Our Ship lies at Warrenpoint to Boston we set sail.
I wish her softly o'er the foam with a sweet and pleasant gale.
Had I a hundred pounds in gold or had I ten times more
I'd leave it all with Mary Bán, The Maid of Mourne Shore
Recounted by Jack Crawford, Warrenpoint, who remembered it being 'trolled' at Greencastle Fair. Reproduced from Cuisle na Ngael,1994
The Newry Ship Canal, as we know it today, is the result of centuries of engineering evolution. Its origins trace back to 1769, when the first ship canal was opened, connecting to the sea at Upper Fathom via the Fortescue Lock. This lock accommodated vessels up to 120 feet in length and with a draught of approximately 9 feet. Ships navigated inland to the heart of Newry, where the canal joined the earlier Inland Canal, constructed in 1742.
Larger vessels, unable to pass through the lock, discharged cargo at Warrenpoint. This port was developed in the 1770s with a dry dock and piers, funded in part by a £500 public grant – almost £50,000 today - and constructed by Roger Hall, Robert Rose, and Isaac Corry. However, by the early 1800s, the canal’s limitations and persistent silting at the lock entrance began to hinder Newry’s maritime trade and economic growth.
To address these challenges, two major improvement schemes were undertaken between 1830 and 1850. Extensive blasting and dredging deepened the channel at Narrow Water, including the removal of Nun’s Island, a historic religious site. Between 1842 and 1850, the canal was widened, deepened, and extended by 1.5 miles to Lower Fathom, where the new Victoria Lock was built. Named in honour of Queen Victoria, this lock could accommodate vessels up to 205 feet long and 50 feet wide. The town’s harbour was also expanded with the construction of the Albert Basin—at the time, the second-largest floating dock in Europe.
During the Great Irish Famine, Warrenpoint became a departure point for emigrants fleeing hardship. Over 5,000 people are estimated to have left from this port. One tragic voyage was that of the Hanna, which departed in April 1849 and was lost to an iceberg, claiming over 40 lives.
Many of the vessels were registered and operated by Newry-based shipowners. Among them was Francis Carville, who planned a direct voyage from Newry to New York aboard the New Zealand in April 1850. Although passengers were to embark at the Albert Basin, Carville ultimately relocated the embarkation to Warrenpoint due to insufficient water levels in the canal—a limitation that persisted as ship sizes increased throughout the 19th century.
Despite these constraints, Newry remained a hub of maritime activity. Cargoes arrived from America, Scandinavia, Russia, and across Europe. A fleet of steamships emerged, including the Newry, operated by the Newry Steam Packet Company. This company merged in 1871 with the Dundalk and Newry Steam Packet Company, which commissioned several Newry -registered vessels such as the Bessbrook (1877), Iveagh (1892), and Dundalk (1918). The latter was tragically torpedoed in the Irish Sea during World War I, resulting in 20 fatalities. The company was later absorbed by B&I in the 1920s, with its final vessel, the Iveagh, scrapped in 1930.
Discover more about the lives of residents in the port of Newry in the new exhibition Making Waves: Newry’s rise as a global trade centre which continues at Newry & Mourne Museum until September 2026.
