Councillor launches Survey on including South Armagh in Council name

A Slieve Gullion Councillor is planning to introduce a motion to Newry Mourne and Down District Council after the summer to change the name of the council so that it includes South Armagh. The latest council name was launched 1 April 2015 when Newry and Mourne District Council and Down District Council merged.

Councillor Martin Hearty believes that including South Armagh in the name of the council isn’t just about the name itself. It’s about visibility, recognition and creating a council area that all in south Armagh feel part of.

Ahead of the motion he has put a survey online to gauge the opinion of people throughout South Armagh. You can complete the short anonymous survey at docs.google.com

Cllr Hearty explains: "As a beautiful, idyllic, rural area that is situated not only half way between Dundalk and Newry but halfway between Belfast and Dublin, South Armagh has enormous potential when it comes to tourism and attracting investment. But it’s not enough to have these qualities if people don’t know you have them. Visibility is hugely important and the number one organisation that should be promoting this area is our local council, yet we don’t even feature in the name.  If you want an example of how important it is, last year the BBC did a travel documentary with a couple of celebrities in South Armagh and the entire time they kept referring to the Ring of Gullion as The Mournes."

"South Armagh is also a distinct geographic and cultural part of the council area. We’re the most westerly part of the council, we’re the only part in County Armagh, we border counties Louth and Monaghan. Unlike Newry, we’re entirely rural, unlike Mourne and Down we don’t have the coastal heritage that they do, although we do have the distinction of having the shortest coastline in Ireland.
Mourne and Down were both kept in the council name to recognise their distinct geographical and cultural differences, nobody in either of those areas would be willing to give up one name for the other despite them both being in South Down, and it’s only right that this should be recognised for South Armagh as well." he added.

On the issue of inclusion Cllr Hearty believes the area doesn't get the level of services etc that they should: "Crossmaglen to Downpatrick is an hour and a half drive. Anyone from South Armagh would be in Dublin or Belfast quicker than they would be where our council’s headquarters are. The fact is people here do feel we are on the periphery of the council and as such we don’t get the level of services, investment and promotion that we should. A very easy way for the council to state clearly and boldly that South Armagh is an important part of the council area would be to have the name of the council reflect that."