| Portadown | |
|---|---|
 St Mark's Church of Ireland in central Portadown | |
  Location withinNorthern Ireland | |
| Population | 32,926 (2021 estimate) |
| Irish grid reference | J008537 |
| • Belfast | 24 mi (39 km) |
| • Dublin | 74 mi (119 km) |
| District | |
| County | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CRAIGAVON |
| Postcode district | BT62, BT63 |
| Dialling code | 028 |
| Police | Northern Ireland |
| Fire | Northern Ireland |
| Ambulance | Northern Ireland |
| UK Parliament | |
| NI Assembly | |
| |
Portadown (from Irish Port an Dúnáin 'landing place of the little fort'pronounced[pɔɾˠt̪ˠəˈd̪ˠuːnˠaːnʲ])[3][4] is a town inCounty Armagh,Northern Ireland. The town is based on theRiver Bann in the north of the county, about 24 miles (39 km)[5] southwest ofBelfast. It is in theArmagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of about 32,000 at the2021 Census. For some purposes, Portadown is treated as part of the "Craigavon Urban Area", alongsideCraigavon andLurgan.
Although Portadown was founded during the early 17th century EnglishPlantation of Ulster, it was not until theVictorian era and the arrival of the railway that it developed as a major town. It earned the nickname "hub of the North" because it was a major railway junction; here theGreat Northern Railway's line diverged for Belfast,Dublin,Armagh andDerry. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Portadown was also a major centre for the production of textiles (mainlylinen).
Portadown is the site of the long-runningDrumcree dispute.Catholics have protested the yearly marches through a majority Catholic part of town by theProtestantOrange Order, who are celebrating the 1690 victory over King James II (a Catholic) byWilliam of Orange at theBattle of the Boyne. Often violence and protests have been sparked by this event. In the 1990s, the dispute escalated and the government responded with a massive security operation, drawing worldwide attention to Portadown.[6]
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The Portadown area had long been populated byIrish Gaels.[7]
At the beginning of the 1600s, this area was within the district ofClancann (Clann Chana), which was part of the larger territory ofOneilland (Uí Nialláin). This district was named after the dominant localclan—theMcCanns (Mac Cana)[7][8]—who had occupied the area since before the 13th century.[9][10] The McCanns were then avassalsept of theO'Neills (Uí Néill).[7] On the eastern banks of the River Bann was the district ofClanbrasil (Clann Bhreasail).[11]
The town's name comes from the IrishPort a' Dúnáin (or, more formally,Port an Dúnáin), meaning the port or landing place of the small fort. This was likely a fort of the McCanns.[7]
From 1594 until 1603, the O'Neills and an alliance of other clans fought in theNine Years' War against the EnglishTudor conquest of Ireland. This ended in defeat for the Irish clans, and theCrown seized and redistributed much of their land.
In 1608,King James VI and I began thePlantation of Ulster – the organised colonisation of the region by Protestant settlers fromBritain, known as 'planters'.[12]
In 1610, as part of the Plantation, the lands of Portadown were granted to William Powell.[7] In 1611, he sold his grant of land to Reverend Richard Rolleston, who in turn sold it in two portions to Richard Cope and Michael Obins.[7] Obins built a largeElizabethan-style mansion for himself and his family, and a number of houses nearby for English tenants. This mansion was in the area of the present-day Woodside estate.[13]
The present-day People's Park was part of its grounds.[7] The park is now bounded on either side by Obins Street and Castle Street, both of which are references to "Obins' Castle". In 1631, Obins was granted a licence for a "fair and market". He built the first bridge across the River Bann shortly thereafter.[7]
During theIrish Rebellion of 1641, Obins Castle was captured by a force of dispossessed Irish led by the McCanns, Magennises and O'Neills.[7] In November 1641, Irish rebels—likely under the command of Toole McCann—killed about 100 captured British settlers by forcing them off the Bann bridge and shooting those who swam ashore.
