Lurgan () is a town in the north of County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the shore of Lough Neagh. It is about southwest of Belfast, and is linked to the Belfast–Dublin railway line and M1 motorway. Lurgan is in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough and had a population of about 28,000 at the 2021 census. For certain purposes, Lurgan is treated as part of the "Craigavon Urban Area", along with neighbouring Craigavon and Portadown.
Lurgan is typical of many Plantation of Ulster settlements, with its straight and wide, planned streets, and is the home of a number of historic listed buildings, such as Brownlow House and Lurgan Town Hall. Lurgan Park is the largest urban park in Northern Ireland.Lurgan Park . Outdoor NI. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
Historically, and after the Industrial Revolution, the town of Lurgan was known as a major centre for the production of textiles (mainly linen), something which continued steadily until that industry's gradual decline in the late 20th century. The development of Craigavon, the "new" city, had a major impact on Lurgan in the 1960s, at a time when much industry was attracted to the area.
History
The name 'Lurgan' is an anglicisation of the Irish name An Lorgain, literally meaning "the shin", but in the context of placenames refers to a "shin"-shaped hill or ridge (i.e., long, low and narrow). Previous names of Lurgan included Lorgain Chlann Bhreasail (anglicised 'Lurganclanbrassil', "the long low ridge of Clanbrassil") and Lorgain Bhaile Mhic Cana (anglicised 'Lurganvallivackan', meaning "the long low ridge of McCann's settlement"). The McCanns (Mac Cana) were a sept of the O'Neills and lords of Clanbrassil until the early 17th century.
Origins and early history The Lurgan area had long been sparsely populated by Catholic Irish Gaels. It was within the Gaelic territory of Clanbrassil and the Catholic parish of Shankill ( or Seanchill, 'old church'). This parish was historically called Killmilchon, . It was later anglicised Kilwilkie. In the Middle Ages, a church was built at what is now Shankill Graveyard, on the site of an earlier double ringfort. A 1609 map shows a roofless church on the site, possibly due to the upheaval of the Nine Years' War.
In 1610, during the Plantation of Ulster, the land was confiscated from the McCanns by the Crown, and granted to Protestant Englishman John Brownlow of Nottinghamshire and his son William. Initially, William settled at nearby Annaloist, beside Lough Neagh. By 1619, Pynnar's Survey reported that William had inherited his father's share and built a 'castle' (fortified house and bawn) at 'Dowcoran', along with a "fair Town, consisting of 42 Houses, all of which are inhabited with English Families", two watermills and a windmill. Brownlow married Eleanor of the O'Dohertys of Inishowen. He became MP for Armagh in the Irish Parliament in 1639. It is believed that the Brownlows repaired and re-used the old church at Shankill.
During the Irish Rebellion of 1641, around 1 November that year, Lurgan was seized by Irish Confederate rebels, allegedly led by Toole McRory McCann and Art Oge McGennis. Several English settlers were killed in the attack. William Brownlow agreed to surrender his castle to the rebels and was taken as prisoner to Dungannon. In 1642, Brownlow and his family were released by English forces under Lord Conway. After the rebellion and the ensuing war, the Brownlow family returned to their estate in Lurgan. William Brownlow died in 1660.
The Brownlow estate was inherited by William's grandson, Arthur Chamberlain Brownlow, who played a key role in the recovery and growth of Lurgan. He laid the foundations of the town's linen industry; in 1682, Lurgan was described as the biggest linen manufacturer in the north of Ireland and in 1708 as having the north's greatest linen market. Arthur Brownlow spoke both English and Irish, and helped to preserve medieval Irish manuscripts such as the Book of Armagh, which he kept in a collection at his Lurgan estate.
In 1725, a new Anglican church was built in the centre of Lurgan, becoming the new Shankill parish church. The old Shankill church was demolished in 1734, though the graveyard continued to be used for burials, including by the Brownlow family.
Irish republican leader Theobald Wolfe Tone often passed through Lurgan on his journeys, writing in 1792, "Lurgan green as usual".
Great Famine
A workhouse was built in Lurgan, opening in 1841 under the stipulations of the Poor Law, which stated that each Poor Law Union would build a workhouse to give relief to the increasing numbers of destitute poor. In 1821, Lurgan's population was 2,715; this increased to 4,677 within 20 years, by 1841. There were a number of reasons for this sudden surge in population; the opportunities provided by the booming linen industry of the day led many workers to abandon their likely-meagre living (in rural areas), relocating to Lurgan with the hopes of gaining employment. Furthermore, the ever-expanding town gave tradesmen the opportunity to secure work in construction of new structures and building, such as Brownlow House.
