Newry
County Down.

The town of Newry is situated close to the strategically important 'Gap of the north' in the south west corner County Down a few miles from the head of Carlingford Lough, to which it is connected by a ship canal which once brought ships almost to the town center.

Six miles north of the town on the Banbridge road stands the churchyard of Donaghmore, this marks the site of a monastery founded by St MacErca, brother of St Mochaio of Nendrum. this would make him a grandson of Diohu the tribal leader who gave Patrick his barn at Saul to use as a church. In the churchyard is a ninth/tenth century carved high cross.

In about 1144 St Malachy and Donnchad Mac Cearbhaill, King of Uriel , founded an abbey in the town, in 1153 Cistercians from Mellifont in County Louth colonized the abbey. 1156 saw the abbey under the protection of High King Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn of 'Cenel Eoghain' no trace of the abbey exists today.

In 1550 the abbey was dissolved, the rights and lands were granted to English soldier and adventurer Nicholas Bagnell, from Staffordshire in England who built a castle, the location of which was unknown until recently parts of it were discovered inside a bakery. Newry & Mourne District Council plan to restore the building as a new venue for their Museum and Tourist Information Centre.In 1552 Bagnell was granted the whole town of Newry and the lands surrounding it, the fisheries, customs and tolls of the market, all of this had previously belonged to the Abbey of Newry. Besides these valuable properties and other rights and lands, he was granted the Lordship of Mourne, which extended to about twenty square miles

Around 1575 Sir Nicholas Bagnell built Saint Patrick's Church, it is said to be the first Protestant church built in Ireland. Nicholas was succeeded by his son Henry who was killed in the battle of Yellow Ford in County Armagh, 1598 by his brother in law Hugh O'Neill (Earl of Tyrone). In 1689 the retreating forces of James II burnt the town, all that remained was the tower of Bagnell's church.

John Mitchell (1815-75) a republican journalist is buried in the Presbyterian churchyard, Old Meetinghouse Green, High Street.

The Newry canal which runs through the middle of the town was completed in 1741 some 20 years before the Bridgewater became the first canal to be built in England. The canal runs for eighteen miles from Newry town where it connects with the river Bann just south of Portadown in County Armagh which flows to Lough Neagh. It was built to bring coal from Coalisland in Co Tyrone to Dublin. It closed in the early 1950 due to competition from the railways. As far as I understand the canal is still largely intact, it should be possible given the will to restore it.
In 1742 the sailing ship Cope entered Dublin with the first load of coal from County Tyrone.

The Newry ship canal built in 1759 brought much prosperity to the town by 1777 Newry was rated the third most important port in Ireland seeing ships from across the world discharging cargoes of all kinds. During and after the great famine many emigrant ships left Newry and nearby Warrenpoint loaded with desperate people fleeing the carnage.

In 1845 The Mary Ann was launched this was the first ship to be built in Newry

Newry has the first Protestant church in Ireland dedicated to St Patrick it was built in 1578. The Catholic church of St Patrick and St Colman was the first Catholic church to be built in Ireland since the reformation, it was completed in 1829.