newry in 1689, when it was ...

repulsed an attack by the

Jacobites Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...

under the Marquis de Boisseleau. At the period of the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and J ...

, the Duke of Berwick set fire to the parts of the town which he had restructured to defend it, (see Berwicks Journal). Schomberg sent troops in during the early hours of the mornings when seeing the flames, they successfully extinguished them. While it is believed that King William may have stayed at a Newry Castle, the story is a far-fetched one. King William took a portable wooden bedroom with him on this campaign, which he called his "coach". (see The Impartial History by Rev Story) The King refused to sleep in castles or houses, preferring to be amongst his men. By 1881 the population of Newry had reached 15,590. 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 Strabane ( ; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,172 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the east bank of the River Foyle. It is roughly midway from Omagh, Derry and Letterkenny. The River Foyle mark ...

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, making it 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.

The Troubles

Newry saw several violent incidents during the conflict known as

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

, including a triple killing in 1971, a bombing in 1972, and a mortar attack in 1985. These continued into the late 1990s and even in 2010 – such as

bomb scare A bomb threat or bomb scare is a threat, usually verbal or written, to detonate an explosive or incendiary device to cause property damage, death, injuries, and/or incite fear, whether or not such a device actually exists. History Bomb threats ...

s and

car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...

s. See also: The Troubles in Killeen, for information on incidents at the border and customs post at Newry on the border with the

and close to Newry. In 2003, the hilltop watchtowers were taken down. The

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

withdrew from the area on 25 June 2007 when they closed their final base at Bessbrook. As there are no

s in the area the British Army has had no official presence in Newry or South Armagh since the end of

Operation Banner Operation Banner was the operational name for the British Armed Forces' operation in Northern Ireland from 1969 to 2007, as part of the Troubles. It was the longest continuous deployment in British military history. The British Army was initial ...

Geography

Newry lies in the most south-eastern part of both

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

and

. About half of the city (the west) lies in

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of an ...

and the other half (the east) in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...

. The

Clanrye River Newry River and River Clanrye ( ga, An Rí; Ulster-Scots: ''Clanrye Wattèr'') are names for one of the rivers of Ireland. The river passes through the city of Newry and empties into Carlingford Lough near Warrenpoint. Course The river, wh ...

, which runs through the city, forms the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. The city sits in a valley, between the

Mourne Mountains The Mourne Mountains ( ; ga, Beanna Boirche), also called the Mournes or Mountains of Mourne, are a granite mountain range in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland. They include the highest mountains in Northern Ireland, the hig ...

to the east and the Ring of Gullion to the south-west, both of which are designated

Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is an area of countryside in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Areas are designated in recognition of thei ...

. The

Cooley Mountains The Cooley Mountains () are on the Cooley Peninsula in northeast County Louth in Ireland. They consist of two ridges running northwest to southeast, separated by the valley of Glenmore with the Big River running through it. Slieve Foy, at ...

lie to the south east. The Clanrye River runs through the centre of town, parallel to the

Newry Canal The Newry Canal, located in Northern Ireland, was built to link the Tyrone coalfields (via Lough Neagh and the River Bann) to the Irish Sea at Carlingford Lough near Newry. It was the first summit level canal to be built in Ireland or Great ...

. The city also lies at the northernmost end of

Carlingford Lough Carlingford Lough (, Ulster Scots: ''Carlinford Loch'') is a glacial fjord or sea inlet in northeastern Ireland, forming part of the border between Northern Ireland to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south. On its northern shore i ...

, where the canal enters the sea at Victoria Locks.

