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100-560: Sam McGredy I (1828–1903) founded the family nursery, Samuel McGredy & Son, Nurserymen, in 1880, in Portadown , County Armagh, Northern Ireland. He left a position as head gardener on an estate at the age of 50 to build the nursery business with his son, Sam McGredy II, who was a teenager at the time. The nursery initially specialized in fruit trees and show pansies, and benefited from excellent soil and easy rail transport to both Dublin and Belfast. Samuel McGredy II (1861–1926) turned

200-641: A Quaker meeting hall on Portmore Street; a large Free Presbyterian congregation meets in Levaghery. The pentecostal Light of the World Ministries are located in the town, as are the evangelical neocharismatic Vineyard Church. The Salvation Army have a hall in Edward Street. Saint John the Baptist's Church was built in the townland of Ballyoran in 1783. The original church sat in

300-547: A unique dialect of Irish developed before falling out of use in the early 20th century. With a writing system , Ogham , dating back to at least the 4th century AD, which was gradually replaced by Latin script since the 5th century AD, Irish has one of the oldest vernacular literatures in Western Europe . On the island, the language has three major dialects: Connacht , Munster and Ulster Irish . All three have distinctions in their speech and orthography . There

400-459: A "siege". Each summer, during the " marching season ", there are many Protestant/loyalist marches in the town. Loyalists put up numerous flags and raise arches over some streets. These marches, and the raising of these flags and arches near the homes of Catholic families, continues to be a source of tension and sometimes violence. Community leaders in Portadown have been involved with

500-717: A bargaining chip during government formation in Northern Ireland, prompting protests from organisations and groups such as An Dream Dearg . Irish became an official language of the EU on 1 January 2007, meaning that MEPs with Irish fluency can now speak the language in the European Parliament and at committees, although in the case of the latter they have to give prior notice to a simultaneous interpreter in order to ensure that what they say can be interpreted into other languages. While an official language of

600-575: A better future for Ireland and all her citizens." The Strategy was produced on 21 December 2010 and will stay in action until 2030; it aims to target language vitality and revitalization of the Irish language. The 30-page document published by the Government of Ireland details the objectives it plans to work towards in an attempt to preserve and promote both the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. It

700-478: A cultural and social force. Irish speakers often insisted on using the language in law courts (even when they knew English), and Irish was also common in commercial transactions. The language was heavily implicated in the "devotional revolution" which marked the standardisation of Catholic religious practice and was also widely used in a political context. Down to the time of the Great Famine and even afterwards,

800-553: A degree course in the NUI federal system to pass the subject of Irish in the Leaving Certificate or GCE / GCSE examinations. Exemptions are made from this requirement for students who were born or completed primary education outside of Ireland, and students diagnosed with dyslexia . NUI Galway is required to appoint people who are competent in the Irish language, as long as they are also competent in all other aspects of

900-434: A fairly accurate population count can be arrived at by combining the data of the electoral wards that make up Portadown. These wards are Annagh, Ballybay, Ballyoran, Brownstown, Corcrain, Edenderry, Killycomain and Tavanagh. On the day of the last census (21 March 2021) the combined population of these wards was 32,926. Of this population: On the day of the census (21 March 2011) the combined population of these wards

1000-399: A floribunda, was introduced the next year, in 1959. Sam McGredy IV married fashion model Maureen McCall in 1960. They had three daughters, Kathryn McGredy (1961), Maria Winder (1964), and Clodagh Leigh (1974). In 1972 McGredy IV and family emigrated to Auckland , New Zealand. The move allowed him to breed roses without the need for greenhouses, and to better select roses that would do well in

1100-460: A fully recognised EU language for the first time in the state's history. Before Irish became an official language it was afforded the status of treaty language and only the highest-level documents of the EU were made available in Irish. The Irish language was carried abroad in the modern period by a vast diaspora , chiefly to Great Britain and North America, but also to Australia , New Zealand and Argentina . The first large movements began in

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1200-457: A hub for the water traffic between Newry and Belfast. There are three bridges across the river at Portadown. Bridge Street and Northway are both road bridges and there is a railway bridge beside the Northway. The 'Bann Bridge' on Bridge Street is the oldest. The story of this bridge is unusual in that it was built without a river running underneath it. After building was complete, the course of

1300-430: A large Elizabethan -style mansion for himself and his family, and a number of houses nearby for English tenants. This mansion was in the area of the present-day Woodside estate, and today's People's Park was part of its grounds. The park is now bounded on either side by Obins Street and Castle Street, both of which are references to "Obin's Castle". In 1631, Obins was granted a licence for a "fair and market", which led to

