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Long before community nurses became a familiar part of modern healthcare, nursing care in Newry was often delivered at the doors of local homes. From the late nineteenth century onwards, dedicated women travelled across the town and surrounding countryside to care for the sick, the elderly, mothers, children and families who might otherwise have had little access to professional medical help. Their work formed part of a wider story: the development of nursing as a profession, the growing public role of women, and the importance of community support in shaping local healthcare.
The Newry and Mourne Museum collection includes many items that record the contribution of local women to community life. Among these stories is the growth of district nursing, which began to develop through charitable organisations, religious orders and “provident schemes”. In Belfast, one early organisation was established in 1874 to provide trained nurses to “visit the industrious poor in their own homes and supply such ministrations as their care may require”.
These initiatives were influenced by William Rathbone, a wealthy Liverpool merchant who, from the 1860s, championed the importance of properly trained nurses working within local communities. In 1887, the Queen’s Jubilee Institute was established, providing a framework for the training, supervision and organisation of district nurses. District nursing societies across Ireland, including Newry, affiliated with the Institute, helping to establish professional standards for nurses working beyond the hospital ward.
Against this wider background, the Newry District Nursing Society was established in 1898. Managed by a Board of Governors, with Lady Constance, Countess of Kilmorey, as its first president, the society depended heavily on local generosity. Funding came through patronage, voluntary subscriptions and public fundraising events, making the service a true community undertaking, supported by the people of Newry and the surrounding district.
By 1906, a dedicated nurses’ home had been secured at Hyde Terrace. By 1913, the service was listed at 17 Kilmorey Street, providing both accommodation and a clinical base for the nurses whose work took them daily into homes across the area.
Miss Hicks was the first “Queen’s Nurse” appointed to the Newry District Nursing Society. The title was given to highly trained district nurses associated with the Queen’s Nursing Institute, sometimes known as “Jubilee” nurses. Local records note that in 1900 - 1901 the society held a formal presentation for Miss Hicks “on the occasion of her marriage”, marking the end of her pioneering service in the town. She was succeeded by Miss Hogg, a district nurse who transferred to Newry from Derry. Their work was demanding and often solitary: they travelled from house to house, sometimes across difficult rural terrain, providing professional care to patients who might otherwise have had little access to medical assistance.
The scale of need was considerable. The Newry Reporter of 10 March 1910 recorded that “no less than 507 cases were nursed during the past year, as compared to 393 in the previous year”, with 11,479 home visits made during that period. These figures give a vivid sense of the pressure on the service, and of the reliance placed on district nurses by local families.
District nurses also supported other local services when required. An excerpt from the Downpatrick Recorder of 6 May 1916 noted that “the district nurses at Banbridge, Newry… continue to render satisfactory service at the tuberculosis dispensaries in their districts”. Their role, therefore, extended beyond routine home visits and into wider public health work.
Behind the statistics were thousands of individual acts of care: elderly people treated in their own homes, mothers and children receiving nursing attention, patients recovering from illness, and families who relied on the district nurse when hospital care was unavailable, unaffordable or difficult to reach. For many households, the district nurse was the most accessible face of professional healthcare.
The demands on nurses increased considerably during the two World Wars. Women from the wider Newry and Mourne area served in military nursing roles, local emergency hospitals and community settings. Records show the growing demand for institutional healthcare, with admissions at nearby Newry General Hospital rising from 231 patients in 1919 to 813 by 1942. For district nurses, this meant heavier caseloads and greater calls on their time. They continued to travel from home to home, caring for vulnerable and poorer residents who might otherwise have struggled to obtain treatment. Resources and personnel were also affected by the war effort, while the traditional “marriage bar” further restricted the number of married women able to remain in professional nursing employment.
