Newtownhamilton is a small town and civil parish in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies predominantly within Tullyvallan townland. The civil parish is within the historic barony of Fews Upper. In the 2011 Census it had 2,836 inhabitants. The village is built around two narrow main streets and a town square. Other places include Newry Street, Castleblaney Street, Church Street also known as Shambles Lane and The Commons. Residential areas are Dungormley Estate, Meadowvale and the Nine Mile Road.
Name
Before the Plantation of Ulster the area of Newtownhamilton was known as Tullyvallan. This comes from the IrishTulaigh Uí Mhealláin meaning "O' Mealláin's hillock". The modern Irish name of Newtownhamilton is An Baile Úr, meaning "the new town"; a rarely used alternative is Baile Úr Uí Urmoltaigh.
History
The village of Newtownhamilton was established c.1770 by Alexander Hamilton, a descendant of the John Hamilton from Scotland who founded Hamiltonsbawn in 1619. The parish was created in 1773 out of the neighbouring parish of Creggan. On 9 May 1920, during the Irish War of Independence, some 200 Irish Republican Army volunteers under Frank Aiken surrounded and attacked the Royal Irish Constabulary barracks in Newtownhamilton. After a two-hour firefight, the IRA breached the barracks wall with explosives and stormed the building. The RIC refused to surrender until the building was set alight with petrol from a potato-spraying machine. Newtownhamilton suffered significant disruption, damage and fatalities during The Troubles from the late 1960s to the 1990s. The deadliest incident was the Tullyvallen massacre. For more information, see The Troubles in Newtownhamilton. While the British Army had a major presence in the village during the conflict, this was scaled down and eventually removed entirely following the Good Friday Agreement. In 2006 it was announced that the localpolice station would be upgraded to full-time status.
Education
Newtownhamilton High School
Newtownhamilton Primary School
St Michael's Primary School
Cortamlet Primary School
Demography
2011 Census
Newtownhamilton is classified as a small town. On Census Day , in Newtownhamilton Ward, there were 2,836 people living in 956 households, giving an average household size of 2.97.
26.09% were aged under 16 years and 10.93% were aged 65 and over;
50.74% of the usually resident population were male and 49.26% were female; and
62.41% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 34.77% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian ' religion; and