1400-656: A new clubhouse. A large prisoner-of-war (POW) camp was built at Portadown during World War II. It was at the site of a former sports facility on what was then the western edge of town. This area is now covered by housing from Fitzroy Street and the Brownstown Estates. The camp housed (mostly) German POWs. For a time these POWs were guarded by Welsh servicemen who had been transferred from Germany (known as "Bluecaps") and who were billeted at St Patrick's Hall in Thomas Street. The local newspaper carried

1500-585: A paper suggested that within a generation, non-Gaeltacht habitual users of Irish might typically be members of an urban, middle class, and highly educated minority. Parliamentary legislation is supposed to be available in both Irish and English but is frequently only available in English. This is notwithstanding that Article 25.4 of the Constitution of Ireland requires that an "official translation" of any law in one official language be provided immediately in

1600-575: A pass in Leaving Certificate Irish or English, and receive lessons in Irish during their two years of training. Official documents of the Irish government must be published in both Irish and English or Irish alone (in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003, enforced by An Coimisinéir Teanga , the Irish language ombudsman). The National University of Ireland requires all students wishing to embark on

1700-543: A patterned red and white rose. Sam McGredy IV campaigned for passage of a Plant Breeders' Rights act in the UK, starting in 1955. At the time, anyone could propagate a new rose and sell it with no payment to the hybridizer. Rose hybridizers only made money on their creations for the year or two that they had a head start on their competitors. Most rose hybridizers owned a nursery for the propagation and sale of plants, which supported their hybridizing. The Plant Breeders' Rights Act

1800-625: A religious context. An Irish translation of the Old Testament by Leinsterman Muircheartach Ó Cíonga , commissioned by Bishop Bedell , was published after 1685 along with a translation of the New Testament. Otherwise, Anglicisation was seen as synonymous with 'civilising' the native Irish. Currently, modern day Irish speakers in the church are pushing for language revival. It has been estimated that there were around 800,000 monoglot Irish speakers in 1800, which dropped to 320,000 by

1900-547: A result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022 was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within

2000-568: A rose-red rose that bloomed in bunches on long stems. In that same time period, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother , Royal Patron of the Royal National Rose Society , gave McGredy IV permission to name a rose after her with the name 'Elizabeth of Glamis' – a great honor. This rose was introduced in 1963, a light salmon floribunda. McGredy IV's hand-painted rose series started in 1971, with the introduction of 'Picasso',

2100-575: A story of another POW camp, adjacent to Killicomaine Castle (also known as Irwin's Castle) in what was then known as "Cullen's Lane" but is now called "Princess Way" and part of the Killicomaine estate, built in 1954 and largely contemporary with other estates built by the then Portadown Borough Council and the former Northern Ireland Housing Trust (now called the Northern Ireland Housing Executive ). A third camp

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2200-545: A wider meaning, including the Gaelic of Scotland and the Isle of Man , as well as of Ireland. When required by the context, these are distinguished as Gaeilge na hAlban , Gaeilge Mhanann and Gaeilge na hÉireann respectively. In English (including Hiberno-English ), the language is usually referred to as Irish , as well as Gaelic and Irish Gaelic . The term Irish Gaelic may be seen when English speakers discuss

2300-603: Is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family . It is a member of the Goidelic language group of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous to the island of Ireland . It was the majority of the population's first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as

2400-452: Is also An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , a standardised written form devised by a parliamentary commission in the 1950s. The traditional Irish alphabet , a variant of the Latin alphabet with 18 letters , has been succeeded by the standard Latin alphabet (albeit with 7–8 letters used primarily in loanwords ). Irish has constitutional status as the national and first official language of

2500-511: Is divided into four separate phases with the intention of improving 9 main areas of action including: The general goal for this strategy was to increase the number of daily speakers from 83,000 to 250,000 by the end of its run. By 2022, the number of such speakers had fallen to 71,968. Before the partition of Ireland in 1921, Irish was recognised as a school subject and as "Celtic" in some third level institutions. Between 1921 and 1972, Northern Ireland had devolved government. During those years

2600-493: Is like that of much of the rest of the UK and Ireland, being a temperate oceanic climate. It has mild temperatures throughout the year, with summer temperatures not reaching levels to be deemed very hot and winter not very cold. Summer temperatures can reach more than 20 °C (68 °F) though it is rare for them to go higher than 30 °C (86 °F). The consistently humid climate that prevails over Ireland can make these temperatures feel uncomfortable when they stray into