Townlands

Newry is within the civil parishes of Newry and Middle Killeavy. The parishes have long been divided into

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

s, the names of which mainly come from the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. The following is a list of townlands in Newry's urban area, alongside their likely etymologies:

Demography

On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 26,967 people living in Newry, accounting for 1.49% of the NI total. Of these: * 21.46% were aged under 16 years and 12.74% were aged 65 and over; * 51.02% of the usually resident population were female and 48.98% were male; * 88.27% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 8.47% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion; * 56.12% had an Irish national identity, 27.27% had a Northern Irish national identity and 12.65% indicated that they had a British national identity (respondents could indicate more than one national identity); * 35 years was the average (median) age of the population; * 19.60% had some knowledge of Irish (Gaelic) and 2.37% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots.

Climate

As with the rest of Northern Ireland, Newry has a temperate climate, with a narrow range of temperatures, regular windy conditions, and rainfall throughout the year.

Economy

Newry has a reputation as one of the best provincial shopping-towns in

, with the Buttercrane Centre and The Quays Newry attracting large numbers of shoppers from as far away as

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. In 2006 Newry house prices grew the most across the whole United Kingdom over the previous decade, as prices in the city had 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. Since the inception of the

global financial crisis of 2008–2009 Global means of or referring to a globe and may also refer to: Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 1989 * ''Global'' (Todd Rundgren album), 2015 * Bruno ...

, residents of the

have increasingly been

cross-border shopping Border trade, in general, refers to the flow of goods and services across the border between different jurisdictions. In this sense, border trade is a part of the normal trade that flows through the ordinary export/import legal and logistical fram ...

to Newry to buy cheaper goods due to the difference in currency. The harsh budget in the Republic of Ireland in October 2008, and the growing strength of the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

against the

pound sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...

and VAT reductions in the United Kingdom, compared with increases in the Republic of Ireland, are among the reasons. 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 ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' 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". However the increased flow of trade has led to resultant tailbacks, sometimes several miles long (many kilometres), 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". Newry is the global HQ of FD Technologies Plc.

Governance

Local government

The city of Newry is part of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council. The

2019 Newry, Mourne and Down District Council election The 2019 election to the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council, part of the Northern Ireland local elections that were held on 2 May 2019 returned 41 members to the council via Single Transferable Vote. Election results Note ...

resulted in 3

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Gr ...

, 2 SDLP and 1 Independent councillors being elected in the Newry electoral area, only change from the 2014 result was Kevin McAteer who went from SDLP to Independent in 2015 stood down in 2017 to be replaced by Michael Savage. Individually Roisín Mulgrew replaced her party colleague Liz Kimmens, while independent Davy Hyland was replaced by another independent, Gavin Malone.

Northern Ireland assembly

Newry is part of the Newry and Armagh assembly constituency. In the 2017 elections, the following were elected to the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameral , house1 = , leader1_type = S ...

Megan Fearon Megan Fearon (born 29 July 1991) is an Irish former Sinn Féin politician who was member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for the Newry and Armagh constituency from June 2012 to January 2020.

Cathal Boylan Cathal Boylan ( Irish name: ''Cathal Ó Baoighealláin, ''born 30 April 1964) MLA has been a councillor on Armagh City and District Council since 2005. In March 2007 Cathal was elected as an MLA to the Northern Ireland Assembly to represent the ...

Conor Murphy Conor Terence Murphy ( Irish: Conchúr Ó Murchú; born 10 July 1963) is an Irish republican Sinn Féin politician who is the Member of the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland for Newry and Armagh. He served as the Member of Parliament ...

(all members of

), Justin McNulty of the SDLP and William Irwin of the DUP.

Westminster

Together with part of the district of Newry, Mourne and Down, Newry forms the Newry & Armagh constituency for elections to the

Westminster Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy ...

and

. The Member of Parliament is

Mickey Brady Mickey Brady (born 7 October 1950) is an Irish republican politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Newry and Armagh since 2015. He was previously a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Northern Ireland for Newry and Armagh f ...

. He won the seat in the

2015 United Kingdom general election The 2015 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 7 May 2015 to elect 650 members to the House of Commons. It was the first and only general election held at the end of a Parliament under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. Loc ...