Among those remembered for their community service in the 1940s was Nurse Sarah Best, who served as a highly respected district nurse for twenty-five years in the Poyntzpass and upper Newry area before retiring in the late 1940s. Nurse Brigid Daly, later Nurse Longridge, worked as a district nurse in Forkhill during the wartime years. Living locally in the old barracks, she provided rural home care to families across the surrounding district. Nurse Margaret Anderson from Kilkeel, a highly decorated military nursing sister, was also an important organisational figure in the coordination of nursing care across the wider Newry and Mourne area.
The creation of the National Health Service from 1948 onwards transformed healthcare. District and community nursing increasingly came under statutory local authority control, with many nurses initially working from local hubs such as Daisy Hill Hospital. The Newry District Nursing Society, which had begun with modest resources, a small number of nurses, local fundraising and community generosity, was gradually incorporated into a more organised public health system. Its legacy, however, remains rooted in the dedication of the women who carried care into local homes, one visit at a time.
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 the 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 the Museum's website at www.visitmournegullionstrangford.com
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Oil lamps, used to light the way in ancient Rome, could be considered an early example of street lighting. Designed to guide the way and ward off danger, street lighting has gone through many changes as a result of urban development and improving energy efficiency. This week, Newry and Mourne Museum looks at the history of streetlights.
William Murdoch is credited with the concept of using coal gas to light streetlamps. This led to the first public street lighting with gas, being demonstrated in Pall Mall, London, on the 4th of June 1807 by Frederick Albert Winsor.
The Belfast Gasworks was established on Ormeau Road in 1821. Prior to this, Belfast's streets were lit with glass bowls filled with whale oil and rush wicks, managed by the Belfast Charitable Society. The following year, the Newry Gas Light Company was established and by 1823 streetlights operating via public gas was available within the town, however these were only lit during the winter months. Notable individuals involved in the company included Trevor Corry and John Boyd.
On the 26th of March 1828, the Act for the "lighting, watching, and cleansing of cities, towns corporate, and market towns in Ireland" was formally approved thanks to the work of Councillor O'Hanlon and his barrister son. Due to this act, Newry became a model for municipal administration throughout Ireland. In addition to the election of twenty-one Commissioners of Police, eleven officers were also given the title of the Town Watch and had their salaries paid from local taxes. Their duties involved the lighting of streetlights. By 1830, Newry had a total of seventy-eight streetlights, the first one located outside the gates of the gasworks. Other lights were placed alongside the main streets. Oil lamps were also still being used as streetlights during this time. By 1857 there were two hundred gas lamps in operation throughout the town, and oil lamps were no longer be in use. The Newry Gas Light Company was dissolved, and the Newry Gas Consumers Company Limited created its place.
In 1950, Lisburn saw the first installation of fluorescent street lighting in Northern Ireland. It was also the largest fluorescent street lighting scheme in the British Isles. It became the first town in the UK to completely illuminate all its main roads with fluorescent lamps which offered a brighter and more energy efficient method of lighting compared to gaslighting (gas prices had also increased as a result of the Second World War). In 1952, Newry became one of the first towns in Ireland to be fully lit with electric fluorescent lights, with the installation being carried out by P.J. Murray, a local electrical contracting business established in the 1930s.
In 2015, another advance in technology saw the Department for Infrastructure rolling out a scheme to replace yellow sodium streetlights with LED alternatives. The scheme began in Banbridge and Armagh before being rolled out throughout the rest of Northern Ireland in the hopes of creating long-term savings in terms of electricity usage, maintenance costs and limiting light pollution.
In 2017, the Newry Maritime Association restored one of the last two gaslights left in Newry to commemorate the history of the gaslights. The light was located at Dublin Bridge with the other holding place on the O'Hagan Bridge.
Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday 10.00 am to 4.30 pm and is free to visit. For further information visit our website at www.visitmournegullionstrangford.com/museums/newry-and-mourne-museum, call 0330 137 4422 or email museums@nmandd.org
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Recent visitors will have noticed a new display at the entrance of Newry and Mourne Museum. One of the artefacts, a granite stone, tells the story of Lupton’s Mill and its builder, Joseph Lupton.