2700-521: Is one of only two now remaining, the other at the new roundabout on the Gilford Road, and a rare example of public air raid shelters in Northern Ireland. During the Troubles , there were numerous shootings, bombings and riots in Portadown. The conflict led to the deaths of 45 people in the town. Loyalists killed 25 people: eighteen Catholic civilians, three Protestant civilians, two members of

2800-587: Is only in Gaeltacht areas that Irish continues to be spoken as a community vernacular to some extent. According to data compiled by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht , Sport and Media , only 1/4 of households in Gaeltacht areas are fluent in Irish. The author of a detailed analysis of the survey, Donncha Ó hÉallaithe of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology , described

2900-412: Is still spoken daily to some extent as a first language . These regions are known individually and collectively as the Gaeltacht (plural Gaeltachtaí ). While the fluent Irish speakers of these areas, whose numbers have been estimated at 20–30,000, are a minority of the total number of fluent Irish speakers, they represent a higher concentration of Irish speakers than other parts of the country and it

3000-802: Is the River Bann. The part of the town on the west of the Bann is in Drumcree parish, while the part of the town on the east of the Bann is in Seagoe parish. The site of the Methodist church has moved several times and it now stands in Thomas Street. In 1826, Saint Martin's Church of Ireland was built, and later renamed Saint Mark's. Before this, Church of Ireland members attended either Drumcree Parish Church or Seagoe Parish Church . The current Seagoe Parish Church of St. Gobhan 's (Church of Ireland),

3100-666: The Fíor-Ghaeltacht (true Gaeltacht ), a term originally officially applied to areas where over 50% of the population spoke Irish. There are Gaeltacht regions in the following counties: Gweedore ( Gaoth Dobhair ), County Donegal, is the largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland. Irish language summer colleges in the Gaeltacht are attended by tens of thousands of teenagers annually. Students live with Gaeltacht families, attend classes, participate in sports, go to céilithe and are obliged to speak Irish. All aspects of Irish culture and tradition are encouraged. The Act

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3200-531: The Belfast–Dublin line remains. Repair yards were opened in 1925 and these large concrete buildings dominated the skyline on the west of the town centre. The current station opened in 1970. National Cycle Route 9 links Portadown with Belfast and Newry . Portadown's major employers have included: Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),

3300-623: The Orange Order . This, and subsequent events like the setting up of a 'provisional' Grand Lodge in the town after the 'voluntary' dissolution of the Order in 1825, led to the town being known as 'The Orange Citadel' and was a center of sectarian strife for two centuries. Many of the Blacker family were soldiers or churchmen. The family estate was purchased in 1937 by Portadown Golf Club, who demolished Carrickblacker House in 1988 to make way for

3400-631: The Republic of Ireland , and is also an official language of Northern Ireland and among the official languages of the European Union . The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island. Irish has no regulatory body but An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , the standard written form, is guided by a parliamentary service and new vocabulary by a voluntary committee with university input. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil ("The Official [Written] Standard ")

3500-582: The Ulster Project since it began in 1975. The project involves teenagers from both of Northern Ireland's main communities. The goal is to foster goodwill and friendship between them. Each year, a group of teenagers are chosen to travel to the United States, where they stay with an American family for a few weeks. Portadown sits in a relatively flat part of Ireland , near the southern shore of Lough Neagh . There are two small wetland areas on

3600-557: The " Portadown massacre " and was one of the worst atrocities of the rebellion. It fuelled revenge killings during the conflict that followed and was used to justify the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland . The Irish Confederate troops abandoned Obins Castle during the Cromwellian conquest, and Hamlet Obins (who had survived its capture) repossessed it in 1652. It was then passed to his son, Anthony Obins. In 1741, Anthony Obins

3700-618: The "Craigavon Urban Area", alongside Craigavon and Lurgan . Although Portadown can trace its origins to the early 17th century Plantation of Ulster , it was not until the Victorian era and the arrival of the railway that it became a major town. It earned the nickname "hub of the North" due to it being a major railway junction; where the Great Northern Railway's line diverged for Belfast, Dublin , Armagh and Derry . In

3800-512: The 17th century, largely as a result of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , which saw many Irish sent to the West Indies . Irish emigration to the United States was well established by the 18th century, and was reinforced in the 1840s by thousands fleeing from the Famine . This flight also affected Britain. Up until that time most emigrants spoke Irish as their first language, though English

