Lurgan
Encyclopedia
Lurgan is a town in County Armagh
, Northern Ireland
. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh
and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council
area, Lurgan is about 18 miles (29 km) south-west of Belfast
and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway
and the Dublin–Belfast railway line. It had a population of about 23,000 at the 2001 Census
.
Lurgan is characteristic of many Plantation of Ulster
settlements, with its straight, wide planned streets and rows of cottages. It is the site of a number of historic listed buildings including Brownlow House and the former town hall.
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 1990s and 2000s. 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. The expansion of Craigavon's Rushmere Retail Park in the 2000s has affected the town's retail trade further.
Lurganclanbrassil, meaning "long-ridge of Clanbrassil") and Lorgain Bhaile Mhic Cana (anglicised Lurg[an]vallivackan, meaning "long-ridge of McCann's settlement"). The McCanns were a sept
of the O'Neills and Lords of Clanbrassil
before the Plantation of Ulster period in the early 17th century.
In around 1610, during the Plantation period and at a time when the area was sparsely populated by Gaelic peoples, the lands of Lurgan were given 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 "a 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."
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
. The land was then passed to the McCanns 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.
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 new towns in Great Britain to deal with population growth, the Northern Ireland government also planned a new town to deal with the projected growth of Belfast and to prevent an undue concentration of population in the city. Craigavon
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, and today, 'Craigavon' locally refers to the rump of the residential area between the two towns. 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.
part of what was known as the "murder triangle"; an area known for a significant number of incidents and fatalities during The Troubles
. Today the town is one of the few areas in Northern Ireland where so-called dissident republicans have a significant level of support. The legacy of the Troubles is continued tension between Roman Catholics and Protestants, which has occasionally erupted into violence at flashpoint 'interface area
s'.
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. The oldest part of the town, the main street, is built on a long ridge in the townland
(baile fearainn) of Lurgan. This name is derived from the Irish
an Lorgain meaning "the long ridge". A neighbouring hill is the site of Brownlow House, which overlooks Lurgan Park.
s, 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
:
Shankill parish:
Seagoe parish:
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 the purpose of elections to the UK Parliament at Westminster
. This has long been a safe unionist seat and the current MP is David Simpson of the DUP
.
Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
at Stormont
are elected from six-member constituencies using proportional representation
and using the same constituencies as for Westminster.
Lurgan town commissioners
were first elected in 1855, and they were replaced by Lurgan Urban District Council following the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898
. This effectively ended landlord control of local government in Ireland. The town council was abolished when local government was reformed in Northern Ireland in 1973 under the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971
and the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972
. These abolished the two-tier system of town and county councils replacing it with the single-tier system still in use today. Lurgan was placed under the jurisdiction of Craigavon Borough Council, and today councillors are elected using proportional representation. The borough is divided into four areas: Portadown, Central, Loughside, and Lurgan. The Lurgan area contains the following wards: Church, Donaghcloney, Knocknashane, Magheralin, Mourneview, Parklake, and Waringstown.
Lurgan Town Hall is owned by Craigavon Borough Council. No Council business is undertaken at the town hall. This is undertaken at Craigavon Civic Centre in Central 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, Court, Drumnamoe, Knocknashane, Mourneview, Parklake, Taghnevan and Woodville.
On the day of the 2001 census
the combined population of these wards was 23,534.
The town is divided along political/sectarian lines with entire housing areas being almost exclusively Catholic/nationalist or almost exclusively Protestant/unionist. The north end of the town centre is considered Catholic, the south end is considered Protestant, with the "invisible dividing line" crossing Market Street at Castle Lane and Carnegie Street. In the 1980s there were two Protestant enclaves in the north end of the town, Gilpinstown and Wakehurst. They have both since changed to become Catholic areas as Protestants gradually moved out.
, 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. 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 when the textile industry across the UK suffered a major decline as a result of outsourcing to low wage countries.
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. 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.
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 lake
s 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. The town's Chamber of Commerce is not functioning and has remained dormant despite numerous attempts to revive it.
used in Northern Ireland – to have a face as long as a Lurgan spade – meaning "to look miserable". 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. Another theory is that it could be from the Irish language lorga spád meaning the shaft (literally "shin") of a spade.
The ballad
Master McGrath
concerns a greyhound
of that name from Lurgan who 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 Cup
hare 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. 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. A festival is also held yearly in his honour. A Lurgan pub was also named after Master McGrath, although it has been renamed in recent years.
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 cafe.
Lurgan Park, a few hundred yards from the main street, is the largest urban park in Northern Ireland and the second-largest in Ireland after Phoenix Park, Dublin. It used to be part of the estate of Brownlow House, a 19th-century Elizabethan-style manor house. In 1893, the land was purchased by Lurgan Borough Council and opened as a public park in 1909 by Earl Aberdeen, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
. It includes a sizable artificial lake and an original Coalbrookdale
fountain. Today the park is home to annual summer events such as the Lurgan Agricultural Show, and the Lurgan Park Rally, noted as the largest annual motor sport event in Northern Ireland and a stage in the Circuit of Ireland rally.
Mount Zion House in Edward St, formerly the St Joseph's Convent
, is now a cross-community centre run by the Shankill Lurgan Community Association/Community Projects. It is funded by the Department for Social Development
, the EU Special Programme for Peace and Reconciliation, and the Physical and Social Environment Programme.
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 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.
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 the former Lurgan Town Hall, a listed building erected in 1868. It was the first site of the town's library in 1891, was temporarily used as a police station in 1972 when it was handed to the Police Authority, and is today owned by the Mechanics' Institute and is available for conferences and community functions.
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. The adjacent Lurgan Park, now a public park owned by Craigavon Borough Council, used to be part of the same estate. The park is the venue for the Lurgan Park Rally
.
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 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. 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.
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. 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.
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 was extensively renovated in 1910 and stands to this day sporting a simple facade.
Today, schools in Lurgan operate under the Dickson Plan
, a transfer system in north Armagh that allows pupils at age 11 the option of taking the Eleven Plus
exam to enter grammar schools, with pupils in comprehensive junior high schools being sorted into grammar and non-grammar streams. Pupils can get promoted to or demoted from the grammar stream during their time in those schools depending on the development of their academic performance, and at age 14 can take subject-based exams across the syllabus to qualify for entry into a dedicated grammar school to pursue GCSEs and A-levels.
As is common in Northern Ireland, most of the schools in Lurgan are attended mainly by children from one or other of the two main religious blocs reflecting the existence of deep-seated sectarian and political divisions in society. Some schools are in the Catholic 'maintained' sector, i.e. maintained by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools
, and others are controlled directly by the state. Directly-controlled state schools generally have a predominantly Protestant intake.
