Blog

Newry and Mourne Museum will host an informal talk about Canal Street in Newry to complement its temporary exhibition, ‘Newry Artists Past and Present’, which is currently running until April 2024.

This month’s blog comes from a special contributor, Shirley Lennon, who worked on a Down County Museum project which brought together the stories of Jewish refugees who came to Millisle farm.

As the UK marks Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27^th 2024, please read the blog to discover how an otherwise ordinary item donated to Down County Museum becomes so significant because of its links to survivors of the Holocaust.

An important collection of artefacts reflecting the work of the Kilkeel Knitting Mills has gone on display at Newry and Mourne Museum. The collection includes a knitting machine and examples of knitwear produced by the factory in the later decades of the 20^th century.

Over the coming months we will be profiling some of the contemporary artists featured in Newry and Mourne Museum’s temporary exhibition, ‘Newry Artists Past and Present’.  The series begins with the work of Anna Marie Savage.

This month's post in our blog series about the County Down Gaol focuses on the children who were held here.

Newry and Mourne Museum has been honoured with a donation of a portrait miniature of James Harshaw, a leading local affairs figure from Donaghmore, near Newry in the mid-19^th century.

During the 18^th Century, the death penalty was used to punish a wide variety of crimes. These included major crimes such as murder, piracy, rape, and manslaughter. However, many crimes that we would consider minor also carried this sentence such as forgery, embezzlement, insurance fraud and theft.

A new ‘Easy Read Gallery Guide’, designed specifically to enhance the experience of disabled or partially sighted visitors to Newry and Mourne Museum, has been launched by Council Chairperson, Councillor Valerie Harte.

NMDDC Heritage Officer, Linda McKenna, writes about the abortive rebellion of 1803, and the execution of Thomas Russell on 21st October 1803.

A temporary exhibition on the history and legacy of McCann’s Bakery in Newry is now on display at Newry and Mourne Museum.

Over the coming months, Down County Museum will be sharing an in-depth look at the history of our home, the ‘old’ Gaol of Down.  In this series, we'll explore topics such as the Gaol’s prisoners, their punishments, and the site’s various uses through time.

Our first in the series reveals the Gaol's beginnings, and explains why it had to be closed.

Newry Town Hall has been at the centre of the cultural life of Newry and its hinterland for nearly 130 years. Joanne Cummins, Collections Officer at Newry and Mourne Museum,  references some of the local amateur societies and artistes seen there over the decades.