3900-789: The 1998 Good Friday Agreement , the language gradually received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, and then, in 2003, by the British government's ratification in respect of the language of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . In the 2006 St Andrews Agreement the British government promised to enact legislation to promote the language and in 2022 it approved legislation to recognise Irish as an official language alongside English. The bill received royal assent on 6 December 2022. The Irish language has often been used as

4000-632: The 19th and 20th centuries Portadown was also a major centre for the production of textiles (mainly linen ). Portadown is the site of the long-running Drumcree dispute , over yearly marches by the Protestant Orange Order through the Catholic part of the town, which often sparked violence and protests. In the 1990s, the dispute escalated and prompted a massive security operation, drawing worldwide attention to Portadown. The Portadown area had long been populated by Irish Gaels . At

4100-403: The 6th century, used the Latin alphabet and is attested primarily in marginalia to Latin manuscripts. During this time, the Irish language absorbed some Latin words, some via Old Welsh , including ecclesiastical terms : examples are easpag (bishop) from episcopus , and Domhnach (Sunday, from dominica ). By the 10th century, Old Irish had evolved into Middle Irish , which

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4200-535: The 9th century, founded an estate at Carrick, on the Portadown– Gilford road. The land had been bought by Colonel Valentine Blacker from Sir Anthony Cope of Loughgall . It became known as Carrickblacker, and is now the site of Portadown Golf Club. One of the notables in the Blacker family, Colonel William Blacker , High Sheriff of Armagh, took part in the " Battle of the Diamond " and was a founding member of

4300-571: The Act all detailing different aspects of the use of Irish in official documentation and communication. Included in these sections are subjects such as Irish language use in official courts, official publications, and placenames. The Act was recently amended in December 2019 in order to strengthen the already preexisting legislation. All changes made took into account data collected from online surveys and written submissions. The Official Languages Scheme

4400-469: The Catholic part of town. Each July from 1995 to 2000, the dispute drew worldwide attention as it sparked protests and violence throughout Northern Ireland, prompted a massive police / British Army operation, and threatened to derail the peace process . The Army sealed-off the Catholic part of Portadown with large steel, concrete and barbed-wire barricades and the situation was likened to a "war zone" and

4500-471: The European Union , only co-decision regulations were available until 2022, due to a five-year derogation, requested by the Irish Government when negotiating the language's new official status. The Irish government had committed itself to train the necessary number of translators and interpreters and to bear the related costs. This derogation ultimately came to an end on 1 January 2022, making Irish

4600-664: The Irish clans, and much of their land was seized and redistributed by the Crown . In 1608, King James VI and I began the Plantation of Ulster – the organised colonisation of the region by Protestant settlers from Britain , known as 'planters'. In 1610, as part of the Plantation, the lands of Portadown were granted to William Powell. In 1611, he sold his grant of land to Reverend Richard Rolleston, who in turn sold it in two portions to Richard Cope and Michael Obins. Obins built

4700-549: The Irish language policy followed by Irish governments as a "complete and absolute disaster". The Irish Times , referring to his analysis published in the Irish language newspaper Foinse , quoted him as follows: "It is an absolute indictment of successive Irish Governments that at the foundation of the Irish State there were 250,000 fluent Irish speakers living in Irish-speaking or semi Irish-speaking areas, but

4800-671: The Loughhall Road, and Knocknamuckley Church of Ireland (St. Matthias) on the Bleary Road are also extant parishes. There are two Presbyterian churches, First Portadown (aka Edenderry) Presbyterian Church (1822) and Armagh Road Presbyterian Church (1859). The Rev Stafford Carson was Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, June 2009 to June 2010. There are Baptist meeting halls on Thomas Street and Killicomaine Road; an Elim church on Clonavon Avenue;

4900-620: The Republic of Ireland ), new appointees to the Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland , including postal workers , tax collectors , agricultural inspectors, Garda Síochána (police), etc., were required to have some proficiency in Irish. By law, a Garda who was addressed in Irish had to respond in Irish as well. In 1974, in part through the actions of protest organisations like the Language Freedom Movement ,

5000-496: The River Bann was diverted by some 100 yards to straighten a meander . The old riverbed was then built upon. An archaeological dig in the area of the old riverbed uncovered the bones of some of those drowned in the 1641 massacre . Like the rest of Ireland, the Portadown area has long been divided into townlands , whose names mostly come from the Irish language . Portadown sprang up along a road (High Street/Market Street) that marked