The Model School was part of the national schools programme proposed in 1831 in which each county in Ireland would have at least one school that would serve as an example to other national schools in the area and as a teacher training establishment (although teacher training did not take place at this particular school). Initially it had a multi-denominational intake, offered such services as night classes and industry-relevant vocational
courses, and was enthusiastically supported by William Brownlow who is thought to have brought the school to the town. It was undermined, however, by church interests, which were opposed to its lack of ecclesiastical control, and criticism of the efficiency of its management, hence losing much of its earlier prestige as the premier educational establishment in the town.
Primary schools attended by members of the Catholic/nationalist community are Carrick Primary School, Bunscoil Naomh Proinsias, St. Francis' Primary School, St Teresa's Primary School, St Anthony's Primary School, Tannaghmore Primary School, and Tullygally Primary School.
, and Lurgan Junior High School
(formerly part of Lurgan College of Further Education).
Lurgan College, now a co-ed 14–18 grammar school, was established in 1873 as an all-boys' school to provide what was known as 'classical education' as opposed to the more practical vocational education on offer at the Model School. Its initial charter included a provision that "no person being in Holy Orders, or a minister of any religious denomination shall at any time interfere in the management of the said school, or be appointed to serve as master" and that no religious instruction was to take place during school hours.
Secondary schools attended by the Catholic/nationalist community are St Mary's Junior High School, St Paul's Junior High School, and St Michael's Grammar School
.
St Mary's Intermediate School was built on Kitchen Hill after land was acquired from the Sisters of Mercy
in 1955 and was opened in 1959 as an all-girls' school. The nearby all-boys' St Paul's Intermediate School was opened in 1962, and both of these schools are now known as junior high schools. Pupils attend these schools from age 11 to 13, at which time they have the option of transferring to St Michael's if they qualify. Those who do not qualify may stay on at St Paul's and St Mary's until minimum school leaving age at 16 and where the option of taking GCSE exams is available.
A significant number of people from Lurgan also attend the Catholic maintained Lismore Comprehensive School in Craigavon.
Lurgan Technical College was re-named Lurgan College of Further Education, and subsequently merged with Portadown CFE and Banbridge CFE into the larger Upper Bann Institute of Further and Higher Education (UBIFHE). Further education in the region was consolidated further when this institution was merged with other FE colleges in Armagh, Newry and Kilkeel to form the Southern Regional College. The Lurgan campus is one of the few educational institutions in the area with a mixed denominational intake. It offers vocational courses as an alternative to A-Levels, and adult education services.
, Dollingstown F.C.
, Lurgan Celtic F.C.
, and Lurgan Town Boys F.C.
. There is another thirteen clubs that play in the Mid Ulster Football Leagues. They are Derryhirk United, Hill Street, Lurgan Institute, Taghnevan Harps
, Silverwood United, Tullygally, Lurgan BBOB, Lurgan United, Goodyear, Craigavon City, Celtic Club (Lurgan No1), AFC Craigavon and Oxford United. Lurgan Thistle and Loughgrove play in the Lonsdale league. Glenavon is the most prominent of these, playing in the IFA Premiership
.
There are two cricket
clubs, these are Lurgan Cricket Club
and Victoria Cricket Club.
Cycling
is promoted by three clubs, Apollo CT, Clann Éireann CC, and Lurgan Road Club. The GAA
has a large presence in the area with Gaelic football
being played by clubs Clan na Gael CLG
, Clann Eireann GAC
, Éire Óg CLG
(Craigavon), Sarsfields GAC (Derrytrasna
), St Mary's GAC (Aghagallon
), St Michael's GAC (Magheralin
), St Paul's GAC, St Peter's GAC, and Wolfe Tones GAC (Derrymacash
). Camogie
is played by the St Enda's club who share the grounds with the Wolfe Tone's club, and there is one hurling
club in the town called Sean Treacy's. Clann Éireann also has a handball
club. Rugby union
is played by Lurgan RFC. Tennis
is played by Lurgan Tennis Club which is in Lurgan Park. Lurgan Golf Club is situated at The Demesne beside Lurgan Park and is a 18 hole challenging parkland course bordering on Lurgan lake.
opened on 18 November 1841, connecting the town to the Belfast-Dublin railway line. Lurgan is also situated by the M1 motorway connecting the town to Belfast. Bus services, provided by Translink
, arrive and depart on a regular basis from bus stops on Market Street to Belfast, Portadown, Armagh, Dungannon, and surrounding areas.
Electricity is supplied by Northern Ireland Electricity
which was privatised in 1993 and is now a subsidiary of Viridian Group plc. The gasworks used to be in North St., but there is no longer any town gas since it was abolished in Northern Ireland in the 1980s by the Thatcher government for being uneconomical, although it was restored to the greater Belfast area in 1996. Water is supplied by Northern Ireland Water, a public owned utility.
, published by Johnston Publishing (NI)
, reports news and sport from around the local area. The Lurgan and Portadown Examiner also reports local news and sport with an emphasis on photographs of local people at sporting and social events.
, Manager of Glasgow Celtic
and former captain of the Northern Ireland
football
team and Glasgow Celtic
. Lurgan-born Jim Harvey
, a former professional fooballer and former assistant manager of the Northern Ireland
football
team, has also played for Glenavon, Arsenal F.C.
and Tranmere Rovers.
Gayle Williamson, Miss Northern Ireland
2002, was once engaged to musician Jim Corr
. Barry Douglas
, a classical pianist and conductor, shares his time between living in Paris and Lurgan. Stella McCusker, born in 1942 and from Aghagallon, is an actress who has had a long career on stage and on screen. She won the Best Actress award at the 2010 Irish Theatre Awards.
Lurgan's prominent historians are K.Clenndining, J.McIlmurray, and Francis McCorry.
(5 October 1825 - 16 January 1906) was born in North Lurgan and was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. His birth is recorded in the parish of Shankill at St. Peter's RC Church.
John Cushnie
was a broadcaster and panellist on the BBC radio 4
show Gardeners' Question Time. He also presented the BBCNI TV show The Greenmount Garden.
James Logan
(October 20, 1674 – October 31, 1751), was born in Lurgan. He became an American colonial statesman and scholar, secretary to his friend William Penn
, and was noted as a jurist, political philosopher, and botanist. Margorie McCall was a local woman who was accidentally buried alive but revived by grave robbers in 1705, and is today buried in the historic Shankill cemetery. Her gravestone reads "Lived once, buried twice".