Joseph Lupton, born in 1801 in the Lancashire town of Preston, came to Ireland aged sixteen. Venturing into the corn and milling trade he built a successful business. In the 1840s he took on the lease of Mount Mills, near Newry. Increasing demand necessitated a move to larger premises at the old distillery on Bridge Street. Employing 20 workmen and producing between forty thousand and fifty thousand bags of flour a year, Lupton’s milling and corn trade remained at the site for 17 years.
In 1862, at a cost of £7,000, Lupton built a five-storey grain store in Queen Street (now Dominic Street). Five years later it was converted into a mill for the manufacture of flour and Indian Meal. Local contractor Mr. John O’Hare erected the 120-foot-high chimney, while the machinery, including a 25 horse-power engine running eight pairs of stones was manufactured at the Newry Foundry. After ten years in operation, the milling of flour became unsustainable, due to competition from imported flour. The building returned to its original use, providing storage for flax and grain.
Jospeh Lupton died at the age of 88 in October 1889. His obituary in the local papers refer to him as a pioneer of the Indian Corn trade in Newry. Lupton, “imported the first direct cargo of Indian Corn to the port of Newry by the new ship canal, the vessel entering free of dues and with flying colours” (Newry Telegraph of 19th October).
He was also involved on many levels with numerous businesses in Newry, among them the Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Railway, Newry and Armagh Railway, Newry Gas Company, Dundalk and Newry Steampacket Company and the Newry Savings Bank. A member of the old town board prior to the passing of the Towns’ Improvement Act in 1865, he afterwards represented the West Ward on the Board of Town Commissioners for many years.
Following Joseph Lupton’s death, the Rooney family purchased the mill and many of the surrounding buildings. In 1907 the mill machinery was removed and bought by Mr. E. Curran. The Dublin Soap Company acquired the mill in 1909 for the manufacture of their products but was quietly closed a short time later. This was followed by an embroidery business, which was established in part of the building, but it too faltered after a few years.
During the Second World War the building was used by the Ministry of Supply for storing flax and jute. One hundred tonnes were stored in the building when, in the early hours of the 11th of November 1941, the building caught fire. The fire brigade and auxiliary fire service both attended. Four engines pumped water from the canal, but the burning contents and wooden floors fed the flames. Within an hour the roof had collapsed, sending debris crashing down to the ground. The fire threatened nearby houses and local residents had to be evacuated. Such was its intensity, the fire, which could be seen for miles around, had burned itself out in two hours.
The building sat derelict for a number of years, the question of property rights largely responsible for the delay. In the mid-1950s, the Rooney family gifted the site to Newry Urban District Council, who intended to demolish the building to make way for housing. In February 1958, the go-ahead for demolition was given. However, inadequate sewerage facilities meant that the inhabitants of the town would have to wait yet again for new housing.
Additional buildings in the area were vested and finally, after a wait of 27 years, a meeting was held in November 1968 to allocate new tenants to the nine four-apartment houses and 48 old persons dwellings. Each councillor put forward nominations for the houses and applicants receiving the most votes were awarded the tenancies. The development was named Cleary Crescent, in memory of the Very Rev. Dr. Cleary, of the Dominican Order.
In 1985 when workmen were carrying out work on the site in Dominic Street, the stone was unearthed. It was recovered and placed in safe keeping, when this year it found its new home at the Museum.
Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm. For further information, visit our website at www.visitmournegullionstrangford.com, call 0330 137 4422 or email museums@nmandd.org
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For generations, registering life's most important moments in Newry was a more complicated affair than many people realise. Until well into the 20th century, civil registration was split between two separate services. One dealt with non-Catholic marriages, while the other handled births, deaths and Catholic marriages. Both systems ultimately answered to the General Register Office in Dublin, but they often operated from different locations and were managed by different officials.