5100-526: The USA, his major market. Sam and Maureen divorced in 1978, and Sam later married Jillian Hawcridge. In the 1994 Queen's Birthday Honours , Sam McGredy IV was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire , for services to horticulture. When he retired, he closed the nursery. He died on 25 August 2019. In 1962 he introduced a rose named after the younger of his two sisters, 'Paddy McGredy',

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5200-623: The United Kingdom . The boundaries of the Assembly constituency and Parliament constituency are identical. This has long been a safe unionist seat. Portadown came under the governance of Portadown Borough Council following the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 . This was abolished with the Local Government (Boundaries) Act (Northern Ireland) 1971 and the Local Government Act (Northern Ireland) 1972 . Henceforth,

5300-467: The beginning of the 1600s, it lay within the district of Clancann ( Clann Chana ), which was part of the larger territory of Oneilland ( Uí Nialláin ). This district was named after the dominant local clan —the McCanns ( Mac Cana ) —who had been in the area since before the 13th century. The McCanns were then a vassal sept of the O'Neills ( Uí Néill ). On the eastern banks of the River Bann

5400-746: The beginning of the following academic year. For a number of years there has been vigorous debate in political, academic and other circles about the failure of most students in English-medium schools to achieve competence in Irish, even after fourteen years of teaching as one of the three main subjects. The concomitant decline in the number of traditional native speakers has also been a cause of great concern. In 2007, filmmaker Manchán Magan found few Irish speakers in Dublin , and faced incredulity when trying to get by speaking only Irish in Dublin. He

5500-424: The boundary between two of these – Tavanagh and Corcrain. Over time, the surrounding townlands have been built upon and they have given their names to many roads and housing estates. The following is a list of townlands within Portadown's urban area, alongside their likely etymologies : West bank of the River Bann (parish of Drumcree): East bank of the River Bann (parish of Seagoe ): The climate of Portadown

5600-547: The building of the first bridge across the River Bann shortly thereafter. During the Irish Rebellion of 1641 , Obins Castle was captured by a force of dispossessed Irish led by the McCanns, Magennises and O'Neills. In November 1641, Irish rebels—likely under the command of Toole McCann—killed about 100 captured British settlers by forcing them off the Bann bridge and shooting those who swam ashore. This became known as

5700-718: The education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to the 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of

5800-474: The end of the famine, and under 17,000 by 1911. Irish is recognised by the Constitution of Ireland as the national and first official language of Republic of Ireland (English being the other official language). Despite this, almost all government business and legislative debate is conducted in English. In 1938, the founder of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League), Douglas Hyde , was inaugurated as

5900-400: The establishment of the Great Northern Railway the overland trading routes were extended and delivery times shortened. The town's first railway station opened in 1842. At Portadown railway station the line went in four directions – one went northeast toward Belfast, one northwest toward Dungannon , one southwest to Armagh and one southeast toward Newry and onward to Dublin . Today only

6000-428: The estate. This family's legacy to the town includes street names such as Montagu Street, Millicent Crescent and Mandeville Street, as well as buildings such as the Fergus Hall (formerly the Duke's School and Church Street PS), and the Carleton Home (the Duke's former townhouse, latterly a maternity hospital/nurses accommodation and now private apartments). The Blacker family, descended from Danes who entered Ireland in

6100-441: The family nursery in Portadown in 1952, at which time he was handed the keys and began the modern phase of the rose-breeding industry. McGredy IV modernised operations and transformed style. He was famously adept at dictating innovation and fashion, along with plant health and strength. He introduced his first hybrid of his own, 'Salute', a cherry-red and yellow bicolor floribunda , in 1958. His first Gold Medal winner, 'Orangeade',

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6200-469: The family nursery towards roses, which promised to be more profitable than pansies, and began hybridizing his own roses. He showed his roses in the National Rose Society show in London for the first time in 1905, and won the Gold Medal for 'Countess of Gosford'. Similarly to the British rose hybridizer Henry Bennett , McGredy II grew his parent plants in pots in heated greenhouses to give a longer season for seed ripening. He produced many Gold Medal winners and

6300-430: The first President of Ireland . The record of his delivering his inaugural Declaration of Office in Roscommon Irish is one of only a few recordings of that dialect. In the 2016 census, 10.5% of respondents stated that they spoke Irish, either daily or weekly, while over 70,000 people (4.2%) speak it as a habitual daily means of communication. From the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 (see History of