The boxer Isaac O'Neil Weir or "Ike" Weir (February 5, 1867 – 12 September 1908), a featherweight champion of the world known as the "Belfast Spider", was born in Castle Lane. He was also famous for being a champion jockey, trick shooter, acrobat, traditional Irish dancer, for turning somersaults as he entered the ring and in the ring itself, and for other crowd-pleasing comedic antics during fights. He died in 1908 in Massachusetts. George William Russell
(April 10, 1867 – July 17, 1935), who wrote under the pseudonym Æ, was an Anglo-Irish supporter of the nationalist movement in Ireland. He was a critic, poet, painter, mystical writer, and was at the centre of a group of followers of theosophy
in Dublin for many years. He was born in William Street, Lurgan.
Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill (25 December 1881 – 4 November 1944), a British commander in World War I and World War II and later a diplomat, was born in Lurgan in 1881. William Frederick McFadzean
(October 9, 1895 – July 1, 1916), died when he threw himself on a box of primed grenades prior to the Battle of the Somme and was awarded the Victoria Cross
.
Sammy Jones
(11 June 1911–1993), a former professional footballer who made over 100 appearances for Blackpool
and received one cap for the Irish national team
, was born in Lurgan in 1911.
Martin O'Hagan
, a journalist for The Sunday World
newspaper, was murdered on the 28th of September 2001 in front of his wife near his own home in the town.
Rosemary Nelson
(4 September 1958 – 15 March 1999) was a human rights solicitor killed by a loyalist
car bomb in 1999.
Billy Hanna
(c. 1929 - 27 July 1975) founder and first commander of the Ulster Volunteer Force
's Mid-Ulster Brigade
, was a native of Lurgan. He was shot dead outside his home in the Mourneville estate by members of his own organisation.
Len Ganley
MBE, a former world championship snooker
referee, was a resident of the town.
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The town is near the southern shore of Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...
and in the north-eastern corner of the county. Part of the Craigavon Borough Council
Craigavon Borough Council
Craigavon Borough Council is a local council in counties Armagh, Down and Antrim, in Northern Ireland. The headquarters of the council is in Craigavon, on the shores of Lough Neagh, a new town built between Lurgan and Portadown. The council area includes the large towns of Lurgan and Portadown, as...
area, Lurgan is about 18 miles (29 km) south-west of Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway
M1 motorway (Northern Ireland)
The M1 is a motorway in Northern Ireland. It is the longest motorway in Northern Ireland and runs for from Belfast to Dungannon through County Down and County Armagh...
and the Dublin–Belfast railway line. It had a population of about 23,000 at the 2001 Census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
.
Lurgan is characteristic of many Plantation of Ulster
Plantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation of Ulster—a province of Ireland—by people from Great Britain. Private plantation by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while official plantation controlled by King James I of England and VI of Scotland began in 1609...
settlements, with its straight, wide planned streets and rows of cottages. It is the site of a number of historic listed buildings including Brownlow House and the former town hall.
Historically the town was known as a major centre for the production of textiles (mainly linen
Irish linen
Irish linen is the brand name given to linen produced in Ireland. Linen is cloth woven from, or yarn spun from the flax fibre, which was grown in Ireland for many years before advanced agricultural methods and more suitable climate led to the concentration of quality flax cultivation in northern...
) after the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
and it continued to be a major producer of textiles until that industry steadily declined in the 1990s and 2000s. The development of the 'new city' of Craigavon
Craigavon
Craigavon is a settlement in north County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was a planned settlement that was begun in 1965 and named after Northern Ireland's first Prime Minister — James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon. It was intended to be a linear city incorporating Lurgan and Portadown, but this plan...
had a major impact on Lurgan in the 1960s when much industry was attracted to the area. The expansion of Craigavon's Rushmere Retail Park in the 2000s has affected the town's retail trade further.
History
Earlier names of Lurgan include Lorgain Chlann Bhreasail (anglicisedAnglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
Lurganclanbrassil, meaning "long-ridge of Clanbrassil") and Lorgain Bhaile Mhic Cana (anglicised Lurg[an]vallivackan, meaning "long-ridge of McCann's settlement"). The McCanns were a sept
Sept
A sept is an English word for a division of a family, especially a division of a clan. The word might have its origin from Latin saeptum "enclosure, fold", or it can be an alteration of sect.The term is found in both Ireland and Scotland...
of the O'Neills and Lords of Clanbrassil
Earl of Clanbrassil
The title of Earl of Clanbrassil was created twice in the Peerage of Ireland.On 4 May 1622 Sir James Hamilton was created Viscount Claneboye in the Peerage of Ireland. The 2nd Viscount, of the same name, was created Earl of Clanbrassil on 7 June 1647...
before the Plantation of Ulster period in the early 17th century.
In around 1610, during the Plantation period and at a time when the area was sparsely populated by Gaelic peoples, the lands of Lurgan were given to the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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
Bawn
A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word badhún meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure". The Irish word for "cow" is bó and its plural is ba...
for their own accommodation, and "a 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."
Brownlow became MP for Armagh in the Irish Parliament in 1639. During the Irish Rebellion of 1641
Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...
, Brownlow's castle and bawn were destroyed, and he and his wife and family were taken prisoner and brought to Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
and then to Dungannon
Dungannon
Dungannon is a medium-sized town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the third-largest town in the county and a population of 11,139 people was recorded in the 2001 Census. In August 2006, Dungannon won Ulster In Bloom's Best Kept Town Award for the fifth time...
in County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
. The land was then passed to the McCanns and the O'Hanlons. In 1642,
Brownlow and his family were released by the forces of Lord Conway
Edward Conway, 2nd Viscount Conway
Edward Conway, 2nd Viscount Conway PC was an English politician, military commander and peer.-Early life and education:...
, 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
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
industry which peaked in the town in the late 17th century.
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 new towns in Great Britain to deal with population growth, the Northern Ireland government also planned a new town to deal with the projected growth of Belfast and to prevent an undue concentration of population in the city. Craigavon
Craigavon
Craigavon is a settlement in north County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was a planned settlement that was begun in 1965 and named after Northern Ireland's first Prime Minister — James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon. It was intended to be a linear city incorporating Lurgan and Portadown, but this plan...
was designated as a new town in 1965, intended to be a linear city incorporating the neighbouring towns of Lurgan and Portadown
Portadown
Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...
. The plan largely failed, and today, 'Craigavon' locally refers to the rump of the residential area between the two towns. 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
Aghacommon
Aghacommon is a small village and townland in north County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies between Derrymacash , Lurgan and Craigavon . The M1 motorway and Dublin–Belfast railway line are on either side...
and Aghagallon
Aghagallon
Aghagallon is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is about three miles northeast of Lurgan. It is part of the Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of 824 in the 2001 Census....
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.