Transport

Transport history

The

, which opened in 1742 and ran for to

, was the first summit level canal to be built in Ireland or Great Britain. In 1885 an electric tramway, the

Bessbrook and Newry Tramway The Bessbrook and Newry Tramway operated a narrow gauge, hydro-electrically powered tramway transporting passengers and freight between Bessbrook and Newry in Northern Ireland between 1885 and 1948. History Construction and infrastructure Con ...

, was opened between Newry and Bessbrook.

MacNeill's Egyptian Arch Macneill's Egyptian Arch is a railway bridge in Newry, Northern Ireland. Construction was completed in 1851 for the Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway Company and was the result of collaboration between engineer Sir John Macneill and cons ...

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.

Services

Newry railway station, just off the

Camlough Camlough ( ; ) is a village five kilometres west of Newry in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The village is named after a lake, known as Cam Lough, in the parish, which is about 90 acres in extent. South of the village is Camlough Mountain (Sli ...

road, offers cross border services on the Dublin-Belfast line as well as some regional services around areas of County Armagh and County Down. Transport to other places generally requires a change in either Belfast or Dublin. 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 7 September 2009 by Northern Ireland Railways. In terms of bus transport, Newry is served by an

Ulsterbus Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink, the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, which als ...

bus station in the city centre. The bus station is located along The Mall, suspended over the

. Services in Newry include local, regional and cross-border transport with a free shuttle bus service to the local train station and services to local schools around Newry and Mourne. Newry is on the main M1/A1 route from

. Originally the route passed through the town centre, but in the 60s was bypassed by the Abbey Link. This remained the sole relief road until 1996 when it was superseded by a single carriageway bypass round the western side of the town. By 2008 the road on either side of the town had been upgraded to motorway/high quality dual carriageway standard (southwards from Cloghogue) and low quality dual carriageway (northwards from Beechill). In July 2010 a new high quality dual carriageway with motorway characteristics was opened to bridge the gap, thus connecting Dublin with Belfast by motorway/dual carriageway for the first time. The opening of this section of Road meant that motorists could travel from Clogh in County Antrim to Midleton, County Cork by dual carriageway/motorway. Part of this older bypass is still in use between the Camlough Road ( A25) and the Belfast Road ( A1). Newry suffers from very heavy traffic with shoppers coming from across the border. Newry is connected with

Warrenpoint Warrenpoint ( ga, An Pointe) is a small port town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits at the head of Carlingford Lough, south of Newry, and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town is bes ...

by a lower quality dual carriageway, some to the south. Newry is linked to Belfast via National Cycle Route 9, via

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

and

Craigavon Craigavon may refer to: * Craigavon, County Armagh, a planned town in Northern Ireland ** Craigavon Borough Council, 1972–2015 local government area centred on the planned town * Viscount Craigavon, title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom ** ...

Notable buildings

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. 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. Newry Town Hall is notable for being built over the River Clanrye which is the historic boundary between the counties of

and Down. The Craigmore Viaduct lies just north of the city on the Northern Ireland Railways Belfast-Dublin mainline. The bridge was designed by Sir John MacNeill 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 long and was constructed from local granite. The

Enterprise Train Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

link from Belfast to

crosses the bridge.

Daisy Hill Hospital Daisy Hill Hospital is an acute teaching hospital located in Newry, Co Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated on the Hospital Road and backs onto the A25 Camlough Road. It is managed by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust. History ...

, which has its origins in the Newry Union Workhouse and Infirmary of 1841, was rebuilt in 1902.