This became known among British Protestants as the "Portadown massacre" and was one of the worst atrocities of the rebellion. It fuelled revenge killings by the English during theconflict that followed and was used to justify theCromwellian conquest of Ireland. TheIrish Confederate troops abandoned Obins Castle during the Cromwellian conquest. Hamlet Obins (who had survived its capture) repossessed it in 1652. It was later passed to his son, Anthony Obins.[7]
In 1741, Anthony Obins was involved with development of theNewry Canal.[7] He was succeeded by Michael Obins in 1750. The latter set up a linen market in Portadown in 1762, which laid the foundations of Portadown's major industry.[7]
Michael Obins died in 1798 and left a son, Michael Eyre Obins, to succeed him. In 1814, Eyre Obins took holy orders; he sold the estate to the Sparrow family ofTandragee.[7]
George Montagu, 6th Duke of Manchester (known as Viscount Mandeville) married Millicent Sparrow in 1822 and came into possession of the estate.[7] This family's legacy in the town includes such street names as Montagu Street, Millicent Crescent and Mandeville Street, and buildings such as the Fergus Hall (formerly the Duke's School and Church Street PS), and the Carleton Home. (Formerly the Duke's townhouse, this was later used as a maternity hospital/nurses accommodation. It has since been adapted as private apartments).[14]
The Blacker family, descended from Danes who had invaded and settled in Ireland in the 9th century, founded an estate at Carrick, on the Portadown–Gilford road. The land had been bought by ColonelValentine Blacker from Sir Anthony Cope ofLoughgall.[citation needed] It became known as Carrickblacker, and is now the site of Portadown Golf Club. One of the notables in the Blacker family, ColonelWilliam Blacker, High Sheriff of Armagh, took part in the "Battle of the Diamond" and was a founding member of theOrange Order.[15]
This, and subsequent events such as the founding of a 'provisional' Grand Lodge in the town after the 'voluntary' dissolution of the Order in 1825, led to the town being known as 'The Orange Citadel'. It was a center of sectarian strife for two centuries.[16] Many of the Blacker family were soldiers or churchmen. The family estate was purchased in 1937 by Portadown Golf Club.[17] In 1988 the club demolished Carrickblacker House to make way for a new clubhouse.[18]
A largeprisoner-of-war (POW) camp was built at Portadown during World War II. It was at the site of a former sports facility on what was then the western edge of town.[19] This area is now covered by housing from Fitzroy Street and the Brownstown Estates. The camp housed (mostly)German POWs. For a time these POWs were guarded byWelsh servicemen (known as "Bluecaps") who had been transferred from assignments with troops in Germany. They were billeted at St Patrick's Hall in Thomas Street.[19]
The local newspaper carried a story of another POW camp, adjacent to Killicomaine Castle (also known as Irwin's Castle), in what was then known as "Cullen's Lane" but is now called "Princess Way". That area was later part of the Killicomaine estate, housing built in 1954 and largely contemporary with other estates built by the then Portadown Borough Council and the formerNorthern Ireland Housing Trust (now called theNorthern Ireland Housing Executive).[20]
A third camp was built on the Carrickblacker estate towards the end of World War II, possibly as an overflow for the nearby Elmfield Camp in Gilford. It was used as accommodation for Allied troops and no Axis POWs were ever imprisoned there.[21]
In 2005, a publicair-raid shelter was uncovered during excavation works near the riverbank just outside the town centre. One of ten built by the council during World War II, it is one of only two now remaining. The other is at the new roundabout on the Gilford Road. These are rare examples of public air raid shelters in Northern Ireland.[22]
Duringthe Troubles, there were numerous shootings, bombings and riots in Portadown. The conflict led to the deaths of 45 people in the town.[23]
Loyalists killed 25 people: eighteen Catholic civilians, three Protestant civilians, two members of the security forces, a republican paramilitary and a loyalist paramilitary.[23]Irish republicans killed 18 people: nine members of the security forces, one loyalist paramilitary, seven Protestant civilians and one Catholic civilian.[23] The security forces killed one Protestant civilian, and another loyalist was killed by his own bomb.[23] In 1993 and 1998, the town centre was devastated by two largecar bombs planted by republicans.[24]
The Troubles resulted in the town becoming residentially segregated: the northwestern part of the town became almost wholly populated by the Catholic/Irish nationalist minority, while the rest of the town became almost wholly Protestant/unionist.[25] Portadown's 'Catholic district' is now bordered by the railway line and by a security barrier ("peace wall") along Corcrain Road.[26]
The Troubles also intensified the long-runningDrumcree marching dispute, over Orange marches through the Catholic part of town. Each July from 1995 to 2000, the dispute drew worldwide attention as it sparked protests and violence throughout Northern Ireland, prompted a massivepolice/British Army operation, and threatened to derail thepeace process. When the Army sealed off the Catholic part of Portadown with large steel, concrete and barbed-wire barricades, the situation was reported by news media as like a "war zone"[27] and a "siege".[28]
Each summer, during the "marching season", there are many Protestant/loyalist marches in the town. Loyalists put up numerousflags[29] and raisearches over some streets. These marches, and the raising of these flags and arches near the homes of Catholic families, continues to be a source of tension and sometimes a catalyst for violence.[30][31][32][33]
Community leaders in Portadown have been involved with theUlster Project since it began in 1975. The project involves teenagers from both of Northern Ireland's main communities. The goal is to foster goodwill and friendship between them. Each year, a group of teenagers are chosen to travel to the United States, where they stay with an American family for a few weeks.[34]
Portadown is located in a relatively flat part ofNorthern Ireland, near the southern shore ofLough Neagh. Two smallwetland areas are on the outskirts of the town; one at Selshion in the west and another at Annagh in the south. The Ballybay River flows into the town from the west before joining the River Bann.