The Troubles
Lurgan and the associated towns of Portadown and Craigavon made uppart of what was known as the "murder triangle"; an area known for a significant number of incidents and fatalities during The Troubles
The Troubles
The Troubles was a period of ethno-political conflict in Northern Ireland which spilled over at various times into England, the Republic of Ireland, and mainland Europe. The duration of the Troubles is conventionally dated from the late 1960s and considered by many to have ended with the Belfast...
. Today the town is one of the few areas in Northern Ireland where so-called dissident republicans have a significant level of support. The legacy of the Troubles is continued tension between Roman Catholics and Protestants, which has occasionally erupted into violence at flashpoint 'interface area
Interface area
Interface area is the name given to areas where segregated nationalist and unionist residential areas meet in Northern Ireland. They have been defined as "the intersection of segregated and polarised working class residential zones, in areas with a strong link betweenterritory and ethno-political...
s'.
Geography
Lurgan sits in a relatively flat part of Ireland by the south east shore of Lough Neagh. The two main formations in north Armagh are an area of estuarine clays by the shore of the lough, and a mass of basaltBasalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
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. The oldest part of the town, the main street, is built on a long ridge in the townland
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
(baile fearainn) of Lurgan. This name is derived from the Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
an Lorgain meaning "the long ridge". 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 townlandTownland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
s, whose names mostly come from the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
. 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
Etymology
Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
:
Shankill parish:
- Aghnacloy
- Ballyblagh (from Baile Bláthach meaning "flowery townland")
- Ballyreagh (from Baile Riach meaning "greyish townland")
- Demesne (an English name – this townland was carved out of Drumnamoe and others)
- Derry (from Doire meaning "oak grove")
- Dougher or Doughcorran (from Dúchorr meaning "black round hill" and Dúchorrán meaning "small black round hill")
- Drumnamoe (from Druim na mBó meaning "ridge of the cows" or Druim na Mothar meaning "ridge of the thickets")
- Knocknashane (formerly Knocknashangan, from Cnoc na Seangán meaning "hill of the ants")
- Shankill (from Seanchill meaning "old church" or Seanchoill meaning "old wood")
- Taghnevan (formerly Tegnevan, from Teach Naomháin meaning "Naomhán's house")
- Tannaghmore North & Tannaghmore South (from an Tamhnach Mór meaning "the big grassland")
- Toberhewny (from Tobar hAoine/Tobar Chainnigh/Tobar Shuibhne meaning "Friday well/Canice's well/Sweeny's well")
Seagoe parish:
- AghacommonAghacommonAghacommon is a small village and townland in north County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies between Derrymacash , Lurgan and Craigavon . The M1 motorway and Dublin–Belfast railway line are on either side...
(from Achadh Camán meaning "hurlingHurlingHurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
field") - Ballynamony (from Baile na Móna meaning "townland of the bog")
- Silverwood (an English name – formerly called Killinargit, from Coill an Airgid meaning "wood of the silver")
Climate
Lurgan has a temperateTemperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
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.
Governance
Lurgan is part of the Upper Bann constituencyUpper Bann (UK Parliament constituency)
Upper Bann is a Parliamentary Constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The current Member of Parliament for Upper Bann is David Simpson.-Boundaries:...
for the purpose of elections to the UK Parliament at Westminster
Westminster
Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...
. This has long been a safe unionist seat and the current MP is David Simpson of the DUP
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
.
Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
at Stormont
Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland)
The Parliament Buildings, known as Stormont because of its location in the Stormont area of Belfast is the seat of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive...
are elected from six-member constituencies using proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
and using the same constituencies as for Westminster.
Lurgan town commissioners
Town Commissioners
Town commissioners were elected local government bodies established in urban areas in Ireland in the nineteenth century. Larger towns with commissioners were converted to urban districts by the Local Government Act 1898, with the smaller commissions continuing to exist beyond partition in 1922.The...
were first elected in 1855, and they were replaced by Lurgan Urban District Council following the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898
Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898
The Local Government Act 1898 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that established a system of local government in Ireland similar to that already created for England, Wales and Scotland by legislation in 1888 and 1889...
. This effectively ended landlord control of local government in Ireland. The town council was abolished when local government was reformed in Northern Ireland in 1973 under the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971
Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971
The Local Government Act 1971 was an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, passed in 1971 to replace the previous system of local authorities established by the Local Government Act 1898...
and the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972
Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 was an Act of the Parliament of Northern Ireland that constituted district councils to administer the twenty-six local government districts created by the Local Government Act 1971, and abolished the existing local authorities in Northern Ireland.-District...
. These abolished the two-tier system of town and county councils replacing it with the single-tier system still in use today. Lurgan was placed under the jurisdiction of Craigavon Borough Council, and today councillors are elected using proportional representation. The borough is divided into four areas: Portadown, Central, Loughside, and Lurgan. The Lurgan area contains the following wards: Church, Donaghcloney, Knocknashane, Magheralin, Mourneview, Parklake, and Waringstown.
Lurgan Town Hall is owned by Craigavon Borough Council. No Council business is undertaken at the town hall. This is undertaken at Craigavon Civic Centre in Central Craigavon.
Demography
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 CraigavonCraigavon
Craigavon is a settlement in north County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was a planned settlement that was begun in 1965 and named after Northern Ireland's first Prime Minister — James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon. It was intended to be a linear city incorporating Lurgan and Portadown, but this plan...
, Portadown
Portadown
Portadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...
and Bleary
Bleary
Bleary is a small village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is close to the County Armagh border; near Craigavon, Lurgan and Portadown. In the 2001 Census its population was counted as part of Craigavon...
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, Court, Drumnamoe, Knocknashane, Mourneview, Parklake, Taghnevan and Woodville.
On the day of the 2001 census
United Kingdom Census 2001
A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
the combined population of these wards was 23,534.
The town is divided along political/sectarian lines with entire housing areas being almost exclusively Catholic/nationalist or almost exclusively Protestant/unionist. The north end of the town centre is considered Catholic, the south end is considered Protestant, with the "invisible dividing line" crossing Market Street at Castle Lane and Carnegie Street. In the 1980s there were two Protestant enclaves in the north end of the town, Gilpinstown and Wakehurst. They have both since changed to become Catholic areas as Protestants gradually moved out.
Economy
Lurgan has historically been an industrial town in which the linen industry predominated as a source of employment during the Industrial RevolutionIndustrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
, 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. 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 when the textile industry across the UK suffered a major decline as a result of outsourcing to low wage countries.
The large Goodyear
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....
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. 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.
A key component of the Craigavon development was a central business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
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 lake
Balancing lake
A balancing lake is a term used in the U.K. describing an element of an urban drainage system used to control flooding by temporarily storing flood waters...
s 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. The town's Chamber of Commerce is not functioning and has remained dormant despite numerous attempts to revive it.
