Blog

John Davis, a former Medical Orderly, shares his memories of working at Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry. This is an edited version of an article in the booklet accompanying Newry and Mourne Museum’s temporary exhibition, Caring for the Community: The Development of Medicine in Newry and Mourne.

As we continue to reflect on World Holocaust Memorial Day throughout the month of February, we focus on the background to the development of the Kilkeel Knitting Factory which was established by Edith and Kurt Sekules in 1950. Before World War II the Sekules family had been part of the Jewish community in Vienna and settled in Northern Ireland in 1947.

Down County Museum's new Collection Officer, Bridget, explains the history and significance of these crafts in pagan and Christian tradition, as they go on display as our Objects of the Month.

Alan Freeburn, Curator at Down County Museum, explains the story of Millisle Farm, Co. Down, which became a refuge for nearly 300 Jewish children fleeing the Holocaust.

Councillor Michael Savage, Chairperson of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council officially opened a new temporary display of memorabilia belonging to former deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Seamus Mallon at Newry and Mourne Museum on 9 December.

This exhibition opens explores aspects of the history of healthcare in the Newry and Mourne area.

New exhibition Down County Museum 

Joseph Fisher & Sons Ltd, Newry were located at the Albert Basin where they had offices and coal yards. Joseph Fisher established a ship broking business in 1852, and in 1867, he invested in ship owning when he purchased shares in three locally owned sailing ships. 

This is an article on the history of Narrowwater Castle, a well known landmark in the Newry and Mourne area.

The A.E. Douglas Collection at Newry and Mourne Museum contains two fascinating watercolour sketchbooks dating from 1886 – 1887.

Lill Fanny Saether, who lives in Norway, recently gave an online presentation for Newry and Mourne Museum to mark World Holocaust Day, describing the experiences of her mother and her family during the Second World War and the German occupation in Norway.

In part 1 Lill Fanny Saether outlined how her family was one of a number of Jewish families which settled in Newry at the turn of the 20th century. Her family later went to live in Norway and this week Lill continues her story of her mother, and family members owed their survival in the Holocaust to the fact that having lived in Newry, they had British citizenship. An uncle and aunt of hers who hadn't lived in Newry and didn't have British passports were deported to Auschwitz and murdered.