Newry River and River Clanrye are names for one of the rivers of Ireland

Rivers of Ireland

The longest river in Ireland is the The longest river in [[Ireland]] is the The longest river in [[Ireland]] is the [[River Shannon, 386 km . The river develops into three lakes along its course, [[Lough Allen]], [[Lough Ree]] and [[Lough Derg |Lough Derg]]. Of these, Lough Derg is the...

; it passes through the city of Newry

Newry

Newry is a city in Northern Ireland. The River Clanrye, which runs through the city, formed the historic border between County Armagh and County Down. It is from Belfast and from Dublin. Newry had a population of 27,433 at the 2001 Census, while Newry and Mourne Council Area had a population...

 and empties into Carlingford Lough

Carlingford Lough

Carlingford Lough is a glacial fjord or sea inlet that forms part of the border between Northern Ireland to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south. On its northern shore is County Down and on its southern shore is County Louth...

 near Warrenpoint

Warrenpoint

Warrenpoint is a small town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the northern shore of Carlingford Lough and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town sprang up within the townland of Ringmackilroy...

. Some maps call the portion downstream from Newry to the Lough the "Newry River" and the portion upstream of Newry the "Clanrye" (as it curls around to its sources in the foothills of the Mourne Mountains), but not all sources make this distinction.

The word 'Clanrye' comes from the Irish

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

 An Gleann Rí meaning The king's valley

While the Newry River flows under the famous Newry Town Hall

Newry Town Hall

Newry Town Hall is the civic building of Newry, Northern Ireland however the main Council Chambers are located at Monaghan Row just off the Camlough Road in the city.- History :Newry's town hall was designed by William Batt...

, according to the Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland

Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland was the official mapping agency of Northern Ireland. The agency ceased to exist separately on 1 April 2008 when it became part of Land and Property Services Northern Ireland, an executive agency of the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Personnel, along...

,http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=-702500&Y=7170000&width=700&height=400&gride=-703824.074753895&gridn=7171570.70278288&srec=0&coordsys=mercator&db=pc&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&inmap=&table=&ovtype=&keepicon=true&zm=0&scale=50000&up.x=290&up.y=7 the Clanrye breaks away from the Newry River near Drummillar. The Clanrye then progresses under the main Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

 to Dublin (A1 road (Northern Ireland)

A1 road (Northern Ireland)

The A1 is a major route in Northern Ireland. It runs from Belfast via Lisburn and Banbridge to the border with the Republic of Ireland south of Newry, from where the road continues to Dublin, becoming the N1 road and M1 motorway...

) at Sheepbridge and onward toward the Mayobridge

Mayobridge

Mayobridge is an area within Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is located within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. It had a population of 842 people in the 2001 Census.-People :...

 Road at the Crown Bridges and Ashtree Cottages. According to local tradition however, the entire waterway is known as the Clanrye.

Saint Patrick

During one of Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick

Saint Patrick was a Romano-Briton and Christian missionary, who is the most generally recognized patron saint of Ireland or the Apostle of Ireland, although Brigid of Kildare and Colmcille are also formally patron saints....

's exploratory missions to Ireland he set up camp on a sandy stretch of the Clanrye River. Whilst settling himself there he took the decision to plant a yew tree

Taxus

Taxus is a genus of yews, small coniferous trees or shrubs in the yew family Taxaceae. They are relatively slow-growing and can be very long-lived, and reach heights of 1-40 m, with trunk diameters of up to 4 m...

 symbolising Ireland’s growing and strengthening faith. It is this story which gave Newry its name, Iúr Cinn Trá: the yew tree at the head of the strand (although this part of the riverbank does not resemble a beach today). A monastery, later replaced in 1144 by a Cistercian Abbey

Abbey

An abbey is a Catholic monastery or convent, under the authority of an Abbot or an Abbess, who serves as the spiritual father or mother of the community.The term can also refer to an establishment which has long ceased to function as an abbey,...

,http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/irish/blas/education/beginnersblas/4newry.shtml grew up around this yew.

See also

• List of rivers of Northern Ireland