Churches

Roman Catholic churches in Newry include the Cathedral of Saints Patrick and Colman (Hill Street; built 1825–1829), the Church of the Sacred Heart and St Catherine (Dominic Street; 1875), St Brigid's (Derrybeg; 1970), St Mary's on Chapel Street (1789; formerly Newry Cathedral), the Church of the Sacred Heart (1916; colloquially connected to Cloghoge, but really localized in Drumalane Townland) and the Church of the Assumption (Drumalane; 1954). Protestant churches serving the area include St Patrick's Church of Ireland (possibly the first Protestant church ever built in Ireland in 1578), St Mary's Church of Ireland (1819), the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

on Sandy's Street, Newry Baptist Church on Downshire Place, the First Presbyterian Church (Non-Subscribing) on John Mitchel Place (designed by

W.J. Barre William Joseph Barre (1830, Newry – 1867) was a prolific Irish architect who built many well known buildings in Belfast in a Gothic Revival style, but was always overshadowed by his great rival, Charles Lanyon. He moved to Belfast from h ...

), Downshire Road Presbyterian Church (1843), Sandy's Street Presbyterian Church, Riverside Reformed Presbyterian Church,

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

on Trevor Hill and Metropolitan Church on Edward Street. The

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...

have a Kingdom Hall on Belfast Road.

Sport

Football

Until 2012,

Newry City F.C. Newry City Football Club was a Northern Irish football club founded in 1918 and dissolved in 2012. It was based in Newry, County Down and played its home matches at the Showgrounds. Club colours were blue and white. The club was relegated from ...

played at the Showgrounds before being liquidated. A phoenix club named

Newry City AFC Newry City Athletic Football Club are a semi-professional Northern Irish football club who play in the Irish League Premiership. They are based in Newry, County Down and play at the Showgrounds. The club's colours are blue and white. Back ...

was formed to play in amateur leagues in 2013, and was promoted to the

NIFL Premiership The NIFL Premiership, known as the Danske Bank Premiership for sponsorship purposes, and colloquially as the Irish League or Irish Premiership, is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the North ...

in 2018.

Gaelic Athletic Association

The

Down GAA The Down County Board ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae An Dún) or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Down ...

team has its home ground at

Páirc Esler Páirc Esler ( , ; also ga, Páirc an Iúir ) is a GAA stadium in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the home of the Down Gaelic football and hurling teams and the Newry Shamrocks GAA club. The ground has a capacity of about 20,000. ...

in the city.

Rugby Union

Newry RFC Newry R.F.C. (also known as Newry Rugby Club or Newry RFC) is an Irish amateur rugby union club, founded in 1925 and based Newry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of the Irish Rugby Football Union The Irish Rugby Football Unio ...

(also known as Newry Rugby Club, Newry RFU or Newry) is an Irish amateur rugby union club, founded in 1925. The club is a member of the Irish Rugby Football Union's Ulster branch. The club currently fields three senior teams and several junior teams ranging from under-12 to under-18 and a women's team for the first time in 2010–2011 season. The club's home ground is known as Telford Park. The team currently has two playing fields located at this ground along with the clubhouse on the outskirts of Newry.

Education

There are approximately 10 primary schools in the area, including

Killean Primary School Killeen"Killeen" is the official name of the townland. or Killean () is a small village and townland in the civil parish of Killeavy, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about four miles (6.5 km) south of Newry, near the border with ...

and St Malachy's Primary School. Local post-primary schools include

Abbey Christian Brothers Grammar School The Abbey Christian Brothers' Grammar School (Irish: ''Scoil na Mainistreach, Iúr Cinn Trá'' ) is a voluntary day school for boys aged 11 – 18 years in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. History The school was established in 1851 by membe ...

Newry High School Newry High School is a secondary school in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, UK. It is a controlled, co-educational school for pupils aged 11-18. In 2023, the Principal is Mr Iestyn Brown. History The origins of the present day Newry ...

Our Lady's Grammar School Our Lady's Grammar School is a girls' grammar school in Newry, Northern Ireland. It is at Chequer Hill, on the County Armagh side of the Newry River. History Our Lady's was founded by the Sisters of Mercy. It first opened its doors on 21 Novem ...

