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The city of Newry in County Down is the newest city in the island of Ireland. With a population of 28,000, it is the fourth-largest city in Northern Ireland and eighth in Ireland. Newry was granted city status in 2002 as part of Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.
Located is 34 miles (60 km) from Belfast and 67 miles (108 km) from Dublin, Newry is part of the Newry and Mourne Council Area which hads a population of 87,058.. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian Monastery and is one of Northern Ireland's oldest towns.
The city of Newry is one of the constituent cities of the Dublin-Belfast corridor and sits at the entry to the Gap of the North, close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. Newry was an important centre of trade in early Ireland because of its position between Belfast and Dublin. There is evidence of settlement in the area from the 6 th century but the building of the Cistercian Monastery in 1144 was the really the start of the town of Newry as we know it today.
Newry has a reputation as one of the best provincial shopping-towns in Northern Ireland, with the Buttercrane Centre and The Quays attracting large numbers of shoppers from the South of Ireland, attracted by the good value and the benefits of the currency differential between sterling and the euro. Since the inception of the global financial crisis of 2008, shoppers from the Irish Republic have increasingly been crossing the border to Newry in order to buy cheaper goods. This owes to a combination of factors: the harsh budget in the Republic of Ireland in October 2008; the growing strength of the euro against the pound and VAT reductions in the UK compared with increases in the Republic of Ireland.
Newry City has many notable buildings, the most prominent being the Cathedral of SS. Patrick and Colman on Hill Street which was built in 1829 at a cost of £8,000. The structure, which consists of local granite, was designed and built by Thomas Duff, arguably Newry's greatest architect. He was the architect for the Cathedral in Dundalk, a town just over the border in County Louth and the main architect for the construction of St. Patricks’ Cathedral in Armagh City. Another fine piece of architecture is the Craigmore Viaduct, just north of the city on the Belfast-Dublin mainline. The bridge was designed by SirJohn O’Neill with construction beginning in 1849. The bridge was formally opened in 1852. The viaduct consists of eighteen arches the highest being 126 feet, the highest viaduct in Ireland. It is around a quarter of a mile long and was constructed from local granite. The Enterprise Train link from Belfast to Dublin crosses the bridge. Saint Patrick's Church was built in 1578 on the instructions of Nicholas Bagenal, who was granted the monastery lands by Edward VI, and is considered to be the first Protestant church in Ireland.
Newry suffered badly from The Troubles from 1969 to 1998. Being located close the southern border, it was in effect a garrison town and close to the IRA stronghold of South Armagh from where a lot of the attacks against the British Army were launched. If Newry is a thriving city today attracting custom from the South, the opposite was the case in the seventies and eighties when it resembled a deserted town. The commercial traffic all went to Dundalk and other southern towns in those days and there was a great fear by southern people and foreign visitors of visiting the area.
Today Newry is a modern city with substantial industry and business activity. It is an excellent location for one to base to explore the attractions of the area, which include the beautiful Mourne Mountains to the east and the wonderful A2 drive, which commences in Newry. To the west, the attractions of Armagh are only a short distance away.
There is a variety of amenities and leisure facilities to suit the needs of all and a warm and friendly welcome from the locals.
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