Lurgan is characteristic of many Plantation of Ulster settlements, with its straight, wide planned streets. It is the site of a number of historic listed buildings including Brownlow House and Lurgan Town Hall. Lurgan Park is the largest urban park in Northern Ireland.[2]
Historically the town was known as a major centre for the production of textiles (mainly linen) after the Industrial Revolution, and it continued to be a major producer of textiles until that industry steadily declined in the late 20th century.
The development of the 'new city' of
Craigavon
had a major impact on Lurgan in the 1960s when much industry was attracted to the area.
History
The name Lurgan is an anglicisation of the Irish name An Lorgain. This literally means "the shin", but in placenames means a shin-shaped hill or ridge (i.e. one that is long, low and narrow). Earlier names of Lurgan include Lorgain Chlann Bhreasail (anglicised Lurganclanbrassil, meaning "the long low ridge of Clanbrassil") and Lorgain Bhaile Mhic Cana (anglicised Lurganvallivackan, meaning "the long low ridge of McCann's settlement").[3] The Mac Cana (McCanns) were a sept of the O'Neills and Lords of Clanbrassil before the Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century.[4]
About 1610, during the Plantation and at a time when the area was sparsely populated by Irish Gaels,[4] the lands of Lurgan were granted to the English lord William Brownlow and his family. Initially the Brownlow family settled near the lough at Annaloist, but by 1619, on a nearby ridge, they had established a castle and bawn for their own accommodation, and "fair Town, consisting of 42 Houses, all of which are inhabited with English Families, and the streets all paved clean through also to water Mills, and a Wind Mill, all for corn".[5]
Brownlow became MP for Armagh in the Irish Parliament in 1639. During the Irish Rebellion of 1641, Brownlow's castle and bawn were destroyed, and he and his wife and family were taken prisoner and brought to Armagh and then to Dungannon in County Tyrone.[6] The land was then passed to the Mac Cana clan and the O'Hanlons. In 1642,
Brownlow and his family were released by the forces of Lord Conway, and as the rebellion ended they returned to their estate in Lurgan. William Brownlow died in 1660, but the family went on to contribute to the development of the linen industry which peaked in the town in the late 17th century.[7]
Theobald Wolfe Tone would often pass through Lurgan on his journeys, writing in 1792 "Lurgan green as usual".[8]
The Great Famine
A
Poor Law Union
would build a workhouse to give relief to the increasing numbers of destitute poor. In 1821 the population of Lurgan was 2,715, this increased to 4,677 by 1841. There were a couple of reasons for this large growth in population. Firstly the opportunities provided by the booming linen industry led many to abandon their meagre living in rural areas and migrate to Lurgan in the hope of gaining employment. Secondly the ever-expanding town gave tradesmen the opportunity to secure work in the construction of new buildings such as Brownlow House.
The large numbers of poor workers migrating to the town inevitably resulted in over-crowding and a very low standard of living. When the potato crop failed for a second time in 1846 the resulting starvation led to a quickly overcrowded workhouse which by the end of 1846 exceeded its 800 capacity. In an attempt to alleviate the problem a relief committee was established in Lurgan as they were in other towns. The relief committees raised money by subscription from local landowners, gentry and members of the clergy and were matched by funds from Dublin. With these monies food was bought and distributed to the ever-increasing numbers of starving people at soup kitchens. In an attempt to provide employment and thereby give the destitute the means to buy food, Lord Lurgan devised a scheme of land- drainage on his estate.
The so-called 'famine roads' were not built in Lurgan to the same extent as the rest of Ireland, although land owners also provided outdoor relief by employing labourers to lower hills and repair existing road. During the period 1846 to 1849 the famine claimed 2,933 lives in the Lurgan Union alone. The Lurgan workhouse was situated in the grounds of what is now Lurgan Hospital and a commemorative mural can be seen along the adjacent Tandragee Road.[9]
New city
The town grew steadily over the centuries as an industrial market town, and in the 1960s, when the UK government was developing a programme of
Craigavon (a name unpopular with the Nationalist community) was designated as a new town in 1965, intended to be a linear city incorporating the neighbouring towns of Lurgan and Portadown. The plan largely failed,[10] and today, 'Craigavon' locally refers to the rump of the residential area between the two towns.[11]
The Craigavon development, however, did affect Lurgan in a number of
ways. The sort of dedicated bicycle and pedestrian paths that were built in Craigavon were also incorporated into newer housing areas in Lurgan, additional land in and around the town was zoned for industrial development, neighbouring rural settlements such as Aghacommon and Aghagallon were developed as housing areas, and there was an increase in the town's population, although not on the scale that had been forecast.