Most of the town is built on the western side of theRiver Bann, which supported its industry and prosperity. Construction in 1740 of the Newry Canal (linking Carlingford Lough with Lough Neagh) enabled Portadown to become a hub for the water traffic between Newry and Belfast.[35]
There are three bridges across the river at Portadown. Bridge Street and Northway are both road bridges, and there is a railway bridge beside the Northway. The 'Bann Bridge' on Bridge Street is the oldest. It was unusual in that it was built over dry earth. After the bridge was completed, the course of the River Bann was diverted by some 100 yards to straighten ameander and run under the bridge. The old riverbed was then built upon.
In the 21st century, an archaeological dig in the area of the old riverbed uncovered the bones of some of those who were drowned in the1641 massacre in the town.[36]
Like the rest of Ireland, the Portadown area has long been divided intotownlands, whose names came mostly from theIrish language. Portadown sprang up along a road (High Street/Market Street) that marked the boundary between two of these – Tavanagh and Corcrain. 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 Portadown's urban area, alongside their likelyetymologies:[37][38][39][40]
West bank of the River Bann (parish of Drumcree):
East bank of the River Bann (parish ofSeagoe):
The climate of Portadown is like that of much of the rest of the UK and Ireland, being atemperateoceanic climate. It has mild temperatures throughout the year. historically summer temperatures have not reached levels to be deemed very hot and winter not very cold, but climate change has resulted in more extreme temperatures in the 21st century.
Summer temperatures can reach more than 20 °C (68 °F) though it is rare for them to go higher than 30 °C (86 °F). The consistently humid climate that prevails over Ireland can make these temperatures feel uncomfortable when they stray into the high 20s °C (80–85 °F), more so than similar temperatures in hotter but drier climates in the rest of Europe. It also receives a steady amount of rainfall throughout the year.
| Climate data for Portadown | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.4 (45.3) | 8.1 (46.6) | 10.2 (50.4) | 12.6 (54.7) | 15.6 (60.1) | 18.0 (64.4) | 19.7 (67.5) | 19.3 (66.7) | 16.9 (62.4) | 13.4 (56.1) | 10.0 (50.0) | 7.7 (45.9) | 13.3 (55.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 1.9 (35.4) | 1.6 (34.9) | 3.1 (37.6) | 4.3 (39.7) | 6.7 (44.1) | 9.6 (49.3) | 11.7 (53.1) | 11.4 (52.5) | 9.5 (49.1) | 6.8 (44.2) | 3.9 (39.0) | 2.1 (35.8) | 6.1 (43.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 74.5 (2.93) | 54.0 (2.13) | 65.6 (2.58) | 57.6 (2.27) | 57.8 (2.28) | 58.4 (2.30) | 62.7 (2.47) | 76.3 (3.00) | 68.1 (2.68) | 85.5 (3.37) | 74.6 (2.94) | 77.1 (3.04) | 812.3 (31.98) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ Days of rainfall >= 1 mm) | 14.3 | 11.0 | 13.3 | 11.6 | 11.8 | 10.9 | 11.7 | 13.0 | 12.2 | 13.7 | 13.6 | 13.3 | 150.3 |
| Source: Met Office[41] | |||||||||||||
For census purposes, Portadown is not treated as a separate entity by theNorthern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Instead, it is combined with Craigavon,Lurgan andBleary to form the "Craigavon Urban Area". However, a fairly accurate population count can be arrived at by combining the data of the electoral wards that make up Portadown. These wards are Annagh, Ballybay, Ballyoran, Brownstown, Corcrain, Edenderry, Killycomain and Tavanagh.
