Newtowncunningham Totally Explained

Everything about Newtowncunningham totally explained

Newtowncunningham (Irish: An Baile Nua - literal translation: "The New Town"), known as "Newton" to locals, is a village in the Lagan Valley of east County Donegal, Ireland, located midway between the towns of Derry in Northern Ireland and Letterkenny. The 2006 census reports the village's population as 999, an increase of 50.7% over the 2002 population of 663.

History

Like nearby Manorcunningham, the village takes its name from John Cunningham, originally from Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, in Scotland, who was among the settlers granted lands in County Donegal during the Plantation of Ulster. The village's architecture includes stately Anglo-Irish "big houses", now known as the Manse and the Castle, which reflect the village's colonial and Presbyterian history.

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, a new bypass diverted the N13 around the village, letting drivers circumvent a significant bottleneck on the busy route. Without 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.
Newtowncunningham's commercial centre is now Kernans Centra

complex on the N13 bypass. Owned by Anthony Kernan, whose father and grandfather both once ran retail operations on the village'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 in its supermarket and diner, and has won several national retailing awards, including Centra's Store of the Year award in 2005.
During the past decade, new residential developments, essentially sleeper suburbs for people employed in Derry and Letterkenny, have materialized at both ends of Newtowncunningham, expanding the village's population by over 50% between 2002 and 2006. A variety of new retail and service outlets 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 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. Divides are gradually being broken down through community events such as an annual Saint Patrick's Day parade.

Transport

Newtowncunningham is well served by bus services both from Lough Swilly and Bus Éireann. Both bus services use the main street as part of their Derry to Letterkenny route, and Bus Éireann's Derry to Galway service also stops in the village.
Newtowncunningham's railway station opened on 30 June 1883, closed for passenger traffic on 3 June 1940 and finally closed altogether on 10 August 1953.

Religion

Although its population is mainly Roman Catholic, Newtowncunningham has significant Presbyterian and Church of Ireland presences, and the village has churches 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. In the late 1970s, 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 Pairc Colmcille sports ground, which opened in 1986.
   In the late 1990s, Fr O'Doherty oversaw the demolition of the existing Roman Catholic church in the centre of the village and the construction of a replacement church, St. Peter's Bark, which opened in 1999. Architecturally designed to resemble a ship, the church symbolizes the Roman Catholic faith sailing into the third millennium. Mass is said in the church on Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday mornings at 11:00 a.m.
   Owned by the Catholic Church, the Columban Hall on the main street hosts many events throughout the year, such as festivals, concerts, and car boot sales.
   Presbyterians witnessing the reformed faith in the area had sought to form a congregation from as early as 1792, and Newtowncunningham's Presbyterian Church was finally formed in 1830. The church was united with Crossroads from 1957 until 1974 and is now united with Ray. The Rev. Nigel D. Craig is the current minister and membership stands at about sixty-five families.

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