In practice, however, the lines frequently blurred. Some registrars found themselves working across both services, helping to ensure the smooth running of public administration during a period of enormous social and political change. One such figure was William Bell, who assumed responsibility for marriage registrations following the death of registrar James Burns in 1900. Bell was already serving as Superintendent Registrar and became one of the key figures linking the two branches of registration in Newry. The son of Joseph Bell, a former Union clerk and Superintendent Registrar, he was a well-known local public servant. In 1928 he received an MBE for his civic work, including efforts to improve telephone services across South Armagh and South Down.
The family name Bell appears repeatedly in Newry's registration history. Around 1922, James A. Bell took up the role of marriage registrar while also serving as Assistant Superintendent Registrar. Although not related to William Bell, he was another prominent local figure, best known as editor of the Newry Reporter, a position he held from 1902 until his death in 1927. His work as registrar included approving places where marriages could legally be conducted, including the Salvation Army Citadel on Trevor Hill in 1924.
Between the two Bells came Arthur Devish-Meares, a colourful character whose career stretched well beyond local administration. Before becoming a solicitor and estate agent, he had represented Ireland at international rugby level during the 1899-1900 seasons.
The role of registrar became even more significant after Partition, when responsibility for civil registration in Northern Ireland began shifting from Dublin to the newly established General Register Office in Belfast. During this period, experienced officials helped maintain continuity in a changing political landscape. Among those who followed were Charles Cooper, a former Royal Irish Constabulary sergeant, and Samuel J. Baird, an estate agent, Justice of the Peace and prominent local public figure. Baird carried out registrar duties from his Trevor Hill office until his death in 1960.
While marriage registration often moved with the office holder, the registration of births, deaths and Catholic marriages became increasingly centralised. By the late nineteenth century, conditions at the old registration premises on The Mall had become a source of complaint. In 1895, the Newry Dispensary Committee reported that the accommodation was cramped and unsuitable. A new site was secured on Salt Yard, now Bank Parade, and a modern dispensary opened there in October 1898. For decades it served as the focal point for registration services in the town. The system, however, was not without its drawbacks. Registrars were frequently medical officers, meaning people attending to register a death often had to share waiting rooms with patients seeking treatment. One complaint from 1937 highlighted delays and the discomfort this could cause grieving families.
Several well-known doctors combined medical and registration duties over the years, including Dr Henry W. Smart, Dr Eugene Grant and Dr Richard Flood. Flood remained in post until the arrival of the National Health Service in 1948 and later became the first chairman of the Newry Medical Society.
A major change came in 1973 when new legislation reorganised the registration system across Northern Ireland. Responsibility passed to local councils, and Newry and Mourne District Council took over the service on 1 October that year. Most importantly, the old division between separate registration services finally disappeared. Registrars were now responsible for births, deaths and marriages under one unified system, creating a simpler and more accessible service for the public.
Although today's registrars are no longer drawn from the medical profession, their work remains at the heart of community life. They continue to work closely with coroners, funeral directors, hospitals, government agencies and wedding venues, helping families navigate some of life's happiest and most difficult moments.
The importance of registration extends far beyond the paperwork. Information gathered by registrars continues to inform vital statistics used to plan health services, schools and community resources. The service has also evolved with society, introducing civil ceremonies in 2004 and same-sex marriage registration in 2020.
From workhouses and dispensaries to modern civic centres, Newry's registrars have quietly recorded the milestones of local life for more than a century, preserving a unique record of the people and communities they served.
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 the 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.visitmournegullionstrangford.com/
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Newry’s streets tell the story of the city through statues and sculptures honouring local figures, sporting legends and landmark events. As well as commemorating notable people and achievements, these works of public art offer a striking perspective on the stories that have shaped the area. This week, Newry and Mourne Museum takes a closer look at some of the best-known examples.
Public sculpture has occupied shared spaces for thousands of years. In ancient societies, statues and monuments commonly honoured rulers, deities and civic ideals; in medieval Europe, sculpture was closely associated with churches and religious teaching. From the Renaissance onwards, monuments increasingly celebrated political power, military victories and prominent individuals. During the 20th century, public sculpture expanded beyond traditional statues to include abstract, site-specific and community-led works, reflecting a broader range of local histories, identities and experiences.
