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For centuries, the people of Newry and Mourne have enjoyed games of skill, chance, and dexterity. In the 18th century, coffee houses and gaming houses featured billiard tables which had first appeared in France in the 1340s, evolving from an outdoor croquet-like game to an indoor pastime. By 1733, the Dublin Journal noted tables at a bowling green in Dublin, though the game’s link to gambling often drew criticism. One of Newry’s first coffee houses, recorded in 1758 and likely located on Water Street under a Mr. Davis, probably offered billiards to attract customers.
from Warrenpoint International Maiden of the Mournes Festival
1999 magazine. Newry & Mourne Museum Collection
By the 19th century, taverns and hotels had taken over as the main venues. In the 1840s, Newry merchants such as John Reynold’s of Hill Street, were supplying another cue game—bagatelle. Invented in 1777 in France, it was tied to gambling and required a license from 1845. Still, it spread widely: the Victoria Hotel in Warrenpoint had a stone table in 1855, and folding versions became common by the 1860s. Bagatelle paved the way for later pinball machines, though mechanical amusements were rare at this time apart from travelling dioramas and panoramas. In 1843, Newry’s Assembly Room on Hill Street hosted a Diaphorama, blending music, painting, and mechanical effects—a spectacle that predated cinema.
Other games soon appeared. In 1865, a skittle alley was recorded on Monaghan Street in James Madden’s alehouse, with another built for soldiers at the Linen Hall barracks in 1868. By 1894, a new Soldiers’ Home on Sugar House Quay included a recreation room with a ‘harmonium, bagatelle table, and draughts boards.’ Recreation facilities expanded in the early 1900s. In 1908, a recreation room with a billiard table opened for Protestant youths in Rostrevor, while Kilkeel had one in its Old School House. By 1926, snooker—developed in Jubbulpore India in 1875, was being played in Newry’s Catholic Working Men’s Club. The sport grew quickly, marked by a 1934 exhibition at the Hibernian Hall by billiards champion Ruth Harrison.
The 20th century brought new amusements. Inspired by Barry’s in Portrush (1925) and Dublin’s Grafton Arcade (1927), Cooper’s Amusements opened in Warrenpoint in the early 1940s. Advertisements in the Newry Reporter show it offered air guns and shooting galleries during the war years. Its rival, the Alexandra Arcade beside the Alexandra Hotel, reopened in 1948 with “up-to-date amusement devices” most likely skeeball and mutoscopes. Its shooting gallery remained popular until the hotel was converted into flats in the 1960s.
bagatelle table in 1855. Taken by the author on the 22nd of
August 2025.
Video gaming emerged in the late 1950s with experimental titles like Tennis for Two (1958) and Spacewar! (1962), leading to the first commercial arcade cabinets, Computer Space (1971) and Pong (1972). Locally, a milestone came on 4 May 1978 with the opening of Slots O’ Fun on Church Street, Warrenpoint, promoted as 'Ireland’s Newest and Best Amusement Arcade.' Beginning with automatic 'pongo' (bingo), it soon added cabinets such as Space Invaders, Galaxian, Super Breakout, and Asteroids. In the 1980s, hits like Track and Field (1984) and Outrun (1987) drew crowds, and the arcade became a social hub, remembered for classics including Street Fighter II, Toki, and Pang. Its layout reflected the industry’s dual appeal—skill games at the front, gambling machines at the back. Meanwhile, Newry saw the opening of the Cue Club on Basin Walk in 1987, followed by American-style 10-pin bowling with the Olympia Superbowl at Sheepbridge (Aug 1989) opened by Newry Celebrity Pat Jennings, followed by a second alley on Upper Edward Street (Apr 1990).
The early 1990s brought new arcades to Warrenpoint, including Coins Amusements (later Raymie’s Seafood Bar & Grill) and Jack Pots (now Lady T’s Boutique) on Duke Street. Yet by the mid-1990s, the rise of cheaper home consoles like the Sega Mega Drive, Nintendo 64, and PlayStation meant fewer reasons to visit arcades. By the 2000s, most had closed or reinvented themselves. During the Covid-19 lockdowns, nostalgia for retro gaming revived interest. Reflecting this resurgence, Kent Amusements opened on Church Street, Warrenpoint, on 15 June 2023.
Warrenpoint. Taken by the author on the 26th of August 2025.
The Museum is currently offering free tours of the main exhibition galleries on Wednesdays at 2.00 pm. These must be booked in advance by calling their Education Officer at 0330 137 4422.
Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00 am – 4.30 pm. Please call 0330 137 4422 or email museums@nmandd.org for further information.
Visit their website at www.visitmournemountains.co.uk
