Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Borough Council, UK / Lurgan Stories

On 1 April 2023 the annual George ‘AE’ Russell festival commenced with an April Fools ‘Big Head’ parade in Lurgan, the first of many events to celebrate the life of the Lurgan born artist, economist, journalist, poet and writer.
This video is produced by the Lurgan Townscape Heritage Scheme, which is supported by the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and the Lottery players, through The National Lottery Heritage Scheme. Find out more at: www.lurgantownscapeheritage.com

Take a look at the inspirational work going on at the Knitted Knockers Clubhouse to help breast cancer survivors cope with life after treatment.
This video is produced by the Lurgan Townscape Heritage Scheme, which is supported by the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and the Lottery players, through The National Lottery Heritage Scheme. Find out more at: www.lurgantownscapeheritage.com

Watch as evidence of an early medieval site is revealed during a community archaeological excavation of a site known as Kilmocholmóg (meaning ‘Church of my little Colman’), located just off the Kilmore Road, Lurgan.

You can download the final excavation report at: https://lurgantownscapeheritage.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Lurgan-Community-Excavation_Excavation-Report_-v2.pdf

The community dig was facilitated by the Northern Archaeological Consultancy Ltd. and sponsored by the Lurgan Townscape Heritage Scheme, which is supported by the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and the Lottery Players, through The National Lottery Heritage Scheme. Find out more at: www.lurgantownscapeheritage.com

In 2016 Joanne Harris founded the Knitted Knockers of NI, a group based in the Courtyard at Brownlow House, which supply free handmade breast prosthetics for breast cancer survivors across Northern Ireland.

This video was produced by the Lurgan Townscape Heritage Scheme which is supported by the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and the Lottery Players, through The National Lottery Heritage Scheme. Find out more at: www.lurgantownscapeheritage.com

A new trail pamphlet developed by the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland has been released which provides an insight into Lurgan’s underlying geology, while also explaining the origins of the building stone used in many of the town’s landmark historic buildings. With building stones from across the UK and Ireland, and even as far afield as Norway, this guided tour helps tell a geological story that is over 400 million years in the making.

The trail has been published by the Lurgan Townscape Heritage Scheme, which is supported by the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and the Lottery Players, through The National Lottery Heritage Scheme. Find out more at: www.lurgantownscapeheritage.com

Watch as American GI World War 2 veteran Jake Larson makes an emotional return to Brownlow House, eighty years after he was stationed there as a 19 year old soldier with the US army, before participating in the D-Day campaign and Battle of the Bulge.

Jake’s return visit was made possible thanks to a fundraising campaign organised by his granddaughter McKaela Larson, who made her granda a social media star through their Tik Tok account, Storytime with Papa Jake, which has amassed nearly 500,000 followers, with their videos receiving over seven million likes.

You can find out more about Jake’s wartime experiences at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdN_ZKWV4-yBP5nU13HXY5w

This video was produced by the Lurgan Townscape Heritage Scheme, which is supported by the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and the Lottery Players, through The National Lottery Heritage Scheme. Find out more at: www.lurgantownscapeheritage.com

Watch the story of Lurgan’s Social Supermarket; a Freedom Foods Pantry which has been set-up in the Emmanuel Church Lurgan, to assist people with the rising cost of living – a much needed initiative. You can find out more information here: https://www.yourlocalpantry.co.uk/pantry-listings/northern-ireland-portadown-freedom-foods-pantry/

This video was produced by the Lurgan Townscape Heritage Scheme which is supported by the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and the Lottery Players, through The National Lottery Heritage Scheme. Find out more at: www.lurgantownscapeheritage.com

Watch as Dr Alastair Ruffell and his team from Queen’s University Belfast; archaeologist John Tierney of www.historicgraves.com; and the Friends of Shankill Graveyard and community volunteers join together to try uncover the history of Shankill Graveyard (Lurgan), including the location of 227 famine burials from 1847.
The Ground Penetrating Radar survey of Shankill Graveyard can be downloaded at: https://lurgantownscapeheritage.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Shankill_Report_March22_v.1_final.pdf
The survey of the Shankill Graveyard headstones can be viewed at: https://historicgraves.com/graveyard/shankill/am-snkl
The Ground Penetrating Radar survey and graveyard surveying workshops were made possible thanks to funding from the Department for Communities: Historic Environment Division; and through the Lurgan Townscape Heritage Scheme, which is supported by the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council and the Lottery Players, through The National Lottery Heritage Scheme. Find out more at: www.lurgantownscapeheritage.com