XMG & The Mourne Ultimatum

Newry City  1  Warrenpoint Town  1

Northern Ireland Premiership

Crossmaglen was the posting that filled every British soldier with dread.

During the Troubles, the small border town and unofficial capital of South Armagh was a base for the military, chosen largely due to the fact that the South Armagh Brigade of the IRA was the most fearsome of them all, reportedly at the centre of every major plot and campaign, they needed to be both watched and ideally eliminated.

It was far from simple though, this was a highly skilled, technologically advanced and motivated organisation. A Captain within the Parachute Regiment said of South Armagh in a memoir…

“I got the feeling of being one of those shooting gallery targets that go round on a conveyor belt, endlessly waiting for someone to knock you down. South Armagh, still light years away from civilisation, still living in the dark ages, where barbarity and cruelty are the prime factors of a successful life. Where stealing and killing are as natural a part of living as breathing is to most of us.”

The Square - Iconic Place Names From A Troubled Era

Crossmaglen, or XMG as it is known, was a place of severe hostility, isolation and a constant threat of death. Soldiers on patrol were briefed on the fact that every milk churn, gorse bush, stone wall or bale of hay could contain a bomb, while the threat of the sniper was very real.

It was all very real indeed, South Armagh or ‘Bandit Country’ as it became referred to following comments made by then Northern Ireland Secretary Merlyn Rees, from 1971 saw the deaths of 123 soldiers, 42 Police Officers and 75 civilians. It is also reported that South Armagh saw 1255 bomb attacks and 1158 shooting incidents during the period of the Troubles.

Road travel became too dangerous so movement could only be made via helicopter. Watchtowers were erected, while part of the Crossmaglen Rangers Gaelic Football ground was occupied by the army base. Soldiers who patrolled ‘Cross’ did so in fear of the Armalite and the bomb.

A Tribute 

My fascination with Ulster and the Troubles started when I made my first visit to Derry in 2005. I began to read, I began to watch archive footage, I also began to wonder whether it would be possible to pay South Armagh a visit.

As the years went by, bearing in mind most of my trips centred around football, I was of the view that I’d probably struggle to do it. To be fair, part of me as well was a little bit nervous. I’ve had zero problems in Republican areas of the North in all the times I’ve been, but South Armagh and XMG in particular, well that for me was another level.

The IRA Volunteers

A plan came together quickly though. I was all set to travel up to Derry on the Friday night for the game against Shamrock Rovers, but as is sometimes the case, the game got moved and I had to find an alternative. That alternative was the Mourne Derby between Newry City and Warrenpoint Town, and to be honest I was quite happy with that because I really liked Newry when I made my one and only previous visit, around the time of the ash cloud crisis because I recall it being touch and go as to whether I made it or not.

However, I would be in Newry at 10am, and as much as I like the City, I was going to struggle to find too much to do to fill the time, and that was when the cogs started to turn and I started to do a bit of research. The number 42 bus from Newry gets into Crossmaglen in just short of an hour, and if I caught the 11am, I would get a couple of hours in the town before the return. It was on, it was a reality, it was time to do a bit more research.

Crossmaglen Rangers

I’m not sure how many people have ever typed into Google ‘Is Crossmaglen safe for a British person’ but I did it, and to be fair, it all seemed pretty positive on the whole. Clearly don’t go around waving a Union Jack or singing God Save The Queen, but otherwise if I kept myself to myself all would be fine.

The 11am bus wasn’t especially busy as it weaved its way through the stunning countryside, with views of Slieve Gullion and the surrounding mountains dominating the landscape. We travelled through Mullaghbawn, Forkhill and Silverbridge, while at one point due to a closed road, we crossed the Irish border briefly and were in the Republic.

Crossmaglen was reached in good time, and it was pretty quiet in the famous Cardinal O’Fiaich Square where a British Military Sangar used to be located (and set on fire when a tanker sprayed paraffin over it having been moved into place by a tractor). I made my way across the Square and went to the Crossmaglen Rangers gaelic grounds, the home of one of the most successful club sides the island has ever produced. After a look at the impressive facilities, I then made my way across the top of the Square and took a walk down to the PSNI Station, which is as fortified as you will see with huge metal walls and high security features.

A Small Piece Of Great Britain Sits Behind

I did want to visit a few pubs, but not before checking out the memorials and statue in and around the Square. Republicanism is celebrated, and key players are remembered. Crossmaglen may be Northern Ireland on the map, but this is the Republic in realty.