The textile industry remained a main employer in the town until the late twentieth century, with the advent of access to cheaper labour in the developing world leading to a decline in the manufacture of clothing in Lurgan.[12]
Lurgan and the associated towns of Portadown and Craigavon made up
part of what was known as the "murder triangle"; an area known for a significant number of incidents and fatalities during
dissident republicans have a significant level of support.[14] The legacy of the Troubles is continued tension between Roman Catholics and Protestants, which has occasionally erupted into violence at flashpoint 'interface areas'.[15]
On 5 March 1992, a 1,000 lb truck bomb, believed to have been planted by the IRA, exploded in Main Street causing mass damage to commercial properties.[16]
On 5 February 2020, the PSNI
found a bomb on a lorry. The Continuity Irish Republican Army admitted they had planted it. They expected the lorry to be put on a North Channel ferry in January 2020.[17]
Geography
Lurgan sits in the north-eastern corner of County Armagh in a relatively flat part of Ireland by the south east shore of Lough Neagh, on the border with County Down and less than 2 miles from the border of County Antrim. The two main formations in north Armagh are an area of estuarine clays by the shore of the lough, and a mass of basalt farther back. The earliest human settlements in the area were to the northwest of the present day town near the shore of the lough. When the land was handed to the Brownlow family, they initially settled near the lough at Annaloist, but later settled where the town was eventually built.[5] The oldest part of the town, the main street, is built on a long ridge in the townland (baile fearainn) of Lurgan. A neighbouring hill is the site of Brownlow House, which overlooks Lurgan Park.
Townlands
Like the rest of Ireland, the Lurgan area has long been divided into townlands, whose names mostly come from the Irish language. Lurgan sprang up in the townland of the same name. Over time, the surrounding townlands have been built upon and they have given their names to many roads and housing estates. The following is a list of townlands within Lurgan's urban area, alongside their likely etymologies:[18][19][20]
Shankill parish:
Aghnacloy (from Irish Achadh na Cloiche 'field of the stone')
Ballyblagh (from Baile Bláthach meaning "flowery townland")
Demesne (an English name – this townland was carved out of Drumnamoe and others, and includes Lurgan Park)
Derry (from Doire meaning "oak grove")
Dougher (formerly Doucharron, probably from An Dubhcharn, Dúcharn meaning "the black cairn")
Drumnamoe (from Druim na mBó meaning "ridge of the cows")
Knocknashane (formerly Knocknashangan, from Cnoc na Seangán meaning "hill of the ants")
Lurgantarry (from Lurgain an tSamhraidh meaning "summer ridge" or "ridge of the summer grazing")
Shankill (from Seanchill meaning "old church" or Seanchoill meaning "old wood")
Taghnevan (formerly Tegnevan, from Teach Neamhain meaning "Neamhan's house" or "Neamhan's church")[21]
Tannaghmore North & Tannaghmore South (from an Tamhnach Mór meaning "the big grassy field")
Toberhewny (from Tobar Shuibhne meaning "Sweeney's well" or Tobar Chainnigh meaning "Cainneach's well")
Tirsogue (from Tír Sídheóg meaning "land of the fairies")
Seagoe parish:
Ballynamony (from Baile na Mónadh meaning "townland of the bog")
Drumnakelly (from Dromainn Uí Cheallaigh meaning "O’Kelly's ridge")
Silverwood (an English name – formerly called Killinargit, from Coill an Airgid meaning "wood of the silver")
Turmoyra (from Tír Maighre meaning "land of the salmon")
Climate
Lurgan has a
temperate
climate in common with inland areas in Ireland. Summer temperatures can reach the 20s °C and it is rare for them to go higher than 30 °C (86 °F). The consistently humid climate that prevails over Ireland can make temperatures feel uncomfortable when they stray into the high 20s °C (80–85 °F), more so than similar temperatures in hotter climates in the rest of Europe.