Cultural references
There is a figure of speechFigure of speech
A figure of speech is the use of a word or words diverging from its usual meaning. It can also be a special repetition, arrangement or omission of words with literal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it, as in idiom, metaphor, simile,...
used in Northern Ireland – to have a face as long as a Lurgan spade – meaning "to look miserable". 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. Another theory is that it could be from the Irish language lorga spád meaning the shaft (literally "shin") of a spade.
The ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
Master McGrath
Master McGrath
Master McGrath was a famous greyhound in the sport of hare coursing.-Early days:Master McGrath was born in County Waterford, Ireland. A small, weak pup, he went on to become the most celebrated and successful dog of his time. Master McGrath was born in 1866 at Colligan Lodge, the home of James...
concerns a greyhound
Greyhound
The Greyhound is a breed of sighthound that has been primarily bred for coursing game and racing, and the breed has also recently seen a resurgence in its popularity as a pedigree show dog and family pet. It is a gentle and intelligent breed...
of that name from Lurgan who became an Irish sporting hero. The dog was bought in Lurgan by the Brownlow family, and the song also mentions his owner Charles Brownlow
Charles Brownlow, 2nd Baron Lurgan
Charles Brownlow, 2nd Baron Lurgan KP , was a Anglo-Irish Liberal politician.Lurgan was the son of Charles Brownlow, 1st Baron Lurgan, and his second wife Jane , and succeeded his father in the barony in 1847...
, referred to in the lyrics as Lord Lurgan
Baron Lurgan
Baron Lurgan, of Lurgan in the County of Armagh, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1839 for Charles Brownlow, who had previously represented Armagh in the House of Commons. His son, the second Baron, served as a Government Whip from 1869 to 1874 in the first...
. Master McGrath won the Waterloo Cup
Waterloo Cup
The Waterloo Cup was a coursing event. The three day event was run annually at Great Altcar in Lancashire, England from 1836 to 2005 and it used to attract tens of thousands of spectators to watch and gamble on the coursing matches...
hare coursing
Hare coursing
Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight and not by scent. It is a competitive sport, in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and turn a hare, rather than a form of hunting aiming at the capture of game. It has a...
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. 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. A festival is also held yearly in his honour. A Lurgan pub was also named after Master McGrath, although it has been renamed in recent years.
Community facilities
Oxford Island is a nature reserve on the shore of Lough NeaghLough Neagh
Lough Neagh, sometimes Loch Neagh, is a large freshwater lake in Northern Ireland. Its name comes .-Geography:With an area of , it is the largest lake in the British Isles and ranks among the forty largest lakes of Europe. Located twenty miles to the west of Belfast, it is approximately twenty...
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 cafe.
Lurgan Park, a few hundred yards from the main street, is the largest urban park in Northern Ireland and the second-largest in Ireland after Phoenix Park, Dublin. It used to be part of the estate of Brownlow House, a 19th-century Elizabethan-style manor house. In 1893, the land was purchased by Lurgan Borough Council and opened as a public park in 1909 by Earl Aberdeen, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
. It includes a sizable artificial lake and an original Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. This is where iron ore was first smelted by Abraham Darby using easily mined "coking coal". The coal was drawn from drift mines in the sides...
fountain. Today the park is home to annual summer events such as the Lurgan Agricultural Show, and the Lurgan Park Rally, noted as the largest annual motor sport event in Northern Ireland and a stage in the Circuit of Ireland rally.
Mount Zion House in Edward St, formerly the St Joseph's Convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
, is now a cross-community centre run by the Shankill Lurgan Community Association/Community Projects. It is funded by the Department for Social Development
Department for Social Development
The Department for Social Development is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for Social Development.-Aim:...
, the EU Special Programme for Peace and Reconciliation, and the Physical and Social Environment Programme.
Landmarks
War memorial
A war memorial is a building, monument, statue or other edifice to celebrate a war or victory, or to commemorate those who died or were injured in war.-Historic usage:...
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.
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 the former Lurgan Town Hall, a listed building erected in 1868. It was the first site of the town's library in 1891, was temporarily used as a police station in 1972 when it was handed to the Police Authority, and is today owned by the Mechanics' Institute and is available for conferences and community functions.
Brownlow House, known locally as 'Lurgan Castle', is a distinctive mansion built in 1833 with Scottish sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
in an Elizabethan
Elizabethan architecture
Elizabethan architecture is the term given to early Renaissance architecture in England, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Historically, the period corresponds to the Cinquecento in Italy, the Early Renaissance in France, and the Plateresque style in Spain...
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. The adjacent Lurgan Park, now a public park owned by Craigavon Borough Council, used to be part of the same estate. The park is the venue for the Lurgan Park Rally
Lurgan Park Rally
The Lurgan Park Rally is a Rally event that is held in Lurgan Park in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. The rally has been sponsored by Orchard Motorsport for 3 years now. In 2010, the rally was given a new logo. The rally takes the year first, then the sponsor and then the venue....
.
Religious sites
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 ring fort, the outline of which is still noticeable, and is today an historic burial site holding the remains of people who lived in the earliest days of the town's existence, including the Brownlow family. Dougher cemetery is another old graveyard that was donated to the Catholic people by the Brownlows following passage of the Catholic Relief Act.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 Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
. 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. 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.
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. 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.
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 was extensively renovated in 1910 and stands to this day sporting a simple facade.
Education
It was the late 19th century that saw the development of formal education in Lurgan and a significant move away from the less organised hedge schools of before.Today, schools in Lurgan operate under the Dickson Plan
Dickson Plan
The Dickson Plan is a school transfer system implemented in North County Armagh in Northern Ireland. It is a two tier system in which the majority of pupils in the Craigavon Borough Council Area and parts of Armagh City and District Council Area attend Junior High Schools for 3 years before...
, a transfer system in north Armagh that allows pupils at age 11 the option of taking the Eleven Plus
Eleven plus
In the United Kingdom, the 11-plus or Eleven plus is an examination administered to some students in their last year of primary education, governing admission to various types of secondary school. The name derives from the age group for secondary entry: 11–12 years...
exam to enter grammar schools, with pupils in comprehensive junior high schools being sorted into grammar and non-grammar streams. Pupils can get promoted to or demoted from the grammar stream during their time in those schools depending on the development of their academic performance, and at age 14 can take subject-based exams across the syllabus to qualify for entry into a dedicated grammar school to pursue GCSEs and A-levels.
As is common in Northern Ireland, most of the schools in Lurgan are attended mainly by children from one or other of the two main religious blocs reflecting the existence of deep-seated sectarian and political divisions in society. Some schools are in the Catholic 'maintained' sector, i.e. maintained by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools
Council for Catholic Maintained Schools
The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools is the advocate for the Catholic Maintained Schools sector in Northern Ireland. CCMS represents trustees, schools and governors on issues such as raising and maintaining standards, the school estate and teacher employment...