At the Albert Basin, Barry Linnane’s sculpture of Patrick Rankin with his bicycle recalls one local man’s determination to take part in the Easter Rising. Rankin cycled 65 miles to Dublin, and the work was created to mark the Rising’s 100th anniversary. A maquette, or preparatory study, for the monument is held in the museum’s collection.
One of the area’s best-known monuments is the statue of John Mitchel at John Mitchel Place. Erected in March 1965 to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth, it bears a plaque recording the 27 years Mitchel spent in exile after his conviction under the Treason Felony Act 1848. The museum also holds busts of John Mitchel and John Martin, donated in 2013 by Michael McKeown, who served on the Museum Committee.
Newry’s public art also celebrates the area’s sporting heroes. William Maley, born in the city on 25 April 1868, became Celtic Football Club’s first manager and one of the most successful figures in Scottish football history. During 43 consecutive years in charge, he led Celtic to 30 major trophies — 16 league championships and 14 Scottish Cups. He is credited with coining the famous Celtic motto: “It is not his creed nor his nationality which counts; it’s the man himself.” Sculpted by Barry O’Neill, Maley’s statue stands at the bottom of Camlough Road and was unveiled on 12 April 2023.
Northern Ireland goalkeeper Pat Jennings is another local sporting legend honoured in the city. Born on 12 June 1945, he earned 119 international caps during a 22-year career. Jennings developed his early skills with Shamrock Rovers of Newry before going on to play for Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. He unveiled the statue in November 2023. Standing on a granite plinth on Kildare Street, opposite Newry City Hall, the work includes a copy of the handprints taken by sculptor Andy Edwards.
Hill Street’s Proud People sculpture was unveiled in December 1994 during celebrations marking 850 years since Newry’s foundation. Its title is drawn from Dean Swift’s early 18th-century description of the town: “High Church, Low Steeple, Dirty Streets, Proud People.” Rising 13 feet from a base of Mourne granite, the pillar depicts familiar local landmarks, including Newry Canal, the Buttercrane Shopping Centre and Craigmore Viaduct. The work was designed by Patrick McElroy. His daughter, Kristina, later donated three plaster models to the museum, where they went on display in 2022.
Newry and Mourne Museum is currently offering free guided tours of its main exhibition galleries each Wednesday at 2.00 pm. Advance booking is required by calling the Education Officer on 0330 137 4422.
The museum is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 10.00 am to 4.30 pm. For further information, call 0330 137 4422 or email museums@nmandd.org.
Further details are available at www.visitmournegullionstrangford.com
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The workhouse legacy in contemporary Northern Ireland evokes both shame and fascination. Older generations will no doubt remember the threat of ending up in the workhouse that hung over them. All over Ireland, workhouse history is tied to the Great Famine and the thousands who sought sanctuary from hunger and disease within its walls.
Because of the rapid social and economic changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution, poverty quickly increased in Europe as old trades ended, factory systems replaced them, and people migrated to towns and cities for work. This created challenges for governments throughout the 19th Century in providing for the poor. The era's ideologies encouraged individual enterprise, which reinforced the notion that poverty was a personal and moral failing. Parliament passed the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834, which established Poor Law Unions and workhouses funded by a local poor-rate in 15,000 parishes across England and Wales. Edwin Chadwick, the main driver of the Poor Law, suggested abolishing outdoor relief and replacing it with an institutional indoor system, arguing that the pauper lived better than the labourer. George Nicholls, another one of the Act's legislators, stated: "I wish to see the workhouse looked to with dread by our labouring classes."
After the Act of Union of 1801, the British Government tried to address the causes of widespread poverty in Ireland. Over a hundred Royal Commissions and Special Commissions produced little in the way of practical results. A Commission from 1833 presented its findings, stating that the new system was impractical for Ireland, focused on the lack of jobs, and recommended economic and industrial development, with improvements to housing across the island. They noted the people would endure hardship rather than enter the workhouse. The Cabinet met the Commission's report with lukewarm reception.
