Cllr Clarke Calls On Support For Fishing Disaster Meeting

Cllr Willie Clarke is calling on the public to attend a commemoration event for the Newcastle fishing disaster

Sinn Féin Mourne’s Councillor Willie Clarke has asked the public to attend an event organised by the Newcastle Harbour Heritage Association to commemorate all the people who have lost their lives on our coastline.

He said: “I would like to pay tribute to the Newcastle Harbour Heritage Association for organising the event on Saturday 13^thxa0January 2024 at 7.30pm at the Generator House at Newcastle Harbour.

The meeting is on the 181st anniversaryxa0of the Newcastle Fishing Disaster when 73 local people lost their lives trying to make a living from the sea.

Cllr Clarke added: “I am disappointed at the delay by Council to implement my motion which instructed officers to work with the local community to provide a fitting memorial to the memory of the citizens who lost their lives in the Newcastle fishing disaster.

“I proposed that Newry Mourne and Down District Council and the Newcastle Harbour Heritage Association and the local community work together to create a memorial Garden at the Harbour area in Newcastle to honour the 73 men who drowned in the 1843 fishing disaster and numerous other loss of life at sea from the wider locality.

“I will therefore be meeting with council officers to progress this project to install a fitting tribute to this great loss to the local community.”