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CRIMEAN CANNONS - WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Bank Parade
Newry
Newry and Mourne
Co. Down and Armagh
Ireland
BT35 6HR


The Russian Crimean War trophy cannon, Newry

There were a large number of Irishmen who were serving in the British army at this time of the Crimean War. Irish soldiers made up around 30-35 per cent of the British army in 1854, and it is estimated that over 30,000 Irish soldiers served in the Crimea. There are many physical reminders of the war in Ireland in the shape of monuments and the Russian trophy guns, such as the cannons on the steps of the courthouse in Tralee, on the pier in Dun Laoghaire and on the Armaghdown Bridge/Bank Parade in Newry.

This 19th century cannon captured during the Crimean War stands, ironically, near the Polish Consulate but pointing, fortunately, upriver. It is located on the pavement outside Newry Town Hall which sits astride the River Clanrye, probably the only Town Hall in the UK to have such an eccentric location. When the town hall was being constructed in 1893, rivalry between the two county factions was eventually sorted out by the compromise that the town hall would be constructed on a bridge over the river. As a result it has been nicknamed 'Bridge over Troubled Waters'.

The cannon was gifted to the city in recognition of the service of the men from Newry who fought in the Crimean War. The barrel sports the Russian Eagle crest.




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