Portadown - History, People, Education, Sport

54º26N 6º27W, pop (2001e) 21 800. Town in Craigavon district, Co Armagh, SC Northern Ireland; on the R Bann, S of Lough Neagh; 40 km/25 mi SW of Belfast; birthplace of Paul Muldoon; railway; linen, engineering, food processing, rose growing.

Portadown (Irish: Port an Dúnáin, "port of the fortress") is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Portadown is situated on the River Bann, in the north of County Armagh.

Portadown has a manufacturing sector that has grown beyond its roots in linen production to include carpet-weaving, baking and engineering. For decades it has been the home of the Portadown Festival, which brings in thousands of participants in amateur dance, theatre, music and song.

Although the town can trace its origins to at least the 17th century it was not until the Victorian era, and the arrival of the railway that it became a major town. Portadown is known as "The Hub of the North", the origin of this phrase coming from its central position in Northern Ireland and being a major railway junction in the past, where the Great Northern Railway's line diverged for Belfast, Dublin, Armagh and Derry.

History

Portadown was associated with the ancient and powerful local family of McCann who were among the area's earliest settlers. The construction of the Newry Canal in 1740 and the later development of the railway lines to Belfast and Dublin, put Portadown at the hub of transport routes in Northern Ireland. There are many companies that have been a part Portadown's history, one being W.D. Today Irwin's bakery is the largest independent bakery in Northern Ireland.

The Troubles

For more information see The Troubles in Portadown, which includes a list of incidents in Portadown during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities. Portadown is taking a stand against the Troubles with the Ulster Project. Catholic and Protestant teenagers from Portadown annually travel to Hutchinson, Kansas, in the Midwestern United States to participate in this project.

People

Victor Sloan: a photographer and artist who lives and works in Portadown.

Education

Ballyoran Primary School Bocombra Primary School Clounagh Junior High School Drumcree College Edenderry Primary School Hart Memorial Primary School Killicomaine Junior High School Millington Primary School Portadown Integrated Primary School Portadown Primary School Portadown College Portadown College Presentation Primary School Richmount Primary School Seagoe Primary School St. John the Baptist Primary School St. John's Primary School

Sport

Annagh United Portadown F.C.