6400-416: The high 20s °C (80–85 °F), more so than similar temperatures in hotter climates in the rest of Europe. It also receives a steady amount of rainfall throughout the year. For census purposes, Portadown is not treated as a separate entity by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Instead, it is combined with Craigavon, Lurgan and Bleary to form the "Craigavon Urban Area". However,

6500-498: The language family, is derived from the Old Irish term. Endonyms of the language in the various modern Irish dialects include: Gaeilge [ˈɡeːlʲɟə] in Galway, Gaeilg / Gaeilic / Gaeilig [ˈɡeːlʲəc] in Mayo and Ulster , Gaelainn / Gaoluinn [ˈɡeːl̪ˠən̠ʲ] in West/Cork, Kerry Munster , as well as Gaedhealaing in mid and East Kerry/Cork and Waterford Munster to reflect local pronunciation. Gaeilge also has

6600-410: The language was in use by all classes, Irish being an urban as well as a rural language. This linguistic dynamism was reflected in the efforts of certain public intellectuals to counter the decline of the language. At the end of the 19th century, they launched the Gaelic revival in an attempt to encourage the learning and use of Irish, although few adult learners mastered the language. The vehicle of

6700-425: The language. For most of recorded Irish history , Irish was the dominant language of the Irish people , who took it with them to other regions , such as Scotland and the Isle of Man , where Middle Irish gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx . It was also, for a period, spoken widely across Canada , with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890. On the island of Newfoundland ,

6800-418: The little fort' pronounced [pɔɾˠt̪ˠ ə ˈd̪ˠuːnˠaːnʲ] ) is a town in County Armagh , Northern Ireland . The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Belfast . It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of about 32,000 at the 2021 Census . For some purposes, Portadown is treated as part of

6900-399: The mid-18th century, English was becoming a language of the Catholic middle class, the Catholic Church and public intellectuals, especially in the east of the country. Increasingly, as the value of English became apparent, parents sanctioned the prohibition of Irish in schools. Increasing interest in emigrating to the United States and Canada was also a driver, as fluency in English allowed

7000-405: The middle of what is now a large graveyard. A second Catholic church, Saint Patrick's, was built on William Street in 1835. In the 1980s Saint John's was taken down brick-by-brick, moved and rebuilt at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Cultra , County Down . A new Saint John's church was built close to where the original stood; it sits where the Garvaghy Road meets the Dungannon Road and

7100-497: The name of the language is Gaeilge , from the South Connacht form, spelled Gaedhilge prior the spelling reform of 1948, which was originally the genitive of Gaedhealg , the form used in Classical Gaelic . The modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent ⟨dh⟩ in Gaedhilge . Older spellings include Gaoidhealg [ˈɡeːʝəlˠəɡ] in Classical Gaelic and Goídelc [ˈɡoiðʲelɡ] in Old Irish . Goidelic , used to refer to

7200-469: The new immigrants to get jobs in areas other than farming. An estimated one quarter to one third of US immigrants during the Great Famine were Irish speakers. Irish was not marginal to Ireland's modernisation in the 19th century, as is often assumed. In the first half of the century there were still around three million people for whom Irish was the primary language, and their numbers alone made them

7300-655: The number now is between 20,000 and 30,000." In the 1920s, when the Irish Free State was founded, Irish was still a vernacular in some western coastal areas. In the 1930s, areas where more than 25% of the population spoke Irish were classified as Gaeltacht . Today, the strongest Gaeltacht areas, numerically and socially, are those of South Connemara , the west of the Dingle Peninsula , and northwest Donegal, where many residents still use Irish as their primary language. These areas are often referred to as

7400-503: The other official language, if not already passed in both official languages. In November 2016, RTÉ reported that over 2.3 million people worldwide were learning Irish through the Duolingo app. Irish president Michael D. Higgins officially honoured several volunteer translators for developing the Irish edition, and said the push for Irish language rights remains an "unfinished project". There are rural areas of Ireland where Irish

7500-538: The outskirts of the town; one at Selshion in the west and another at Annagh in the south. The Ballybay River flows into the town from the west before joining the River Bann. Most of the town is built on the western side of the River Bann , and owes much of its prosperity to the river. It was the construction of the Newry Canal (linking Carlingford Lough with Lough Neagh) in 1740, which enabled Portadown to become

7600-557: The political party holding power in the Stormont Parliament , the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was hostile to the language. The context of this hostility was the use of the language by nationalists. In broadcasting, there was an exclusion on the reporting of minority cultural issues, and Irish was excluded from radio and television for almost the first fifty years of the previous devolved government. After