Sacred Heart Grammar School Sacred Heart Grammar School, Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland, is a grammar school with 855 students and 51 full-time teachers. Established in 1930 by the Sisters of St. Clare. It is one of Northern Ireland’s top grammar schools. Brief h ...

, St Colman's College, St Joseph's Boys' High School, St. Mary's High School and

St. Paul's High School, Bessbrook St. Paul's High School, Bessbrook( ga, Ardscoil Naomh Pól, An Sruthán) is an all-ability, co-educational secondary school located on the outskirts of Bessbrook near Newry, County Armagh. It is a Catholic-maintained day school for boys and gi ...

Southern Regional College Southern Regional College (SRC) is a further and higher education college in the southern area of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom. The College has a total of 5 campuses incorporating the two council areas of Armagh, Banbridge and Craigav ...

, a further and higher education college, has campus facilities in Newry.

Notable people

Arts and media

Christine Bleakley Christine Louise Lampard (''née'' Bleakley, born 2 February 1979) is a Northern Irish broadcaster. She has presented various television programmes with Adrian Chiles, such as '' The One Show'' (2007–2010) and '' Daybreak'' (2010–11), while ...

, television host * Margaret Clarke, (1884–1961), portrait painter * Thomas Duff, (1792–1848), architect *

Julia Glover Julia Betterton Glover (8 January 1779 – 16 July 1850) was an Ireland, Irish-born stage actress well known for her comic roles in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Biography Glover was born Julia Butterton in 1779 or 1781 in Newry, Irelan ...

, 18th and 19th century stage actress * Frank Hall, (1921–1995), broadcaster and satirist * Seán Hillen, photographer and artist *

Valene Kane Valene Kane is a Northern Irish actress. She is perhaps best known for her performances in all three series of BBC Two's BAFTA-nominated ''The Fall'', in which she played Jamie Dornan's first lover, Rose Stagg. Early life Kane was born and r ...

, actress * Michael Legge, actor * Actor siblings

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

and Susan LynchFlint Marx, Rebecca
Susan Lynch Biography
", allrovi.com; retrieved 15 August 2011. * Tomm Moore, filmmaker * Gerard Murphy, actor

Groups

*''

The 4 of Us The 4 of Us are a rock band from Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.(24 January 2003)The 4 of Us to play Dublin in March '' RTÉ.ie''(5 April 2003)Just the Four of Us ''Billboard'' Of the four founding members, only brothers Brendan and Decl ...

'' – rock band *''

Luv Bug Luv Bug are a Northern Irish pop band originating from Newry. They are most famous for representing Ireland in the ''Eurovision Song Contest'' in 1986 with the song " You Can Count on Me". Career The earliest incarnation of the group were fo ...

'', pop group *'' Crubeen'', a 1970s folk band

Religion

* John Dunlop, Presbyterian churchman * John Magee, Roman Catholic Bishop of Cloyne

Academia and science

Leonard Abrahamson Leonard Abrahamson (April 29, 1896 - 1961), known as 'the Abe', was an Irish surgeon specialising in cardiology. Born in Odessa, Ukraine, he was, from the 1920s to the 1960s, described as the "natural leader of the Jewish community" in Ireland. ...

(1896-1961), cardiologist *

Joseph Barcroft Sir Joseph Barcroft (26 July 1872 – 21 March 1947) was a British physiologist best known for his studies of the oxygenation of blood. Life Born in Newry, County Down into a Quaker family, he was the son of Henry Barcroft DL and Anna Rich ...

(1872–1947), respiratory physiologist *

W. J. Barre William Joseph Barre (1830, Newry – 1867) was a prolific Irish architect who built many well known buildings in Belfast in a Gothic Revival style, but was always overshadowed by his great rival, Charles Lanyon. He moved to Belfast from his ...

(1830–1867), architect *

Elizabeth Gould Bell Elizabeth Gould Bell (24 December 1862 – 9 July 1934) was the first woman to practice as a qualified medical doctor in the north of Ireland—in Ulster—and was a vocal and militant suffragist. In a protest action by the Women's Social and P ...

