Newtowncunningham
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Newtowncunningham (Irish: An Baile Nua - literal translation: "The New Town") known as "Newton" to locals is a village in eastern County Donegal, Ireland, located midway between the towns of Derry and Letterkenny.
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[edit] History and Architecture
Like nearby Manorcunningham, the village takes its name from John Cunningham, originally from Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, in Scotland, who was among the Puritan settlers granted lands in Co. Donegal during the Plantation of Ulster. The village's architecture includes stately Anglo-Irish "big houses," such as the Manse, and farmhouses, such as that owned by Hamilton Bell, which sit alongside more recently constructed one-off bungalows and residential developments.
[edit] Economy and Community
Newtowncunningham's long main street once formed part of the N13 trunk road that connects Letterkenny with Derry, meaning that the village's shops and businesses could thrive on custom from passing traffic. But in 1985, when a new bypass diverted the N13 around the village, letting drivers circumvent what had become a significant bottleneck on a busy route, Newtowncunningham lost this economic lifeline. Many businesses either closed or moved to locations along the bypass, gradually divesting the main street of economic activity and the village of its cohesive identity. Only a strong sense of community and togetherness within the Colehill housing estate kept long-standing village institutions, such as McLaughlins' pub, alive.
In the wake of these changes, Newtowncunningham's commercial centre became the Centra complex on the N13 bypass. Owned by brothers Barry and Anthony Kernan, whose father and grandfather both once ran retail operations on Newtowncunningham's main street, the facility opened in 1990 and now comprises a supermarket, off-license, post office, filling station, diner, and ATM. Kernans' Centra employs many locals, especially young women, in its supermarket and diner. The shop has won several national retailing awards, including Centra's Store of the Year award in 2005.
During the past decade, several new residential developments, essentially sleeper suburbs for people employed in Derry (known as "border bandits" to long-time residents) and Letterkenny, have materialized at both ends of the village, expanding its population and increasing local demand for goods and services. A variety of new retail and service outlets, (such as a pharmacy, a hair salon, a credit union, a betting shop, a butcher's shop, and a garden centre) indicate an economic revival, although dilapidated stretches of the main street still contrast markedly with these new residential and retail developments.
Headquartered in a former farmhouse in the centre of the village, the recently formed Newtowncunningham Community Development Initiative (NCDI) is trying hard to breathe new economic life into the village, to renew and expand its sense of community spirit, and to forge links between long-time residents and the area's many new homeowners. These divides are gradually being broken down through community events such as an annual Saint Patrick's Day parade.
[edit] Religious Influence
Although Newtowncunningham's population is primarily Roman Catholic, the village also has significant Presbyterian and Church of Ireland presences, and has churches and schools for all three religions. Catholic parish priests Dr Patrick Muldoon (1969-1980), Fr Peter McGlynn (1980-1989), and Fr Kevin O'Doherty (1989-present) have overseen many changes in the village. Dr Muldoon purchased land for a new national school and sports field; his successor, Fr McGlynn, oversaw the building of the new Scoil Cholmcille, completed in 1983, and the construction of the sporting facility known as Pairc Colmcille, which opened in 1986. In the 1990s, Fr O'Doherty pushed for the demolition of the existing Roman Catholic church in the centre of the village, even though alternatives were suggested, such as converting it into a library or hostel, and oversaw the construction of a replacement church. St Peter's Bark was completed in 1999. The exterior of the church resembles a ship, symbolizing the Roman Catholic faith sailing into the third millennium. The Bark still has to deal with the bite of repayment, however.
[edit] Ghost Stories
Newtowncunningham's Sharon Rectory was the scene of a double murder in 1797. Dr William Hamilton, a magistrate whom United Irishmen were pursuing because he opposed their revolutionary ideals, sought refuge with the Waller couple who owned the rectory. When the United Irishmen came to the house, they found and shot Hamilton, but also accidentally shot and killed Mrs Waller. Local legend has it that the ghost of Mrs Waller, known as the "Blue Lady," has haunted the rectory ever since. Although its owners enlisted the help of a psychic and an exorcist in the late 1990s, the Blue Lady apparently lives on.
[edit] Famous Residents
Famous Newtowncunninghammers have included village elder Barney Bonner (RIP); the late Mickey Burke, who ran a small shop in the middle of Newtowncunningham (his niece, Geraldine McFadden, keeps the shop going today); fine, upstanding woman Annie "Rootin' Tootin' Mootin'" Houton (who attained the nickname for her rooting around the village and ringing of doorbells to have arguments); rival gang leaders Banty "Banty" McGrath, Paschal Dillon, and James "Scober/Scoper" Gallagher; and Gaelic Athletic Association footballer Brendan Devenney, who once played on the Donegal county football team.