In 1836, Nicholls spent six weeks in Ireland to assess whether a similar workhouse system would work there, visiting many towns, including Newry. Daniel O'Connell ridiculed the speed of this exercise and claimed that Nicholls "calculated everything and was accurate in nothing." Despite objections, Nicholls recommended a similar Poor Law for Ireland based on that in England and Wales and drafted the Poor Law of 1838. Ireland was divided into 130 Poor Law Unions, each managed by a Board of Guardians, who set the Poor Rate tax to build and maintain the workhouse.
In 1839, the Newry Poor Law Union, covering parts of Down and Armagh, was established, with a Board of Guardians of 31 representatives from the 23 local electoral divisions and an additional ten "ex-officio" guardians. The guardians met weekly, first at the Newsroom and later at the completed workhouse, located at what is now the site of Daisy Hill Hospital. The site benefited from a natural spring for water supply and had an area for cultivating its own food. Supported by donations from charitable societies, it also began collecting the Poor Rates from local ratepayers.
Upon entry to the workhouse, the medical officer inspected inmates and split them into categories by age and gender. Males above the age of 15, males between the ages of 2 and 15, females above the age of 15, females between the ages of 2 and 15, and children under 2. This meant that any family entering the workhouse would be split up based on these categories. There was zero tolerance for rule breaches, with punishments ranging from withholding food to corporal discipline. Work in the workhouse could vary, and the most arduous tasks included stone breaking for male inmates and oakum picking - removing the fibres from old hemp ropes, for female inmates. The diet primarily consisted of bread, potatoes, sweet milk, oatmeal and some meat, supplemented by vegetables grown on site.
The workhouse was completed in 1841, and the "Poor Law Commissioners…declared the Workhouse of Newry Union fit for the reception of Destitute Poor" on 6th December of that year. The first inmates entered on the 14th of December. By the end of 1843, only 470 inmates were housed. By the end of 1846, with the Famine a year old, the inmate population was 1,063.
Newry and Mourne Museum is open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm. For further information, visit our website at www.visitmournegullionstrangford.com/museums/newry-and-mourne-museum, call 0330 137 4422 or email museums@nmandd.org
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Visitors to Newry & Mourne Museum can discover how a distinctive stone from County Antrim helped connect communities across Ireland and Britain some 6,000 years ago. Objects on display provide a local window into the Neolithic period, when porcellanite axes were produced in large numbers and travelled far beyond their places of origin.
The axes came from two principal production sites: Tievebulliagh in the Glens of Antrim and Brockley on Rathlin Island. Both contained quarries and working areas. Porcellanite is a dense, fine-grained, bluish-grey volcanic rock that can be shaped to form a keen edge and polished to a smooth sheen and County Antrim is the only known source of the stone in Britain or Ireland. The Irish Stone Axe Project has recorded more than 11,000 porcellanite axes from every corner of Ireland. These account for over half of all the stone axes in its survey; the remainder were made from dozens of other materials, including shale and mudstone.
Now displayed in Gallery One at Newry & Mourne Museum, an early Neolithic porcellanite axe demonstrates the qualities that made this material so highly valued. Dating to around 4500 BC and discovered near Dundrum in County Down, the axe is on loan from the Ulster Museum, courtesy of National Museums NI. Porcellanite is hard enough to withstand heavy impacts, yet fractures predictably, allowing skilled makers to form a consistently sharp cutting edge. These qualities made it more desirable than typical flint tools. The axes were also visually distinctive: makers used abrasive sandstone and water to polish their surfaces to a smooth, reflective sheen. Durable, sharp and carefully finished, a porcellanite axe was ideally suited to felling and cutting trees.
The museum’s displays place the axe within the wider story of life in the Newry and Mourne area. A Neolithic flint scraper from the Carnbane excavations, dating from 4000 BC to 2400 BC, is another everyday tool used by prehistoric communities, including for working animal hides. Together, these objects reveal the range of materials and skills employed locally during the period.
