Newry and Mourne

Newry and Mourne

Newry and Mourne, former district (1973–2015) astride the former counties of Armagh and Down, now part of Newry, Mourne and Down district, southeastern Northern Ireland. It was bordered by the former districts of Armagh and Banbridge to the north and Down to the northeast, by the Irish Sea to the east, and by the republic of Ireland to the south and west. The Newry Canal, built in 1730–41, the first major canal in the British Isles, flows between Lough (lake) Neagh and Carlingford Lough (inlet of the sea) and divided the district in two, with low mountains on the east and west.

Some potatoes, oats, and livestock are produced in the area, and, although limestone and granite are quarried in the Mourne Mountains, many of the wooded slopes have been preserved for recreation. Newry town is connected to the Irish Sea at Carlingford Lough by the Newry Canal. Area former district, 344 square miles (890 square km).