, and others are controlled directly by the state. Directly-controlled state schools generally have a predominantly Protestant intake.
Primary education
At primary level, schools attended by the Protestant/unionist community are Carrick Primary School, Dickson Primary School, King's Park Primary School, and Lurgan Model Primary School.The Model School was part of the national schools programme proposed in 1831 in which each county in Ireland would have at least one school that would serve as an example to other national schools in the area and as a teacher training establishment (although teacher training did not take place at this particular school). Initially it had a multi-denominational intake, offered such services as night classes and industry-relevant vocational
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
courses, and was enthusiastically supported by William Brownlow who is thought to have brought the school to the town. It was undermined, however, by church interests, which were opposed to its lack of ecclesiastical control, and criticism of the efficiency of its management, hence losing much of its earlier prestige as the premier educational establishment in the town.
Primary schools attended by members of the Catholic/nationalist community are Carrick Primary School, Bunscoil Naomh Proinsias, St. Francis' Primary School, St Teresa's Primary School, St Anthony's Primary School, Tannaghmore Primary School, and Tullygally Primary School.
Post-primary education
At secondary level, schools attended by the Protestant/unionist community are Lurgan CollegeLurgan College
Lurgan College is a selective age 14-19 grammar school situated in the town of Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.- History :As befitted a growing industrial town, Lurgan had a strong educational establishment from the mid 19th Century. The opening of the Model School in 1863 had been the...
, and Lurgan Junior High School
Lurgan Junior High School
Lurgan Junior High School is a school situated in the town of Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It caters to around 700 pupils aged 11 to 14....
(formerly part of Lurgan College of Further Education).
Lurgan College, now a co-ed 14–18 grammar school, was established in 1873 as an all-boys' school to provide what was known as 'classical education' as opposed to the more practical vocational education on offer at the Model School. Its initial charter included a provision that "no person being in Holy Orders, or a minister of any religious denomination shall at any time interfere in the management of the said school, or be appointed to serve as master" and that no religious instruction was to take place during school hours.
Secondary schools attended by the Catholic/nationalist community are St Mary's Junior High School, St Paul's Junior High School, and St Michael's Grammar School
St Michael's Grammar School, Lurgan
St Michael's Grammar School is a grammar school in Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland.-History :The property known as "Irishtown Hill House", Cornakinnegar was purchased in 1892 for a permanent Boys' Industrial School. Plans for an extension having been approved, Dr. O'Neill laid the...
.
St Mary's Intermediate School was built on Kitchen Hill after land was acquired from the Sisters of Mercy
Sisters of Mercy
The Religious Order of the Sisters of Mercy is an order of Catholic women founded by Catherine McAuley in Dublin, Ireland, in 1831. , the order has about 10,000 members worldwide, organized into a number of independent congregations....
in 1955 and was opened in 1959 as an all-girls' school. The nearby all-boys' St Paul's Intermediate School was opened in 1962, and both of these schools are now known as junior high schools. Pupils attend these schools from age 11 to 13, at which time they have the option of transferring to St Michael's if they qualify. Those who do not qualify may stay on at St Paul's and St Mary's until minimum school leaving age at 16 and where the option of taking GCSE exams is available.
A significant number of people from Lurgan also attend the Catholic maintained Lismore Comprehensive School in Craigavon.
Lurgan Technical College was re-named Lurgan College of Further Education, and subsequently merged with Portadown CFE and Banbridge CFE into the larger Upper Bann Institute of Further and Higher Education (UBIFHE). Further education in the region was consolidated further when this institution was merged with other FE colleges in Armagh, Newry and Kilkeel to form the Southern Regional College. The Lurgan campus is one of the few educational institutions in the area with a mixed denominational intake. It offers vocational courses as an alternative to A-Levels, and adult education services.
Special needs education
Ceara School provides education for pupils aged 3 through 19 who have severe learning difficulties.Facilities
Lurgan has a municipal swimming pool and leisure complex called Waves. This includes a swimming pool, squash courts, a gym, and offers such activities as pilates, circuit training, and spinning classes. Following a vote taken by Craigavon Borough Council on April 7, 2010, Waves is to be closed as will the Cascades Centre in Portadown, and both facilities are to be replaced by a large central swimming facility that will be built near the Craigavon balancing lakes. Lurgan has two 18-hole golf courses, an artificial ski slope and an equestrian centre for show jumping.Clubs
Lurgan is home to the soccer clubs Glenavon F.C.Glenavon F.C.
Glenavon F.C. is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the IFA Premiership. The club, founded in 1889, hails from Lurgan and plays its home matches at Mourneview Park...
, Dollingstown F.C.
Dollingstown F.C.
Dollingstown is an intermediate-level football club playing in the Intermediate A division of the Mid-Ulster Football League in Northern Ireland.-External links:* * -...
, Lurgan Celtic F.C.
Lurgan Celtic F.C.
Lurgan Celtic is an intermediate, Northern Irish football team based in Lurgan, County Armagh, and plays in IFA Championship 2. Its home ground is Knockrammer Park...
, and Lurgan Town Boys F.C.
Lurgan Town Boys F.C.
Lurgan Town Boys F.C. is a Northern Irish foorball club based in Lurgan, County Armagh. The club is currently a member of the Intermediate B Division of the Mid-Ulster Football League and plays at the Lurgan Town Arena.-History:...
. There is another thirteen clubs that play in the Mid Ulster Football Leagues. They are Derryhirk United, Hill Street, Lurgan Institute, Taghnevan Harps
Taghnevan Harps
Taghnevan Harps is a football team in the North of Ireland. They are based in Lurgan, County Armagh and play in the Mid-Ulster Football League's First Division. The club were formed in 2000 by Terry Magee, Stephen Shanks and Seamus Casey and played their first game in March 2001 in a friendly...
, Silverwood United, Tullygally, Lurgan BBOB, Lurgan United, Goodyear, Craigavon City, Celtic Club (Lurgan No1), AFC Craigavon and Oxford United. Lurgan Thistle and Loughgrove play in the Lonsdale league. Glenavon is the most prominent of these, playing in the IFA Premiership
IFA Premiership
The IFA Premiership – formerly the Irish Premier League, and before that the Irish Football League–and still known in popular parlance simply as the Irish League, is the national football league in Northern Ireland, and was historically the league for the whole of Ireland. Clubs in the league are...
.
There are two cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
clubs, these are Lurgan Cricket Club
Lurgan Cricket Club
Lurgan Cricket Club is a cricket club in Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, playing in Section 1 of the NCU Senior League.The club was formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of Brownlow and Lurgan YMCA cricket clubs. After a short hiatus during the Second World War, it reformed in 1945 and...
and Victoria Cricket Club.
Cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
is promoted by three clubs, Apollo CT, Clann Éireann CC, and Lurgan Road Club. The GAA
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...
has a large presence in the area with Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...
being played by clubs Clan na Gael CLG
Clan na Gael CLG
Clan na Gael is a Gaelic Athletic Association club situated in the town of Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The club was formed in 1922 in the Francis Street area following the demise of its predecessors, The Michael Davitts. The club's pitch, Davitt Park is still named in honour of Michael...
, Clann Eireann GAC
Clann Eireann GAC
Clann Éireann GAC is a GAA Club based in Lurgan, in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Formed in 1910, the club was only officially named "Clann Éireann" 1937 after numerous name changes...
, Éire Óg CLG
Éire Óg Craigavon GAA
Éire Óg is a GAA Club based in Craigavon, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1969 to promote gaelic games and Irish culture in the then new city of Craigavon.-History:...
(Craigavon), Sarsfields GAC (Derrytrasna
Derrytrasna
Derrytrasna is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The village is on a plateau surrounded mainly by bogland in the north of the county. It lies between Lough Neagh, Lough Gullion and the River Bann. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 249 people...
), St Mary's GAC (Aghagallon
Aghagallon
Aghagallon is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is about three miles northeast of Lurgan. It is part of the Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of 824 in the 2001 Census....
), St Michael's GAC (Magheralin
Magheralin
Magheralin is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the main Moira to Lurgan road, beside the River Lagan. It had a population of 1,144 people in the 2001 Census. It is within the Craigavon Borough Council area....
), St Paul's GAC, St Peter's GAC, and Wolfe Tones GAC (Derrymacash
Derrymacash
Derrymacash is a small village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is about four miles west of Lurgan, between the M1 motorway and Lough Neagh. It had a population of 629 in the 2001 Census....
). Camogie
Camogie
Camogie is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women; it is almost identical to the game of hurling played by men. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and world wide, largely among Irish communities....
is played by the St Enda's club who share the grounds with the Wolfe Tone's club, and there is one hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
club in the town called Sean Treacy's. Clann Éireann also has a handball
Gaelic handball
Gaelic handball is a sport similar to Basque pelota, racquetball, squash and American handball . It is one of the four Gaelic games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association...
club. Rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
is played by Lurgan RFC. Tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
is played by Lurgan Tennis Club which is in Lurgan Park. Lurgan Golf Club is situated at The Demesne beside Lurgan Park and is a 18 hole challenging parkland course bordering on Lurgan lake.
Transport and Public services
Lurgan railway stationLurgan railway station
Lurgan railway station serves Lurgan in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 18 November 1841.- Service :Mondays to Saturdays there is a half hourly service towards Portadown or Newry in one direction and to Bangor or Belfast in the other, with extra services at peak times and the...
opened on 18 November 1841, connecting the town to the Belfast-Dublin railway line. Lurgan is also situated by the M1 motorway connecting the town to Belfast. Bus services, provided by Translink
Translink (Northern Ireland)
Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company , a public corporation in Northern Ireland which provides the public transport in the region. NI Railways, Ulsterbus and Metro are all part of Translink....
, arrive and depart on a regular basis from bus stops on Market Street to Belfast, Portadown, Armagh, Dungannon, and surrounding areas.
Electricity is supplied by Northern Ireland Electricity
Northern Ireland Electricity
Northern Ireland Electricity Limited is the electricity asset owner of the transmission and distribution infrastructure in Northern Ireland. NIE does not own generate or supply electricity. NIE is a subsidiary of ESB Group....
which was privatised in 1993 and is now a subsidiary of Viridian Group plc. The gasworks used to be in North St., but there is no longer any town gas since it was abolished in Northern Ireland in the 1980s by the Thatcher government for being uneconomical, although it was restored to the greater Belfast area in 1996. Water is supplied by Northern Ireland Water, a public owned utility.
Media
Lurgan is served by two weekly local newspapers. The Lurgan MailLurgan Mail
The Lurgan Mail is a tabloid weekly newspaper based in Lurgan, County Armagh in Northern Ireland. It is published on Wednesday evenings, though each edition always bears the Thursday date. and reports not only news in Lurgan, but also in nearby towns such as Waringstown and others in the Craigavon...
, published by Johnston Publishing (NI)
Johnston Publishing (NI)
Johnston Publishing is a large newspaper group in Northern Ireland consisting of Mortons Newspapers and the News Letter, and is a holding company of Johnston Press...
, reports news and sport from around the local area. The Lurgan and Portadown Examiner also reports local news and sport with an emphasis on photographs of local people at sporting and social events.
Living people
Neil LennonNeil Lennon
Neil Francis Lennon is a former footballer from Northern Ireland. He is the current manager and former captain of Celtic....
, Manager of Glasgow Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
and former captain of the Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team and Glasgow Celtic
Celtic F.C.
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the...
. Lurgan-born Jim Harvey
Jim Harvey
James "Jim" Harvey is a Northern Irish football manager and former player. He is currently manager of Conference North side Stalybridge Celtic.-Playing career:...
, a former professional fooballer and former assistant manager of the Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
team, has also played for Glenavon, Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...
and Tranmere Rovers.
Gayle Williamson, Miss Northern Ireland
Miss Northern Ireland
Miss Northern Ireland is a beauty pageant, the winner of which goes on to compete in the Miss World pageant.Before 1999, the winner of Miss Anton Northern Ireland would have to compete in the Miss United Kingdom competition and win it in order to be applicable to compete in the Miss World competition...
2002, was once engaged to musician Jim Corr
Jim Corr
James Steven Ignatius "Jim" Corr is an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. He is a member of the Irish folk/rock band The Corrs, the other members being his three younger sisters Andrea, Sharon and Caroline. He is also a DJ....
. Barry Douglas
Barry Douglas
Barry Douglas OBE is a classical pianist and conductor. He studied piano, cello, clarinet and organ while growing up in Belfast. He first studied in Belfast while attending Methodist College Belfast and, at 16, had lessons with Felicitas LeWinter, a pupil of Emil von Sauer and grand-pupil of...
, a classical pianist and conductor, shares his time between living in Paris and Lurgan. Stella McCusker, born in 1942 and from Aghagallon, is an actress who has had a long career on stage and on screen. She won the Best Actress award at the 2010 Irish Theatre Awards.
Lurgan's prominent historians are K.Clenndining, J.McIlmurray, and Francis McCorry.
Deceased people
Philip Felix Smith VCPhilip Smith (VC)
Philip Felix Smith VC was born in Lurgan, County Armagh and was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:He was 29 old, and a corporal in the 17th Regiment...