7700-492: The relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx). Gaelic is a collective term for the Goidelic languages, and when the context is clear it may be used without qualification to refer to each language individually. When the context is specific but unclear, the term may be qualified, as Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic or Manx Gaelic. Historically the name "Erse" ( / ɜːr s / URS )

7800-432: The requirement for entrance to the public service was changed to proficiency in just one official language. Nevertheless, Irish remains a required subject of study in all schools in the Republic of Ireland that receive public money (see Education in the Republic of Ireland ). Teachers in primary schools must also pass a compulsory examination called Scrúdú Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge . As of 2005, Garda Síochána recruits need

7900-712: The revival was the Gaelic League ( Conradh na Gaeilge ), and particular emphasis was placed on the folk tradition, which in Irish is particularly rich. Efforts were also made to develop journalism and a modern literature. Although it has been noted that the Catholic Church played a role in the decline of the Irish language before the Gaelic Revival, the Protestant Church of Ireland also made only minor efforts to encourage use of Irish in

8000-527: The rose breeding and nursery until McGredy IV was of age. Meanwhile, as was the usual practice at the time, young McGredy IV was sent away to boarding school at the age of 7. He attended Mercersburg Academy in Pennsylvania USA in 1948, then Greenmount Agricultural College in 1949. From there he moved on to Reading University . After leaving Reading he worked at a rhododendron nursery to further expertise in hybridisation, then reported for duty at

8100-456: The security forces, a republican paramilitary and a loyalist paramilitary. Irish republicans killed 18 people: nine members of the security forces, one loyalist paramilitary, seven Protestant civilians and one Catholic civilian. The security forces killed one Protestant civilian, and another loyalist was killed by his own bomb. In 1993 and 1998, the town centre was devastated by two large car bombs planted by republicans. The Troubles led to

8200-564: The town becoming segregated – the northwestern part of the town became almost wholly populated by the Catholic/ Irish nationalist minority, while the rest of the town became almost wholly Protestant/ unionist . Portadown's 'Catholic district' is bordered by the railway line and by a security barrier (" peace wall ") along Corcrain Road. The Troubles also intensified the long-running Drumcree marching dispute , over Orange marches through

8300-543: The town had been under the jurisdiction of the larger Craigavon Borough Council . However, after local government reform the town is now part of one of Northern Ireland's largest councils, the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council . Councillors are elected to the council every four years by proportional representation . The councillors for the DEA are: Portadown sits on the boundary between two parishes. This boundary

8400-514: The traditional agronomy of the area. The Newry Canal, opened in 1742, linked Carlingford Lough and the Irish Sea with Lough Neagh. It joined the River Bann a couple of miles to the southeast of Portadown. The canal opened up waterborne trade and left Portadown ideally situated to take full advantage of the trading routes. However, the canal went into decline with the growth of the railway network and it closed to commercial traffic in 1936. With

8500-726: The vacancy to which they are appointed. This requirement is laid down by the University College Galway Act, 1929 (Section 3). In 2016, the university faced controversy when it announced the planned appointment of a president who did not speak Irish. Misneach staged protests against this decision. The following year the university announced that Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh , a fluent Irish speaker, would be its 13th president. He assumed office in January 2018; in June 2024, he announced he would be stepping down as president at

8600-594: The work of such writers as Geoffrey Keating , is said to date from the 17th century, and was the medium of popular literature from that time on. From the 18th century on, the language lost ground in the east of the country. The reasons behind this shift were complex but came down to a number of factors: The change was characterised by diglossia (two languages being used by the same community in different social and economic situations) and transitional bilingualism (monoglot Irish-speaking grandparents with bilingual children and monoglot English-speaking grandchildren). By

8700-551: Was 22,899. Of this population: Immigrants make up about 8% of the town's population, many of whom come from Eastern Europe , Portugal and East Timor , as well as China and India . On the day of the last census (21 March 2021) the combined ethnic groups of these wards are: Portadown is part of the Upper Bann constituency for elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly and Parliament of

8800-531: Was also sometimes used in Scots and then in English to refer to Irish; as well as Scottish Gaelic. Written Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD, a stage of the language known as Primitive Irish . These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. Primitive Irish underwent a change into Old Irish through the 5th century. Old Irish, dating from

