Exhibition Charts Newry's Rise as a Global Trade Centre

A new exhibition opening at Newry Museum this week will shine a light on the city's development as an international trading hub going back nearly 300 years, with a special talk exploring its links to the Caribbean slave trade and plantation economy.

'Making Waves: Newry's Rise as a Global Trade Centre' opens this Thursday 16 October and examines how Newry became a major player in global commerce. The exhibition will include a talk from guest speaker Geraldine Foley on Saturday 18 October at 2pm, titled 'From Canal Street to the Caribbean – Newry, Links to Slavery and the Plantation Economy'. Her talk will explore how 18th century Newry was part of a global economy exporting Ulster linen and butter across the world, with some merchants investing in plantations and enslaved labour in the Caribbean.

The talk will trace the fortunes of figures such as Jemmy Blair, whose family amassed wealth from South American sugar plantations, and will touch on other Newry people with Caribbean connections.

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Councillor Phillip Campbell said, "The new exhibition highlights the huge importance of the canal and port of Newry, revealing a history often untold. However, Geraldine Foley's talk will also examine Newry's role as an international port handling cargoes connected to 18th-century slavery and plantations, underscoring the complexity of our relationship with this history."

Tickets for Geraldine Foley's talk are £2.50 per person and can be booked by emailing Declan.Carroll@nmandd.org

 The exhibition itself runs until September 2026 and is free to visit during the Museum's opening hours, Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 4.30pm.