Newry

Newry, small port and market town in Northern Ireland, 13 km (8 mi) north of the head of Carlingford Lough, and 54 km (34 mi) southwest of Belfast, in a farming region. The town was originally named An Jubhar for a yew tree that was planted, according to tradition, by Saint Patrick. In the 12th century an abbey was founded by Maurice McLoughlin, the king of Ireland, which in 1543 was made into a school for secular priests. The school, however, was dissolved by Edward VI, king of England and Ireland, who gave the property to Sir Nicholas Bagenal, the founder of the first Protestant church in Ireland. Newry is the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop and of Saint Patrick's Church, allegedly the oldest Protestant church in Ireland. Population (1991) 22,975.