8900-588: Was built in 1814, and replaced the many previous church foundations dating from circa the 7th century, which existed in the ancient cemetery of Seagoe some one hundred yards distant. It is linked to Seagoe Primary School, which is maintained by the Church, and one of the few remaining Anglican primary schools. The former Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church , Most Revd David Chillingworth was rector at Seagoe for 19 years. St Columba's Parish on

9000-527: Was built on the Carrickblacker estate towards the end of the war, possibly as an overflow for the nearby Elmfield Camp in Gilford, but was used as accommodation for Allied troops and no Axis pow's were ever imprisoned there. In 2005, a public air-raid shelter was uncovered during excavation works near the riverbank just outside the town centre. One of ten built by the council during World War II, it

9100-581: Was completed in 1977. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a church on the Brownstown Road. In addition the Jehovah's Witnesses have a Kingdom Hall , on the town outskirts in Kernan. A combination of road, canal and rail links, all converging on Portadown railway station , gave it the nickname "Hub of the North" and this created employment through mass industry as well as helping

9200-470: Was dubbed 'The Irish Wizard' by other rosarians. Samuel Davison McGredy III (1897–1934) took over the family nursery and rose hybridizing business on his father's death, and greatly expanded production of roses. He was the first in the family to name roses after family members, with 'Margaret McGredy' , named after his mother. 'Margaret McGredy' was later used as one of the ancestors of the famous hybrid tea, 'Peace'. 'Mrs. Sam McGredy', named for his wife,

9300-668: Was enacted 1 July 2019 and is an 18-page document that adheres to the guidelines of the Official Languages Act 2003 . The purpose of the Scheme is to provide services through the mediums of Irish and/or English. According to the Department of the Taoiseach, it is meant to "develop a sustainable economy and a successful society, to pursue Ireland's interests abroad, to implement the Government's Programme and to build

9400-464: Was introduced in 1929, and was very popular. Along with roses, McGredy III also bred fox terriers , parakeets , and budgerigars . McGredy III died suddenly of a heart attack in November 1934, at the age of 38. Samuel Darragh McGredy (1932 – 25 August 2019) was only 2 years old when his father McGredy III died. A board of trustees including his uncle Walter and mother Ruth took over management of

9500-643: Was involved with the development of the Newry Canal . He was succeeded by Michael Obins in 1750. It was he who set up a linen market in Portadown in 1762 and this laid the foundations of Portadown's major industry. Michael Obins died in 1798 and left a son, Michael Eyre Obins, to succeed him. In 1814, Eyre Obins took holy orders and sold the estate to the Sparrow family of Tandragee . George Montagu, 6th Duke of Manchester (known as Viscount Mandeville) married Millicent Sparrow in 1822 and came into possession of

9600-474: Was passed 14 July 2003 with the main purpose of improving the number and quality of public services delivered in Irish by the government and other public bodies. Compliance with the Act is monitored by the An Coimisinéir Teanga (Irish Language Commissioner) which was established in 2004 and any complaints or concerns pertaining to the Act are brought to them. There are 35 sections included in

9700-517: Was passed in 1964. Sam McGredy IV secured rights to his climbing rose 'Handel'. Another first, and again at Sam’s instigation, the New Zealand Plant Varieties Act was passed in parliament in 1973. The first New Zealand Plant Varieties Right was granted to Sam McGredy Roses International for 'Matangi', a floribunda, in 1976. Portadown Portadown (from Irish Port an Dúnáin  ' landing place of

9800-693: Was spoken throughout Ireland, Isle of Man and parts of Scotland . It is the language of a large corpus of literature, including the Ulster Cycle . From the 12th century, Middle Irish began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, into Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and into the Manx language in the Isle of Man . Early Modern Irish , dating from the 13th century, was the basis of the literary language of both Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland. Modern Irish, sometimes called Late Modern Irish, as attested in

9900-576: Was the district of Clanbrasil ( Clann Bhreasail ). The town's name comes from the Irish Port a' Dúnáin (or, more formally, Port an Dúnáin ), meaning the port or landing place of the small fort. This was likely a fort of the McCanns. From 1594 until 1603, the O'Neills and an alliance of other clans fought in the Nine Years' War against the Tudor conquest of Ireland . This ended in defeat for

10000-442: Was unable to accomplish some everyday tasks, as portrayed in his documentary No Béarla . There is, however, a growing body of Irish speakers in urban areas, particularly in Dublin. Many have been educated in schools in which Irish is the language of instruction. Such schools are known as Gaelscoileanna at primary level. These Irish-medium schools report some better outcomes for students than English-medium schools. In 2009,

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