The sea helped rather than hindered the movement of porcellanite. From Rathlin Island, the Kintyre peninsula in Scotland is visible across approximately 11 miles of water. Axes made from Antrim porcellanite eventually reached as far north as Orkney and as far south-east as Kent in England.
Archaeologists have found no evidence that a single organised trade network carried porcellanite axes over such distances. Instead, the objects may have passed gradually over generations from one community to another as gifts, valued barter goods or symbols of status. Some show little or no wear and appear to have had no practical purpose. Oversized examples would have been too large and heavy for everyday use and may instead have served as prestige objects acquired by powerful individuals. The 19 axes of the Malone hoard, discovered at Danesfort on Belfast’s Malone Road, now in the collection of the Ulster Museum, are striking examples and are estimated to have required hundreds of hours of work. At the other end of the scale, miniature axes may have been toys or amulets. Although some could have been used for fine woodworking, the evidence suggests that most were not tools. The ceremonial significance of porcellanite is further reflected in its frequent inclusion among grave goods buried with the dead.
The story also extends into the landscape around Newry. Ballymacdermot Court Tomb, near Bernish Viewpoint and known locally as the Cashla or the Fairy Ring, is another reminder of the communities that lived here during the Neolithic period. A photograph of the monument forms part of the museum material accompanying the displays.
By: Matthew O'Neill
Newry & Mourne Museum offers free tours of its main exhibition galleries on Wednesdays at 2.00 pm. Tours must be booked in advance by calling the Education Officer on 0330 137 4422. The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm.
For further information, call 0330 137 4422, email museums@nmandd.org or visit www.visitmournegullionstrangford.com.
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From stage to screen, Newry has a long and distinguished association with the performing arts. This week, we look back at some of the actors and actresses connected with the area and celebrate their achievements.
One of Newry’s earliest noted actresses was Julia Glover (née Betterton), who was born in the town in the late 18th century. Her father, Tom Betterton, was a strolling player who built a theatre in Hill Street in 1783. Glover first appeared on stage in Newry at the age of six and made her official debut at Covent Garden in 1797. She was praised for her performances in Sheridan’s The Rivals and in Shakespearean roles. After marrying Samuel Glover in 1800, she continued acting for five decades, making her final appearance at Drury Lane just four days before her death in 1850.
Moving to the screen, another prolific local actor was Gerard Murphy. Born in Newry in 1948, Murphy began his career with Glasgow Citizens Theatre before becoming an Associate Artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He worked with acclaimed directors including Christopher Nolan and Kevin Reynolds, and television audiences saw him in numerous roles. On film, he is remembered as Nord in Waterworld (1995) and the corrupt Judge Faden in Batman Begins (2005).
Perhaps the area’s best-known acting family is the Lynch family. John Lynch was born in 1961, and the family moved to Corrinshego in 1968, when he was seven. After appearing in several plays, he reached a wider audience with his BAFTA-nominated performance opposite Helen Mirren in Cal (1984). His other film credits include Evelyn, In the Name of the Father, Sliding Doors, Some Mother’s Son and The Secret Garden. His sister Susan Lynch, born in 1971, also became an acclaimed actress. She has won three Irish Film and Television Academy Awards, including one for portraying Nora Barnacle in Nora (2000), and received the British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for 16 Years of Alcohol (2003). Their niece Leah O’Rourke has followed the family tradition, entertaining audiences as Jenny Joyce in the hit television comedy Derry Girls.
Newry-born actor Caolan Byrne graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2002. He then spent three years with the Royal Shakespeare Company and later performed with the re-formed Field Day Theatre Company. His television credits include The Miniaturist, Porridge, Chernobyl, Bloodlands and Das Boot, and his film work includes The Wonder (2022), The Foreigner (2017) and Nowhere Special (2020). He also provided the voice and motion-capture performance for Sliro Barsha in the video game Star Wars Outlaws.
