Newtownhamilton

Updated on Sep 25, 2024

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Population 2,836 (2011) District Newry & Mourne Country Northern Ireland Local time Sunday 2:35 PM Dialling code 28 Post town Newry		Irish grid reference H930278 County County Armagh Sovereign state United Kingdom Province Ulster Ni assembly Newry and Armagh UK parliament constituency Newry and Armagh

Weather 13°C, Wind E at 14 km/h, 42% Humidity

N ireland car bomb explodes in town of newtownhamilton 2

Newtownhamilton, sometimes referred to as Newtown, is a small village and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies in Tullyvallan townland. The civil parish is within the historic barony of Fews Upper. In the 2011 Census it had 2,836 inhabitants.

Map of Newtownhamilton, Newry, UK

The village is built around two narrow main streets (Armagh Street and Dundalk Street) and a town square (The Square). Other places include Newry Street, Castleblaney Street (known locally as 'Blaney Hill'), Shambles Lane (known locally as the 'back street') and The Commons. Residential areas are Dungormley Estate, Meadowvale and the Nine Mile Road.

N ireland car bomb explodes in town of newtownhamilton

Name

Before the Plantation of Ulster the area of Newtownhamilton was known as Tullyvallan. This is derived from the Irish language, either Tulaigh Mhalainn or Tulach Uí Mhealláin.

The modern Irish name of Newtownhamilton is An Baile Úr, literally translating as "the new town"; a rarely used alternative is Baile Úr Uí Urmoltaigh ("the new town of Hamilton"). The local authority, Newry and Mourne District Council, has erected bilingual welcome signs (reading Fáilte go dtí An Baile Úr / Welcome to Newtownhamilton) at the town end points on Newry Road and Dundalk Road, both in the perceived nationalist areas of Newtownhamilton, while a sign in English only was erected on Armagh Road, a perceived unionist area of the village. It is not known if this reflects official council policy.

History

The village takes its name from Alexander Hamilton, a descendant of the John Hamilton from Scotland who founded Hamiltonsbawn in 1619. The parish was created in 1773 out of the neighbouring parish of Creggan.

1920s

In May 1920, Frank Aiken led 200 IRA men in an unsuccessful attack on the Royal Irish Constabulary barracks in Newtownhamilton.

The Troubles

For more information see The Troubles in Newtownhamilton, which includes a list of incidents in Newtownhamilton during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.

While the British Army had a major presence in the village during the conflict, this was scaled down and eventually removed entirely following the Good Friday Agreement. In 2006 it was announced that the local police station would be upgraded to full-time status.

Education

Newtownhamilton High School

Newtownhamilton Primary School

St Michael's Primary School

Cortamlet Primary School (located outside Newtownhamilton)

2011 Census

Newtownhamilton is classified as a small town. On Census Day (27 March 2011), in Newtownhamilton Ward, there were 2,836 people living in 956 households, giving an average household size of 2.97.

26.09% were aged under 16 years and 10.93% were aged 65 and over;

50.74% of the usually resident population were male and 49.26% were female; and

32 years was the average (median) age of the population.

99.44% were from white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic groups;

62.41% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 34.77% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion; and

30.18% indicated that they had a British national identity, 44.39% had an Irish national identity and 27.82% had a Northern Irish national identity. Respondents could indicate more than one national identity

Of the population aged 3 years old and over:

14.99% had some knowledge of Irish;

4.71% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots; and

2.63% did not have English as their first language.

2001 Census

On Census day 29 April 2001, there were 648 people living in Newtownhamilton. Of these:

25.5% were aged under 16 years and 17.0% were aged 60 and over

47.1% of the population were male and 52.9% were female

71.8% were from a Catholic background and 28.2% were from a Protestant background

7.2% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Civil parish of Newtownhamilton

The civil parish contains the village of Newtownhamilton.

Townlands

The civil parish contains the following townlands:

References

Newtownhamilton Wikipedia

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