The Cross Square Hotel was doing a decent trade with lunches, and perhaps is testimony to the times that visitors choose to stay in the town, while the Clarnagh Maid was your typical Irish pub, with plenty of craic to be had. But it was while in Murtagh’s that I got talking to the owner, and he was inquisitive as to my presence in Crossmaglen. It seems that anyone who isn’t a local is treated with an element of suspicion, for one principal reason right now, Brexit.

Journalists from all across Europe have been flooding to border towns like Cross to get soundbites, to get the real story of what a change to the border status may mean to them. Aidan Murtagh doesn’t do interviews, but as he said to me,

“We didn’t want to leave as a nation (Northern Ireland), but we have no choice. You have to remember, almost every road from this town leads to a border, and I honestly don’t know how this is going to end up.”

Aidan grew up during the Troubles and remembered it well,

“It was just how life was, you didn’t know any different. The good thing is though, many of our children have no idea what it was like, they might read about it in history books, but that time was a World away. They simply cannot comprehend Crossmaglen being as it was, they only see the now.”

With a sense of fulfillment, it was back to Newry and time to check in to my base before the big game. It was to be the first time the two clubs had met in the top flight of Irish football, and dubbed the ‘Mourne Ultimatum’, it was time to see who would get the ‘Mourne Supremacy’. The local papers were loving it with headlines as such, this was big news in the locality.

Pre-match latch lifters were taken before the walk through the centre of the City and down by the side of the River to the Showgrounds, which sits within an industrial estate that’s just off the main road to Warrenpoint itself.

Newry Showgrounds

Next to the Showgrounds is the fantastic Parc Eisler, the home of Newry Shamrocks GAA club, and also the base for Down GAA, the floodlights were on and a smattering of spectators were entering for what looked like an underage game taking place.

Newry’s story is an interesting one.  Formed as Newry Town in 1918, the club changed its name to Newry City in 2004 thanks to City status being awarded.  The club joined the Northern Irish League 

in 1983, having a successful period that culminated in European football in the late nineties, but beyond that the club suffered a decline in fortunes. Finally relegated in 2011, the club dropped into the First Division, and then following an expensive court case brought about by a former Manager, the club were issued with a winding up petition on the eve of the 2012-13 season, found themselves suspended and then ultimately, dissolved.

Away End

The majority of the players found a new club, somewhat ironically in the shape of Warrenpoint Town, hence one of the reasons how they have managed to move up four divisions in double quick time, but while the players were going down the road, Newry City AFC was being formed. Starting in the Mid-Ulster League in 2013-14, they quickly moved up the pyramid and last season they won promotion to the Premiership, a fourth promotion in five years!

So it was show time in the Showgrounds, and I would estimate a crowd of over 1,000 were present to watch it take place, possibly pushing towards 1,500. It’s a cracking ground as well, on entering the car park from the road, the clubhouse is to the right and on the night did a very brisk trade, with the Dundalk v Cork City LOI game on the television as a bonus. Dundalk is only twelve miles away.

Once through the turnstiles, to the right is an area of covered terrace that sits next to a building with a viewing gallery at the top (corporate hospitality?). The building is directly behind the goal, and then an open area leads round the far corner before some terracing runs the entire length of the pitch. A disused stand sits in the middle of it, and is something of a relic of a bygone era.

Behind the top goal is a smart new stand, with seats at the front and some flat standing to the rear, this is the designated away end which was occupied by the Warrenpoint fans, numbering a couple of hundred I would guess.

Relics Of Bygone Times - With The Lights Of Parc Eisler Behind

Moving onto the South side of the ground is a steep seated stand picking out NCFC in the blue and white seats, while next to it is a further area of quite shallow covered terracing set quite a way back from the pitch, The refreshment kiosk and a club shop then take us back to the turnstiles again.

So what about the game? To be honest it certainly didn’t live up to the hype and chances were few and far between in a tight and cagey first period, but moments after the break it was the hosts that made the breakthrough when Jimmy Walker despatched a penalty that was awarded for a clear foul.

The Kop

Newry had chances to make the game safe, but, as the game moved towards its conclusion, Warrenpoint with nothing to lose threw men forward. Corners were won as Newry dug deep but then as the game moved into stoppage time, Phillip Donnelly got his head onto a cross and tucked the ball into the bottom corner. It was pandemonium in front of the visiting fans, but silence engulfed the previously noisy home support, indeed, the constant drumming came to an abrupt halt!

So that was it, and at the final whistle we all meandered off in our own directions, I chose to make the 45 minute walk from the very South of the City to the very North where my Hotel was located. I made it well in time for a couple more beverages and a chance to reflect on a fantastic day in Newry and indeed in the notorious South Armagh.

Casual Culture