On the day of thelast census (21 March 2021), the combined population of these wards was 32,926.[42]
Of this population:
On the day of thecensus (21 March 2011) the combined population of these wards was 22,899.[43]
Of this population:
Immigrants make up about 8% of the town's population, many of whom come fromEastern Europe, andPortugal. Some have also come fromEast Timor,China, andIndia.[44]
On the day of thelast census (21 March 2021), the combined ethnic groups of these wards are:[45]
Portadown is part of the Upper Bann constituency for elections to theNorthern Ireland Assembly andParliament of the United Kingdom. The boundaries of theAssembly constituency andParliament constituency are identical. This has long been a safeunionist seat.[46]
Portadown came under the governance of Portadown Borough Council following theLocal Government (Ireland) Act 1898. This was abolished with theLocal Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 and theLocal Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972. Henceforth, the town had been under the jurisdiction of the largerCraigavon Borough Council.
However, afterlocal government reform, the town is now part of one of Northern Ireland's largest councils, theArmagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council. Councillors are elected to the council every four years byproportional representation.[47]
The councillors for the DEA are:
| Name | Party | |
|---|---|---|
| Lavelle McIlwrath | DUP | |
| Sydney Anderson | DUP | |
| Julie Flaherty | UUP | |
| Darryn Causby | Ind. Unionist | |
| Eamon McNeill | SDLP | |
| Paul Duffy | Sinn Féin | |
Portadown is located along the River Bann, which forms the boundary between two parishes. The part of the town to the west of the Bann is in Drumcree parish, while the part of the town on the east of the Bann is in Seagoe parish.
In 1826, Saint Martin'sChurch of Ireland (Anglican) was built, and later renamed Saint Mark's.[48] Before this, Church of Ireland members attended eitherDrumcree Parish Church orSeagoe Parish Church.[49]
The current Seagoe Parish Church ofSt. Gobhan's (Church of Ireland), was built in 1814. It replaced the many previous church foundations, dating from circa 7th century, that were located about one hundred yards distant. The ancient cemetery of Seagoe is adjacent to this site. The church is linked to Seagoe Primary School, which is maintained by the Church. It is one of the few remaining Anglican primary schools. The formerPrimus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Most RevdDavid Chillingworth was rector at Seagoe for 19 years. St Columba's Parish on the Loughhall Road, and Knocknamuckley Church of Ireland (St. Matthias) on the Bleary Road are also extant parishes.[50]
There are twoPresbyterian churches, First Portadown (aka Edenderry) Presbyterian Church (1822) and Armagh Road Presbyterian Church (1859).
The Methodist church has operated at several different sites. It now stands in Thomas Street.[51]
In addition, there areBaptist meeting halls on Thomas Street and Killicomaine Road; anElim Pentecostal church on Clonavon Avenue; aQuaker meeting hall on Portmore Street; and a largeFree Presbyterian congregation meets in Levaghery. Thepentecostal Light of the World Ministries are located in the town, as are theevangelicalneocharismaticVineyard Church. TheSalvation Army have a hall in Edward Street.[52]
Saint John the Baptist's Church was built in the townland of Ballyoran in 1783. The original church had become surrounded by a large graveyard. A second Catholic church, Saint Patrick's, was built on William Street in 1835.[53]
In the 1980s Saint John's was taken down brick-by-brick, moved and rebuilt at theUlster Folk and Transport Museum inCultra,County Down.[54] A new Saint John's church was built in 1977 close to where the original stood. It is at the intersection of the Garvaghy Road and the Dungannon Road.[55]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a church on the Brownstown Road. In addition theJehovah's Witnesses have aKingdom Hall, on the town outskirts in Kernan.
A combination of road, canal and rail links, all converging onPortadown railway station, gave it the nickname "Hub of the North". This supported employment through mass industry and marketing and shipping of agricultural products from the area. The Newry Canal, opened in 1742,[56] linkedCarlingford Lough and theIrish Sea with Lough Neagh. It joined the River Bann a couple of miles to the southeast of Portadown. The canal opened up waterborne trade and left Portadown ideally situated to take full advantage of the trading routes. However, the canal went into decline with the growth of the railway network and it closed to commercial traffic in 1936.[57]
About a century later, establishment of theGreat Northern Railway resulted in extending overland trading routes and shortening delivery times shortened. The town's first railway station opened in 1842.[58]
At Portadown railway station, lines were built serving destinations in four directions: one went northeast toward Belfast, one northwest towardDungannon, one southwest toArmagh, and one southeast towardNewry and onward toDublin. Today only theBelfast–Dublin line remains. Repair yards were opened in 1925[59] and these large concrete buildings dominated the skyline on the west of the town centre. The current station opened in 1970.