(1862–1934), doctor

Politics and diplomacy

*Sir

Trevor Corry Sir Trevor Corry, Baron of Poland (1724 – 1 September 1780) was an Irish merchant and diplomat who spent many years in Danzig (now known as Gdańsk), Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, where he acquired a considerable fortune. He acted as con ...

(1724–1780) British diplomat *

Isaac Corry Isaac Corry FRS, PC (I), PCThorne, ''The House of Commons 1790–1820, Vol. 1'', Secker & Warburg London, p. 504 (15 May 1753 – 15 May 1813) was an Irish and British Member of Parliament and lawyer. Early career Born in Newry, he was the so ...

(1753-1813) Member of Parliament for Newry (1776), Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer (1799-1802) * Sir William Hill Irvine (1858 – 1943), Australian politician *

Alfred Ludlam Alfred Ludlam (1810 – 8 November 1877) was a leading New Zealand politician, horticulturist and farmer who owned land at Wellington and in the Hutt Valley. A member of three of New Zealand's four earliest parliaments, he was also a philanthrop ...

(1810 – 1877), New Zealand politician and philanthropist * John Martin (8 September 1812 – 29 March 1875), Irish nationalist *

John Mitchel John Mitchel ( ga, Seán Mistéal; 3 November 1815 – 20 March 1875) was an Irish nationalist activist, author, and political journalist. In the Famine years of the 1840s he was a leading writer for ''The Nation'' newspaper produced by the ...

, Irish patriot * Pádraig Ó Cuinn (1898 – August 1974), Irish Republican Army *

Charles Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen Charles Arthur Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, (10 November 1832 – 10 August 1900) was an Irish statesman of the 19th century, and Lord Chief Justice of England. He was the first Roman Catholic to serve as Lord Chief Justice since the Re ...

, (1832–1900), Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales

Sport

Shay McCartan Seamus Vincent McCartan (born 18 May 1994) is a Northern Irish footballer who currently plays as a forward for Glentoran. McCartan joined Burnley in May 2010 on a two-year scholarship, having previously played for Banbridge Town and Glenavon ...

, footballer * Michael Cusack (1847–1906), founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association * Pat Jennings, footballer *

Willie Maley William Patrick Maley (25 April 1868 – 2 April 1958) was an Irish-born Scottish international football player and manager. He was the first manager of Celtic Football Club, and one of the most successful managers in Scottish football histor ...

(1868 – 1958), football manager *

Danny McAlinden Danny McAlinden (1 June 1947 – 8 March 2021) was a heavyweight boxer from Northern Ireland who was British and Commonwealth champion in 1972 when he defeated Jack Bodell in two rounds at the Aston Villa football ground. McAlinden nick named "D ...

, heavyweight boxer *

Ryan McGivern Ryan McGivern (born 8 January 1990) is a Northern Irish footballer who plays for NIFL Championship club Newry City. He can play as a left-back or a central defender, and has represented Northern Ireland in international football. He began ...

, footballer *

Terence Bannon Terence 'Banjo' Bannon, born 24 November 1967 in Newry, County Down Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 201 ...

, mountaineer *

Peter McParland Peter James McParland MBE (born 25 April 1934) is a former professional footballer. Club career Dundalk McParland was born in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. He was spotted playing for Dundalk in the League of Ireland by Aston Villa ma ...

, footballer *

Seán O'Neill Seán O'Neill (born 1938, Newry) is a former Irish sportsperson. He played Gaelic football with his local club John Mitchel and was a member of the Down senior inter-county team from the 1950s until the 1960s. O'Neill is one of only four Dow ...

, Gaelic footballer * Ronan Rafferty, golfer

References

External links

Newry City.com
{{Authority control Populated places established in the 12th century Civil parish of Newry Cities in Northern Ireland