(5 October 1825 - 16 January 1906) was born in North Lurgan and was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. His birth is recorded in the parish of Shankill at St. Peter's RC Church.
John Cushnie
John Cushnie
John Cushnie was a gardener and broadcaster in the United Kingdom.Born in Lurgan, County Armagh, he was best known as a regular panellist for 15 years on the long-running BBC Radio 4 programme, Gardener's Question Time...
was a broadcaster and panellist on the BBC radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
show Gardeners' Question Time. He also presented the BBCNI TV show The Greenmount Garden.
James Logan
James Logan (statesman)
James Logan , a statesman and scholar, was born in Lurgan, County Armagh, Ireland of Scottish descent and Quaker parentage. In 1689, the Logan family moved to Bristol, England where, in 1693, James replaced his father as schoolmaster...
(October 20, 1674 – October 31, 1751), was born in Lurgan. He became an American colonial statesman and scholar, secretary to his friend William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
, and was noted as a jurist, political philosopher, and botanist. Margorie McCall was a local woman who was accidentally buried alive but revived by grave robbers in 1705, and is today buried in the historic Shankill cemetery. Her gravestone reads "Lived once, buried twice".
The boxer Isaac O'Neil Weir or "Ike" Weir (February 5, 1867 – 12 September 1908), a featherweight champion of the world known as the "Belfast Spider", was born in Castle Lane. He was also famous for being a champion jockey, trick shooter, acrobat, traditional Irish dancer, for turning somersaults as he entered the ring and in the ring itself, and for other crowd-pleasing comedic antics during fights. He died in 1908 in Massachusetts. George William Russell
George William Russell
George William Russell who wrote under the pseudonym Æ , was an Irish nationalist, writer, editor, critic, poet, and painter. He was also a mystical writer, and centre of a group of followers of theosophy in Dublin, for many years.-Organisor:Russell was born in Lurgan, County Armagh...
(April 10, 1867 – July 17, 1935), who wrote under the pseudonym Æ, was an Anglo-Irish supporter of the nationalist movement in Ireland. He was a critic, poet, painter, mystical writer, and was at the centre of a group of followers of theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
in Dublin for many years. He was born in William Street, Lurgan.
Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill (25 December 1881 – 4 November 1944), a British commander in World War I and World War II and later a diplomat, was born in Lurgan in 1881. William Frederick McFadzean
William Frederick McFadzean
William Frederick "Billy" McFadzean VC was born in Lurgan, County Armagh. From Ulster, he was a Northern Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:McFadzean...
(October 9, 1895 – July 1, 1916), died when he threw himself on a box of primed grenades prior to the Battle of the Somme and was awarded the Victoria Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
.
Sammy Jones
Sammy Jones (footballer)
Samuel "Sammy" Jones was an Irish professional footballer. He played as a defender.-Domestic career:Born in Lurgan, Ireland, Jones began his professional career with Distillery in his native land. In 1933, he joined Sandy MacFarlane's Blackpool, making his debut on 21 October 1933, in a goalless...
(11 June 1911–1993), a former professional footballer who made over 100 appearances for Blackpool
Blackpool F.C.
Blackpool Football Club are an English football club founded in 1887 from the Lancashire seaside town of Blackpool. They are competing in the 2011–12 season of the The Championship, the second tier of professional football in England, having been relegated from the Premier League at the end of the...
and received one cap for the Irish national team
Ireland national football team (IFA)
The Ireland national football team represented Ireland at association football, it was organised by the Irish FA , and is the fourth oldest international team in the world. It mainly played in the British Home Championship against England, Scotland and Wales...
, was born in Lurgan in 1911.
Martin O'Hagan
Martin O'Hagan
Owen Martin O'Hagan, was an Irish investigative journalist from Lurgan, Northern Ireland. He was the most prominent journalist to be killed as a consequence of the Troubles and the only one to be specifically assassinated as a result of his work.-Life:Martin O'Hagan's father served in the British...
, a journalist for The Sunday World
Sunday World
The Sunday World is an Irish newspaper published by Sunday Newspapers Limited, a division of Independent News and Media. It is the largest selling "popular" newspaper in the Republic of Ireland and is also sold in Northern Ireland .-Origins:The Sunday World was Ireland's first tabloid newspaper...
newspaper, was murdered on the 28th of September 2001 in front of his wife near his own home in the town.
Rosemary Nelson
Rosemary Nelson
Rosemary Nelson was a prominent Northern Irish human rights lawyer who was killed by a loyalist paramilitary group in 1999...
(4 September 1958 – 15 March 1999) was a human rights solicitor killed by a loyalist
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
car bomb in 1999.
Billy Hanna
Billy Hanna
William Henry Wilson "Billy" Hanna MM was a high-ranking Northern Irish loyalist who founded and led the Mid-Ulster Brigade of the Ulster Volunteer Force until he was killed, allegedly by Robin Jackson, who took over command of the brigade.According to RUC Special Patrol Group officer John Weir,...
(c. 1929 - 27 July 1975) founder and first commander of the Ulster Volunteer Force
Ulster Volunteer Force
The Ulster Volunteer Force is a loyalist paramilitary group in Northern Ireland. It was formed in late 1965 or early 1966 and named after the Ulster Volunteer Force of 1913. The group's volunteers undertook an armed campaign of almost thirty years during The Troubles...
's Mid-Ulster Brigade
UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade
UVF Mid-Ulster Brigade formed part of the loyalist paramilitary Ulster Volunteer Force in Northern Ireland. The brigade was established in Lurgan, County Armagh in 1972 by its first commander Billy Hanna. The unit operated mainly around the Lurgan and Portadown areas. Subsequent leaders of the...
, was a native of Lurgan. He was shot dead outside his home in the Mourneville estate by members of his own organisation.
Len Ganley
Len Ganley
Len Ganley MBE was a Northern Irish snooker referee. He visited England in 1971 to spend a ten-day holiday with his sister in Burton-upon-Trent, and remained in England....
MBE, a former world championship snooker
Snooker
Snooker is a cue sport that is played on a green baize-covered table with pockets in each of the four corners and in the middle of each of the long side cushions. A regular table is . It is played using a cue and snooker balls: one white , 15 worth one point each, and six balls of different :...
referee, was a resident of the town.
Government
- Craigavon Borough Council
- Lurgan Forward – Lurgan Town Centre Management Company.
- NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)
Sport clubs
- Glenavon FC
- Dollingstown FC
- Lurgan Celtic FC
- Lurgan Town Boys FC
- Lurgan Cricket Club
- Apollo Cycling Team
- Clann Eireann Cycling Club
- Clan na Gael CLG
- Clann Eireann GAC
See also
- List of towns in Northern Ireland
- List of villages in Northern Ireland
- List of townlands in County Armagh