Other actresses from the area include Valene Kane, who appeared in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016). In 2023, Kane played Lady Macbeth for the Royal Shakespeare Company in a performance that earned strong reviews. Newry-born Naoimh Morgan is known as a triple threat: an actor, singer and dancer. Her dancing skills helped secure the role of Rumpleteazer in the 2019 film Cats. More recently, she portrayed Pat Hume in HUME – Beyond Belief: The Life and Mission of John and Pat Hume, which explores the couple’s life, marriage and peacebuilding legacy.
These are only some examples of the remarkable acting talent associated with Newry and the surrounding area. Many others deserve recognition, including Patch Connolly. Although born in Dublin, he became a much-loved Warrenpoint actor. His credits included Snowy White in the 1992 television series Eldorado and a role in the comedy Shaun of the Dead. Connolly was also a member of Newpoint Players, whose casts have included several actors mentioned in this article, as well as Sean Kearns, Peter Balance, Donal O’Hanlon and Gerard Rooney.
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 our 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.
Please visit our website at www.visitmournegullionstrangford.com/museums/newry-and-mourne-museum
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What makes an object worth putting in a museum? Is it its age, its rarity, or its value? Sometimes. But often the most interesting objects are those that tell us something about the lives of ordinary people and the communities they lived in.
That idea is at the heart of a new initiative at Newry & Mourne Museum. Thanks to support from the Northern Ireland Museums Council's Museum Collections Capital Grant Programme, a new display case has been installed on the Level 2 of the museum. Over the coming months it will host a rotating series of "Object of the Month" displays, each highlighting a different item and the story behind it.
The project has a simple aim: to bring more objects out of storage, to share a wider range of local stories, and to invite the public to play a role in deciding what those stories should be.
Some objects will come from the museum's own collections. Others may be loaned by local residents, families, businesses or community organisations. Together, they will help reveal the rich and varied history of the Newry, Mourne and Down area, from industry and agriculture to sport, faith, migration, community life and everyday experiences.
The first object chosen for display is a modest but fascinating oak alms box from the former Convent of Mercy in Newry. Dating from around 1880, the box is divided into four compartments labelled "Subscriptions", "Community", "Sundries" and "Poor". While simple in appearance, it provides a remarkable insight into how charitable donations were collected, organised and distributed more than a century ago.
The object is closely connected to the work of the Sisters of Mercy, who arrived in Newry in 1855. Over the following decades they established schools, visited the sick and poor, cared for orphaned children and provided practical assistance to families facing hardship. Their work touched countless lives across the district.
Following the closure of the convent in 2024, the alms box was acquired by the museum earlier this year. It now serves as a tangible reminder of the important social role played by religious institutions and charitable organisations in supporting local communities.
Yet the Object of the Month programme is not simply about looking back. It is also about asking what stories matter today.
Museum collections are strongest when they reflect the diversity of experiences within a community. We are keen to hear from people across the district about the objects, themes and stories they would like to see represented. Perhaps it is an object connected to a local industry, a sporting achievement, a cultural tradition, a migration story, a community campaign or a significant event in living memory. Perhaps it is something sitting in a drawer at home that captures an aspect of life in the area that deserves to be remembered.
Every object has a story. Sometimes those stories are hidden in plain sight.
As the programme develops, we hope the display case will become a space for discovery, conversation and community involvement. Most importantly, we hope it will encourage people to see local heritage not as something belonging only to the past, but as something that continues to be created and shared today.
If you have an idea for a future Object of the Month, or an item that you would be willing to lend for display, we would love to hear from you.
Have a story to share or an object to suggest?
Visit www.visitmournegullionstrangford.com to submit your idea or offer an item for a future display.
The Object of the Month display case was funded through the Northern Ireland Museums Council (NIMC) Museum Collections Capital Grant Programme, helping Newry & Mourne Museum make more of its collections accessible to the public and create new opportunities for community engagement.
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 the 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.visitmournegullionstrangford.com
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