The “Year of John Martin” is being laucnhed at Glenn “John Martin” Social Club Friday 9th March 2012 at 9pm. Everyone welcome, spread the word and bring your friends!! A great opportunity also for the Club to show its full potential and honour the 200th anniversary of the birth of its Patron. All very welcome!!!
Jonny McCullagh
Changes
Regular readers will have noticed that the Newry Journal is going through a mid-life crisis. We have been adding hair implants, dyeing the grey and keeping things up with some chemical stimulants. However, not all change is bad. The recent changes on the Journal bring some benefits:
- A much more maintainable system for future viability
- Better mobile-device support
- Improved search
- Comments for each article
We still have a lot to do so bear with us:
- Most of the photo albums still need fixed
- The Guest Book needs to be re-instated
- New Layout – the current layout is temporary while I get time to work on something nicer
Feel free to leave feedback in the Forum.
William Alexander Davis Garden
There was an autumnal feel for the unveiling of the signage on the William Alexander Davis Garden on Monday 12th November 2018 but there were smiles on the faces of everyone involved. Volunteers and staff from Clanrye Group and members of Newry 2020 came together for the erection of the sign naming the garden as the ‘William Alexander Davis Garden’.
Back: Judith Poucher (Clanrye Group Deputy Manager), Connor McClorey, James Thompson, Lee Kearney, Amy Moore, Jonny McCullagh (Newry 2020), Adam Boswell
Front: Jackie Campbell (Regener8 Co-ordinator), Dara O’Hagan (Manager of Youth and Family Service), Tony McAteer (Regener8 Co-ordinator), Shannon Laffin, Liam Devine (Manager Clanrye Group), Caoimhe Quinn, Leah Stuttard (Admin), John McCullagh, Garry McElherron (Newry 2020), Shane Smith (Tutor).
Front: Jackie Campbell (Regener8 Co-ordinator), Dara O’Hagan (Manager of Youth and Family Service), Tony McAteer (Regener8 Co-ordinator), Shannon Laffin, Liam Devine (Manager Clanrye Group), Caoimhe Quinn, Leah Stuttard (Admin), John McCullagh, Garry McElherron (Newry 2020), Shane Smith (Tutor).
Local historian John McCullagh, who provided the inspiration for the naming of the garden, described the effects of the ‘Great Famine’ in Ireland 170 years before when the destitute flocked to Newry Workhouse. The conditions for the poor in the workhouse were forbidding with the only positives in the records of the time about William Alexander Davis who championed nutrition and health for the inhabitants of Newry Workhouse.
John’s history of Newry Workhouse and W.A.Davis are available in Newry Library and on www.newryjournal.co.uk
There is a stark difference in the before-and-after photos of the old subway steps at the junction of High Street and North Street. The steps had been closed off for decades and left derelict by the DfI/Roads Service. In an effort to improve the eye-sore, Newry 2020 members Garry McElherron and Jonny McCullagh obtained funding from Newry BID and ‘Live Here, Love Here’ to transform the steps into a terraced garden.
Difficulties in bringing the garden to fruition included challenges with ownership, permission, insurance and ultimately the difficulty in finding building expertise to complete the project within the budget.
The Clanrye Group volunteers (pictured here) led by Tony McAteer exceeded all expectations within the tight budget to produce a pleasant garden admired by many passers-by. The subway is a busy route for pedestrians from the car park on North Street to shops on Hill Street.
The success of this small project would not have been possible without the support of Newry BID and local retailers. Speaking about the project Eamonn Connolly described “the pride of Newry people in ensuring a vibrant environment to work, shop and live”. Nicola Fitzsimons of ‘Live Here, Love Here‘ described the funding of the project as demonstrating “the Adopt-A-Spot concept, taking something run down and making it into something beautiful … the group have demonstrated incredible tenacity with this project to overcome every barrier”.
Place Names of Newry and District
Newry City Library presents “Place Names of Newry and District” with speaker Dr Patrick McKay. The talk will focus on the names of the townlands in the area but will also deal with names of mountains, rivers, valleys and other significant features of the landscape.
Thursday 25th October at 7.30pm
Admission free but Booking Essential:
Tel: 028 3026 4683
Email: [email protected]
Home Rule 1885 – 1914: Prelude to Revolution
Newry City Library presents “Home Rule 1885 – 1914: Prelude to Revolution” by Dr Peter Collins – Senior Lecturer in History at St Marys University College Belfast
Thursday 27th September at 7.30pm
Booking Essential:
Tel: 028 3026 4683
Email: [email protected]
Do You Remember?
Newry Library in association with NI Screen presents a nostalgic look at the past through the medium of digital film. The event is on Wednesday 23rd May starting at 3.15. Admission is free but booking is essential. Contact 028 3026 4683 or [email protected]
At the Crossroads of History
Newry City Library presents ‘At the Crossroads of History’ when Tony Canavan will be talking about Newry from the earliest times to the present. It starts at 7pm tomorrow Thursday 15th March. However booking is essential. The library can be contacted on 028 3026 4683. P.S. Tony was in fine form. His address was lucid, informative and interesting. It was also well-attended. He answered questions for a half an hour and was very well received by all. Thank you!
Nature confused
Here we see the “Walkers Line” at the Sacred Heart/St Ronan’s Schools lined with the daffodils planted in memory of Mrs Goss – in full bloom, and it is still February.
My neighbour’s Camilla bush goes one better. Already it is shedding some of its blooms. Let’s hope we don’t now get a sharp frost to kill all these lovely blooms!
