New Displays at Newry and Mourne Museum

Captain John McParland Uniform and Mourne Embroidery Display
Newry and Mourne Museum’s costume case now features the uniform of Captain John McParland, a member of a well-known Newry seafaring family.

John left school at the age of 15 and, like many young men in Newry at the time, found employment aboard ships operated by Fisher’s. He went on to build a long career at sea before retiring in 1982.

The display offers visitors an insight into Newry’s strong maritime heritage and the generations of local people whose lives were closely connected to shipping and seafaring.

Also on display are examples of the intricate embroidery known locally as “flowering.”

This delicate white-on-white needlework became a distinctive craft of the Mourne region during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The surviving examples highlight the skill and craftsmanship involved in a tradition that formed an important part of the area’s cultural heritage.

Visitors to Newry and Mourne Museum can explore both displays and learn more about the people, industries and traditional crafts that shaped Newry and the wider Mourne region.