Warrenpoint

Warrenpoint is a small port town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits at the head of Carlingford Lough, south of Newry, and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town is beside the village of Rostrevor and is overlooked by the Mournes and Cooley Mountains. Warrenpoint sprang up within the townland of Ringmackilroy ( ), and is locally nicknamed "The Point", which also represents the town's full name in Irish, An Pointe. Warrenpoint is known for its scenic location, the Maiden of Mourne festival, the Blues on the Bay music festival, the passenger ferry service between Warrenpoint and Omeath and the nearby Narrow Water Castle. Warrenpoint Port is second in terms of tonnage handled by ports in Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,091 at the 2021 census.

Transport

The A2 road connects Warrenpoint to Newry, by way of Narrow Water Castle. A bus service links Newry, Warrenpoint and Rostrevor along the A2. The long-planned Narrow Water Bridge to Omeath was expected to begin construction during 2023. The Newry, Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Railway opened in 1849 and was taken over by the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) in 1889, operating with the Newry and Armagh Railway as part of the branch to before it closed to passengers in 1933. The line to Warrenpoint eventually closed down in 1965, with the railway trackbed used to build the A2 dual carriageway. Warrenpoint railway station was located next to the docks. Railway service was never extended to Rostrevor, but from 1877 until 1915 the Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Tramway ran horse-drawn trams on the route. Warrenpoint port has regular freight ferries to Heysham, operated by CLdN. Local ferry services between Warrenpoint and Omeath operated for many years, but ceased in 2015 with the retirement of the last ferry captain. The Newry Ship Canal was closed to commercial shipping in 1974, but remains intact as far as Newry city centre, and can be sailed by leisure boats.

Demography

2021 census

On census day in 2021 (21 March 2021), the usually resident population of Warrenpoint/Burren was 9,091. Of these: 86.3% belong to or were brought up Catholic and 8.1% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and other (non-Catholic) Christian (including Christian related)'. 9.4% indicated that they had a British national identity, 64.3% had an Irish national identity and 24.6% had a Northern Irish national identity.

2011 census

On census day in 2011 (27 March 2011), the usually resident population of Warrenpoint/Burren was 8,732 accounting for 0.48% of the NI total. Of these: 99.19% were from the white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic group 87.72% belong to or were brought up Catholic and 9.57% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and other (non-Catholic) Christian (including Christian related)' 13.80% indicated that they had a British national identity, 56.33% had an Irish national identity and 29.74% had a Northern Irish national identity.

Notable people

Connall Courtney – motorcycle racer B. M. Croker (1847–1920) – novelist; born in Warrenpoint Denis Donoghue (1928¹–2021) – literary critic; brought up in Warrenpoint George Gardiner (1821–1891) – recipient of the Victoria Cross Carmel Hanna (born 1946) – Social Democratic and Labour Party politician Thomas Caulfield Irwin (1823–1892) – poet, writer, and classical scholar; born in Warrenpoint Cathal McCabe (born 1963) – poet; grew up in Warrenpoint Forrest Reid (1875–1947) – writer and literary critic; died in Warrenpoint Clodagh Rodgers (1947–2025) – singer; born in Warrenpoint Vedran Smailović (born 1956) – Bosnian cellist, lives in Warrenpoint

Civil parish of Warrenpoint

The civil parish contains the town of Warrenpoint. The civil parish contains the townlands of Dromore, Narrow Water and Ringmackilroy.

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1361832914 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.

Names in other languages