National Cycle Route 9 links Portadown withBelfast andNewry.[60]
Portadown's major employers have included:
Much of the town's industry in the 19th and 20th centuries was centred on the linen trade. The 1881 edition ofSlater's Directory (a comprehensive listing of Irish towns) listed 15 manufacturing employers in Portadown at that time.[67]
Portadown Town Hall, in Edward Street, was once the seat of the town's local government. Reforme of local government in 1972 resulted in a change in venue. The Town Hall, an 1890 Victorian building, has been extensively refurbished to offer a commercial in-house theatre and conference facilities.[68]
The Millennium Court Arts Centre contains two galleries featuring exhibits by local artists.[69]
Ardress House is a 17th-century farmhouse that was remodelled in Georgian times. Today it is owned by theNational Trust. It is open to the public and offers guided tours, local walks, and recreations of farmyard life.[70][71]
The Newry Canal Way is a fully accessible, restored canal towpath now usable as a bicycle route betweenNewry Town Hall and the Bann Bridge in Portadown. The Canal was the first summit-level canal in Britain and Ireland and has 14 locks between its entrance at Carlingford Lough and the other end at Lough Neagh.[72]
One of the attractions on the Newry Canal Way is Moneypenny's Lock, a site that includes an 18th-century lock-keeper's house, stables andbothy. This provided accommodation for workers on the canal and their horses in the days when the canal was part of the industrial transport network. Today it is administered jointly by the Museum Services and the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre at Oxford Island.[73]
The only fully restoredRoyal Observer CorpsCold War Nuclear Monitoring Bunker in Northern Ireland is located just outside the town off Dungannon Road. Opened in 1958 it, and an additional 57 other bunkers spread throughout Northern Ireland, would have been used to monitor and report the effects of a Nuclear Attack. The bunker was closed and abandoned in 1991. Nearly 20 years later, it was fully restored to its 1980s appearance and opened as a museum in 2010.[74][75]
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Portadown has (or had) a large selection of academic institutions, past and present. Today, schools in Portadown operate under theDickson Plan, a transfer system in north Armagh that allows pupils at age 11 the option of taking the11-plus exam to entergrammar schools. Pupils in comprehensive junior high schools are 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. At age 14 they can take subject-based exams across the syllabus to qualify for entry into a dedicated grammar school to pursueGCSEs andA-levels.[81]
The state-run Thomas Street Primary School, and Church Street Primary School, formerly the "Duke's School", were both incorporated into Millington Primary School in 1970.[82] Other state-run primary schools includeBallyoran Primary School, Bocombra Primary School,[83] Edenderry Primary School, Hart Memorial Primary School,[84] Moyallan Primary School,[85] Portadown Primary School,[86] Richmount Primary School,[87] and theAnglicanSeagoe Primary School.[88] Derrycarne Primary School is now used as an Orange Hall by the Orange Order.[89]
Primary schools managed by the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools are Presentation Convent Primary School,[90] St John the Baptist Primary School (Irish:Bunscoil Eoin Baiste),[91] which has both English-medium and Irish-medium units within it,[92] and St. John's Primary School.[93] St Columba's Primary School in Carleton Street is now closed.
A multi-denominational, integrated primary school, known as Portadown Integrated Primary School, opened in 1990.[94]
Access to a GP is provided at Portadown Health Centre.[99] Hospital care and Accident and Emergency services are available atCraigavon Area Hospital, built 1972 on the outskirts of town as part of the Craigavon development.[100]
Association football is played byPortadown F.C. andAnnagh United in theNIFL Championship, andBourneview Young Men F.C.,Hanover F.C.,St Mary's Youth F.C. andSeagoe F.C. in theMid-Ulster Football League.
Rugby is played byPortadown Rugby Club,[101] andGaelic football is played by Tír na nÓg GAA Club.[102][103]
Portadown's main local newspaper is thePortadown Times, which is published byJohnston Publishing (NI). Although the newspaper focuses on the Portadown area, it also serves towns and villages acrossnorth Armagh. It was founded in 1924 and is issued weekly.[104]
Between 2001 and 2005, Portadown residentNewton Emerson ran a controversialsatirical online newspaper called thePortadown News. The website, which was updated biweekly, attracted media attention by poking fun at Northern Ireland politics and culture.[105]
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