For census purposes, Lurgan is not treated as a separate entity by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Instead, it is combined with
Craigavon, Portadown and Bleary to form the "Craigavon Urban Area". A fairly accurate population count can be found by combining the data of the electoral wards that make up the Lurgan urban area. These are Church,[35] Court,[36] Drumnamoe,[37] Knocknashane,[38] Mourneview,[39] Parklake,[40] Taghnevan[41] and Woodville.[42]
On the day of the last census (21 March 2021) the combined population of these wards was 31,068. The latest religious data published is from 2011 with an estimated population of 25,069 (27 March 2011) Of this population:
62.2% were from a Catholic background, and 33.7% were from a Protestant or other Christian background
The town is divided along ethnic/political/sectarian lines with entire housing areas being almost exclusively Nationalist/Catholic/Irish or almost exclusively Unionist/Protestant/British.[43] The north end of the town centre is considered Nationalist/Catholic, the south end is considered Unionist/Protestant, with the "invisible dividing line" starting at the end of Market Street and the beginning of High Street at Windsor Avenue and Union Street.[44] In the 1980s there were two Unionist/Protestant enclaves in the north end of the town, Gilpinstown and Wakehurst. They have both since changed to become Nationalist/Catholic areas as Unionists/Protestants gradually moved out.[44]
There was a Synagogue at 49 North Street for the Lurgan Hebrew Congregation, founded prior to 1906 by Joseph Herbert (originally Herzberg) from Tukums in Latvia, but this closed in the 1920s around the time of the founder's death.
Economy
Lurgan has historically been an industrial town in which the linen industry predominated as a source of employment during the Industrial Revolution, and is said to have employed as many as 18,000 handloom weavers at the end of the 19th century, a figure significantly higher than the town's resident population at the time.[45] That particular branch of the textile industry declined as consumer tastes changed, but other textiles continued to be produced in the town providing a major source of employment until the 1990s and 2000s[12] when the textile industry across the UK suffered a major decline as a result of outsourcing to low wage countries.[46]
The large Goodyear fan-belt factory at Silverwood Industrial Estate was a product of the Craigavon development when large tracts of land in Lurgan, Portadown, and areas in between were zoned off for exclusive industrial use. The Goodyear factory closed in 1983 after failing to make a profit, resulting in the loss of 750 jobs.[47] The facility was later partly occupied by Wilson Double Deck Trailers and DDL Electronics. Silverwood Industrial Estate continues to host other manufacturing and light engineering firms. Other industrial areas in the town are Annesborough and Halfpenny Valley (Portadown Road) industrial estates; areas in which growth has been limited compared to other industrial estates in the Craigavon Borough.[48]
A key component of the Craigavon development was a central business district halfway between Lurgan and Portadown that would serve as the city centre for the whole of the new city. What was built was an office building, a court house, a civic building, and a small shopping centre alongside several acres of parkland that were developed around the newly created balancing lakes that also serve as part of the area's drainage system. In the 1990s, the shopping centre was significantly expanded to form what is now Rushmere Retail Park, containing many major retail stores. This has had a detrimental effect on the retail trade in Lurgan in the same way that out-of-town shopping developments in other parts of Northern Ireland have damaged other traditional town centres.[49] The town's Chamber of Commerce is not functioning and has remained dormant despite numerous attempts to revive it.[50]
Culture and community
Cultural references
There is a figure of speech used in Ireland – to have a face as long as a Lurgan spade – meaning "to look miserable".[51] The origins of this expression are disputed. One theory is that a "Lurgan spade" was an under-paid workman digging what is now the Lurgan Park lake.[6] Another theory is that it could be from the Irish language lorga spád meaning the shaft (literally "shin") of a spade.
The balladMaster McGrath concerns a greyhound of that name from Lurgan which became an Irish sporting hero. The dog was bought in Lurgan by the Brownlow family, and the song also mentions his owner Charles Brownlow, referred to in the lyrics as Lord Lurgan. Master McGrath won the Waterloo Cuphare coursing competition three times in 1868, 1870 and 1871 at a time when this was a high-profile sport. A post mortem found that he had a heart twice the size of what is normal for a dog of his size.[52] He is remembered all over the town, including in its coat of arms. The dog was named McGrath after the kennel boy responsible for its care. A statue of him was unveiled at Craigavon Civic Centre in 1993, over 120 years after his last glory in 1871. The statue was relocated to Lurgan town centre in 2013. A festival is also held yearly in his honour. A Lurgan pub is also named after Master McGrath.