Eventually, the excess numbers of poorer workers moving into town resulted in issues of over-crowding, poor sanitation and a very low general standard of living. When the potato crop failed for a second time in 1846, the subsequent famine in-turn led to a workhouse which had exceeded its 800-person capacity, by the end of that year. In an attempt to alleviate the problem, a relief committee was established in Lurgan, as was customary in other towns. The relief committee raised money by subscriptions from local landowners, gentry and members of the clergy, with the funds being matched from Dublin. With this setup, food was purchased and distributed to the ever-increasing numbers of starving people via soup kitchens. In an attempt to provide employment, and thereby give the destitute the means to buy their own food items, Lord Lurgan devised a scheme of land-drainage on his estate.
The so-called "famine roads" were not built in Lurgan in the same way as the rest of Ireland, although land owners also provided outdoor relief by employing labourers to lower hills or repair existing road issues. During the period between 1846–1849, the famine claimed 2,933 lives in the Lurgan Union alone. The workhouse was situated on the grounds of what is now Lurgan Hospital, where a commemorative mural can be seen along the adjacent Tandragee Road.
New city
The town of Lurgan 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 Irish government also planned a new town to deal with the projected urban growth of Belfast. This was also to prevent an undue case of overcrowding in the city. Craigavon (a name unpopular with the Nationalist community) was designated as a new town in 1965, intended to be a linear city incorporating the neighbouring towns of Lurgan and Portadown. The plan, largely, failed; 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.
The Troubles
Lurgan and the associated towns of Portadown and Craigavon made up part of what was known as the "murder triangle"; an area known for a significant number of incidents and fatalities during The Troubles. By 2010 the town was 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 areas'.
On 5 March 1992, a 1,000 lb truck bomb, believed to have been planted by the IRA, exploded in Market Street causing mass damage to commercial properties.
On 5 February 2020, the PSNI found a bomb on a lorry. The Continuity Irish Republican Army admitted they had planted it. They expected the lorry to be put on a North Channel ferry in January 2020.
Geography Lurgan sits in the north-eastern corner of County Armagh in a relatively flat part of Ireland by the south east shore of Lough Neagh, on the border with County Down and less than 2 miles from the border of County Antrim.
The earliest human settlements in the area were to the northwest of the present day town, near the shore of the lough. The oldest part of the town, the main street, is built on a long ridge in the townland of Lurgan. A neighbouring hill is the site of Brownlow House, which overlooks Lurgan Park.
Townlands Like the rest of Ireland, the Lurgan area has long been divided into townlands, whose names mostly come from the Irish language. Lurgan sprang up in the townland of the same name. Over time, the surrounding townlands have been built upon and they have given their names to many roads and housing estates. The following is a list of townlands within Lurgan's urban area, alongside their likely etymologies:
Shankill parish: Aghnacloy () Ballyblagh (from Baile Bláthach, "flowery townland") Cornakinnegar (from Corr na gCoinigéar, "round hill of the rabbit warrens") Demesne (an English name – this townland was carved out of Drumnamoe and others, and includes Lurgan Park) Derry (from Doire, "oak grove") Dougher (formerly Doucharron and Doucorran, probably from An Dubhcharn, Dúcharn meaning "the black cairn") Drumnamoe (from Druim na mBó, "ridge of the cows") Knocknashane (formerly Knocknasogan, possibly from Cnoc na Seangán, "hill of the ants") Lurgantarry (from Lurgain an tSamhraidh meaning "summer ridge" or "ridge of the summer grazing") Shankill (from Seanchoill meaning "old wood", later understood as Seanchill, "old church") Taghnevan (from Teach Neamhain meaning "Neamhan's house" or "Neamhan's church")"The "Danes" on Lough Neagh" . Journal of Craigavon Historical Society, Vol. 1 No. 2. Tannaghmore North & Tannaghmore South (from an Tamhnach Mór, "the big grassy field") Toberhewny (from Tobar Shuibhne meaning "Sweeney's well" or Tobar Chainnigh meaning "Cainneach's well") Tirsogue (from Tír Sídheóg, "land of the fairies")
Seagoe parish: Ballynamony (from Baile na Mónadh, "townland of the bog") Drumnakelly (from Dromainn Uí Cheallaigh, "O'Kelly's ridge") Knockramer (from An Cnoc Ramhar, "the thick hill") Silverwood (an English translation – formerly called Killinargit, from Coill an Airgid meaning "wood of the silver") Turmoyra (from Tír Maighre, "land of the salmon")
Climate Lurgan has a temperate climate in common with inland areas in Ireland. Summer temperatures can reach the 20s °C and it is rare for them to go higher than . 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.
Demography
For census purposes, Lurgan is not treated as a separate settlement by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), but is combined with Craigavon, Portadown and Aghacommon as the "Craigavon Urban Area". Within this, the town roughly corresponds to the Lurgan sector.