Newry
Newry is a small city in County Down, in Northern Ireland.
Understand
Newry (Iúr Cinn Trá) is close to the border with the Republic of Ireland. Newry serves as the regional hub for southern counties Armagh and Down. Founded as a Cistercian monastery in 1144, Newry remained relatively insignificant until the 18th century when its canal — the first summit-level canal in the British Isles was constructed.
It is now popular as a shopping destination, particularly with those from the Republic of Ireland – although this can fluctuate depending on the relative strength of the euro vs the pound.
Newry has a compact city centre surrounded by mixed-type housing developments and outlying villages.
Get in
By bus
Newry serves as the regional hub for much of southern counties Armagh and Down. Local bus connections are available to nearby towns and villages such as Crossmaglen, Warrenpoint and Kilkeel.
The Translink 238 Belfast Express serves Newry on an hourly or better basis during peak times. Other services operated by Bus Éireann also serve the town from Dublin and from smaller settlements in North County Louth.
Private companies, such as Rooney, also run services between Belfast and Newry.
By train
Get around
On foot
Newry is a relatively small city, and can easily be explored on barefoot.
By taxi
Taxis are widely available and charge a minimum fee of £4.00 within the city.
By bus
Local buses run from early morning until after 18:00.
See
- 1 Newry Cathedral.
- 2 Carnbane Football League. (August - June) Newry local football league with plenty of Cups.
- 3 St. Patrick's Church, High Street. The first Church of Ireland chapel.
- 4 Newry City Hall. Built over Newry's Canal.
- 5 Newry Arts Centre. Art, paintings and events.
- 6 Albert Basin Walkway. Nice walkway, also holds events like circuses.
- 7 Bagenal's Castle Museum, Abbey Way. Museum about Newry and various other histories.
- John Mitchel Statue, Hill Street. John Mitchel was a militant Irish nationalist activist, later an advocate of American slavery and the Confederate rebellion.
- 8 Newry canal. The oldest summit-level canal in Ireland and Britain.
- 9 Craigmore Viaduct. 18 arches of 60 ft (18 m) span, the highest being 126 ft (38 m), railway bridge, the tallest viaduct in Ireland.
- 10 Slieve Gullion. An extinct volcano with a crater lake, highest burial cairn in Ireland, views of 9 counties, with visitor centre at its foot
Do
The Quays also has a 9-screen cinema, showing the latest films. Newry has a 25-metre swimming pool and a sports complex, both of which have seen better days. There are also facilities for playing football, bowls and tennis. Newry also has a number of public parks and is surrounded by beautiful towns, the majestic Mourne Mountains, and spectacular countryside.
Buy
After Belfast, Newry is one of Northern Ireland's finest locations for shopping. The town boasts two shopping centres as well as a modest out-of-town shopping complex.
- 1 The Quays. shopping centre
- 2 The Buttercrane. A shopping centre.
Eat
Finding lunch should not prove a problem, as there are many good sandwich shops located on Hill Street and in The Quays Shopping Centre (people who live in Ireland will know to avoid O'Brien's in the Buttercrane).
Finding somewhere to eat in the evenings can be a challenge. Excellent restaurants (such as the original Soho Place and Tickle) seem to have an abnormally short life-span. Copper Restaurant on Monaghan Street offers a locally sourced menu and a good vegetarian/vegan menu. Many places offer inexpensive and unremarkable fare, the most prominent being the Canal Court Hotel's bar snacks menu (best described as standard chain-pub food). There is a wide range of Chinese restaurants/takeaways and pizzerias, but remarkably few Indian restaurants. Many pubs offer food.
- 1 Art Barfunkel's, 3 Monaghan St. (in the Arts Centre), ☏ +44 28 3025 1935. Serves very special food (both at lunchtime and in the evening) and the atmosphere is something special.
- 2 [dead link] Bella Sapori (Sapori Italiani), 16 - 17 Newry Bachelors Walk, ☏ +44 28 3025 2086. Good quality Italian fare.
- 3 Grounded. Good quality food, good atmosphere, very close to the bus station while you're waiting on a bus. May be full of students during school term.
The Canal Court has two restaurants, neither of which are renowned amongst locals for either value or excellence.
Just one quick word of warning — Newry is a fast-food, take-away paradise.
Drink
- Larkin’s Bar (attached to the Francis court hotel). This is a relatively small bar that has a regular clientele.
- BED Night Club. One out of the two younger night spots the City has. BED like its competitor night club the BANK attracts the young out going party goer.
- Crozier's. A well liked bar.
- The Bridge Bar. Excellent bar for the party goer.
- The Phoenix. Cosy bar with nice historic pictures on the wall.
- McSwiggan's. High crowds on Friday and Saturday evenings.
- Nan Rices. Nan’s as it is sometimes known locally is your more traditional Irish bar. It has its regulars who are very friendly and visitors are made very welcome. It regularly hosts a traditional music night on Fridays and the price of drink is reasonable.
- McGuigan’s. Sports and music bar.
- The Railway Bar. A traditional bar which has its regular characters and customers, all of whom are very friendly and welcoming to all visitors. The bar has a traditional music session held every Thursday night, which attracts musicians from all over Ireland. The music session also attracts many a foreign visitor wishing to immerse themselves in Ireland's musical culture. For anyone visiting Newry on a Thursday night and looking a bit of craic the Railway Bar is the place to be.
Sleep
For a city, Newry has a surprisingly small number of hotels.
- 1 Mourne Country Hotel, 52 Belfast Rd, ☏ +44 28 3026 7922. For those looking at the lower end of the scale, often suffices, also may offer Country and Western gigs at the weekend (telephone for details).
- 2 Canal Court Hotel, Merchants Quay, ☏ +44 28 3025 1234. More popular, not only with class and location. This hotel offers a wide range of facilities, both for guests and conferences
Bed and breakfasts are also in abundance throughout the city and its surrounding rural areas at decent rates.
Go next
- The Mourne Mountains
- Dundalk, to the south, across the border in the Republic of Ireland
- Armagh
- Newcastle (Down)
| Routes through Newry |
| Belfast ← Banbridge ← | N  S |
→  continues as   → Dundalk → Dublin |