The town is a frequent recipient of derision by the
The Blame Game
.
Community facilities
Oxford Island is a nature reserve on the shore of Lough Neagh that includes Kinnego Marina and the Lough Neagh Discovery Center, which is an interpretive visitor centre offering information about the surrounding wildlife, conference facilities, and a café.[53]
Lurgan Park, a few hundred yards from the main street, is the largest urban park in Northern Ireland
Circuit of Ireland
rally.
Mount Zion House in Edward St, formerly the St Joseph's
Department for Social Development, the EU Special Programme for Peace and Reconciliation, and the Physical and Social Environment Programme.[57]
Landmarks
Lurgan town centre is distinctive for its wide main street, Market Street, one of the widest in Ireland, which is dominated at one end by Shankill (Anglican) Church in Church Place. A grey granite hexagonal temple-shaped war memorial sits at the entrance to Church Place, topped by a bronze-winged statue representing the spirit of Victorious Peace. A marble pillar at the centre displays the names of over 400 men from the town who lost their lives in the First World War.[58]
The rows of buildings on either side of Market Street are punctuated periodically by large access gates that lead to the space behind the buildings, gates that are wide enough to drive a horse and cart through. The town's straight planned streets are a common feature in many Plantation towns, and its industrial history is still evident in the presence of many former linen mills that have since been modified for modern use.
At the junction of Market Street and Union Street is Lurgan Town Hall, a listed building erected in 1868. It was the first site of the town's library in 1895,[59] was temporarily used as a police station from 1973[60] and is today available for conferences and community functions.[61]
Brownlow House, known locally as 'Lurgan Castle', is a distinctive mansion built in 1833 with Scottish sandstone in an Elizabethan style with a lantern-shaped tower and prominent array of chimney pots. It was originally owned by the Brownlow family, and today is owned by the Lurgan Loyal Orange District Lodge. A former lodge to the Brownlow House estate became the Brownlow Arms Hotel on Market Street, run by the McCaffrey family, which served as the US 5th Army's Officers' Mess during WW2 but closed in the early 1960s. The adjacent Lurgan Park, now a public park owned by Craigavon Borough Council, used to be part of the same estate.[62] The park is the venue for the Lurgan Park Rally.
Religious sites
"Shankill Cemetery" redirects here. For the cemetery in Belfast, see Shankill Graveyard.
The site of what is now Shankill cemetery served as a place of worship over the centuries. It began in ancient times as a simple double
The two most prominent modern places of worship are Shankill Parish Church in Church Place and St Peter's Church in North Street, the steeples of which are visible from far outside the town.
Shankill Parish Church belongs to the Anglican Church of Ireland. The original church was established at Oxford Island on the shore of Lough Neagh in 1411, but a new church was built in Lurgan on the site of what is now Shankill Cemetery in 1609 as the town became the main centre of settlement in the area.[65] It was eventually found to be too small given the growth of the town, and the Irish Parliament granted permission to build a replacement in 1725 one mile away on the 'Green of Lurgan', now known as Church Place, where it stands to this day. It is believed to be the largest parish church in Ireland,[66] and contains the only set of change ringing bells in County Armagh.[67]
Following passage of the Catholic Relief Act, Charles Brownlow granted a site to the Roman Catholic parish priest the Reverend William O'Brien in 1829 for the construction of a church on Distillery Hill, now known as lower North Street. It was there that work began in 1832 on what is now St Peter's Church.[68]
In 1966, another Catholic church, St Paul's, was built at the junction of Francis Street and Parkview Street. This was a radical departure from traditional church architecture with its grey plaster finish, copper roof, slim spire, hexagonal angles and modern design throughout. Many of its architectural features such as the copper roof and gray plaster finish are shared by the neighbouring St Paul's School. It was designed to cope with the extra demand for worship space following the growth of the surrounding Taghnevan and Shankill housing estates.[69]
The first
Methodist church was built in Nettleton's Court, Queen Street in 1778. It was found to be too small and a new church was built on High Street in 1802, and replaced by a newer building in front of it in 1826. This High Street Mehtodist Church was extensively renovated in 1910 and stands to this day sporting a simple facade.[70]