Newtownhamilton Apprentice Boys of Derry celebrate 100 years with special event

The Newtownhamilton Branch of the Parent Club Apprentice Boys of Derry will mark their one hundredth anniversary year by hosting a special event on Wednesday the 25th of November at 8 pm in the King George VI Memorial Orange Hall on Castleblayney Street, Newtownhamilton. Admission is free, light refreshments will be served, and everyone is welcome to attend.

The evening will feature a presentation on the Siege of Derry and the evolution of the Apprentice Boys fraternity delivered by County Armagh historian and Apprentice Boy Quincey Dougan, alongside the dedication of the club's new banner, which depicts the ship the Mountjoy breaking the boom on the River Foyle on one side and Governor Walker pointing towards the approaching relief fleet on the other.

This centenary milestone builds on a rich history that began on an October evening in 1926, when a delegation made a long trip from Londonderry to South Armagh to inaugurate a new branch and issue a charter for the Newtownhamilton Apprentice Boys of Derry, establishing a club that has made annual visits to Londonderry nearly every year since for August and December commemorations.

Many names from that founding night remain prominent in the area today, with descendants of original members still active within its ranks. As reported by the Ulster Gazette at the time, the new Club President in 1926 was the Rev. R.B. White, assisted by Vice President Hugh Ardis, Secretary Issac McIlwaine, and Treasurer William Hawthorne, along with committee members James McAuley, Alexander Watt, John McClenaghan, James McMurdie, and James Brennan, who together started a club that continues to prosper.