Craigavon, County Armagh

Lord Craigavon

Central Way

Drumgor Heights, showing the Modernist housing design once common in Craigavon

One of the many cycle paths in Craigavon

Craigavon was planned as a 'new city' for Northern Ireland that would mirror towns such as Cumbernauld and, later, Milton Keynes in Great Britain. It was conceived as a linear city that would link the towns of Lurgan and Portadown to create a single urban area and identity.[7] The argument for a new town was based on projections indicating population increases over the following decades that would require large-scale house building. Similar projects successfully attracting economic growth had been successfully completed in Great Britain, so it was in some ways a symbol of Northern Ireland as both modern and a part of the British mainstream. The Craigavon Development Commission was appointed in October 1965 to develop the 'new city'. About 6,000 acres of land between Lurgan and Portadown was vested from farmers at £6 an acre.[8] Several reasons have been suggested for the suitability of the site including the existing population centres, industrial base, nearness to Belfast and the belief that Craigavon would help spread development away from Belfast. It was hoped that residents of Belfast would be attracted by the suburban nature of Craigavon's design and that business would see it as an interesting alternative. Cash incentives were offered to some families moving to Craigavon.[5] The M1 motorway was built to link the new city with Belfast and there were plans to replace the Lurgan and Portadown railway stations with a single high speed terminal in central Craigavon. The Craigavon Area Hospital was built to replace small hospitals in the two towns.

The design of Craigavon was based on Modernism and imbued with the spirit of the age.[5] The planners separated motor vehicles from pedestrians and cyclists wherever possible, creating a network of paths allowing residents to travel across Craigavon without encountering traffic. The road network for motor vehicles used roundabouts instead of traffic lights at junctions, giving the planners the ability to easily increase the number of lanes if it became necessary. Electricity and other cables were placed underground and street lighting was standard throughout. The planners clustered the housing developments around small 'village centres' with associated retail space, leisure facilities, post offices, primary schools, pharmacies, community centres and other civic amenities. All estates were built with security in mind, with one vehicle entry/exit point. Single-use zoning was part of the design; there was a total separation of industrial land-use from all other uses.

Craigavon was designed to be a very child-friendly environment with small playgrounds dotted throughout the residential areas. There was an emphasis on providing green space in the housing estates and safe paths to cycle on. The new town was also provided with many civic amenities including a leisure centre, library, shopping centre, civic centre, a large park with artificial lakes, playing fields, a petting zoo, public gardens and an artificial ski slope.

There was controversy over the decision to build a 'new city' in the mainly Protestant/unionist east rather than to develop the mainly Catholic city of Derry. There was also controversy over the decision to name it after The 1st Viscount Craigavon (1871–1940), a Protestant unionist leader. Some unionists also felt the decision was unwise.[9]

Problems began to come to light when it emerged that some housing estates had been built with materials and techniques that had not been fully tested, with the result that insulation, sound-proofing and durability were lacking. This was compounded by the outbreak of 'the Troubles' in the late 1960s, which resulted in sectarian violence and segregation. Investment into Northern Ireland dried up and emigration rose. The Craigavon Development Commission was wound up in 1973 and Craigavon Borough Council created. The area's main employer, Goodyear, had a large fan-belt factory in the Silverwood industrial estate, and at the time it was Europe's largest factory. However, the plant failed to make money on a consistent basis, and had to shut in 1983.[5] It also emerged that the population projections for Northern Ireland upon which the project was based were wildly inaccurate, with the result that the planned development was redundant.

Consequently about half of what was planned was never built, and of what was built, some had to be demolished after becoming empty and derelict.[7] The area designated as Craigavon 'city centre', for much of this time contained only the municipal authority, the court buildings and a shopping mall, surrounded by greenfield land. Dr Stephen McKay, director of education at the School of Planning, Architecture & Civil Engineering at Queen's University Belfast, said that the plan to build Craigavon was "flawed from the outset", adding: "The cycle ways, mixed housing and recreational zones were really never going to work in light of the circumstances".[5] Locally-born writer Newton Emerson said: "As a child, I didn't notice the failure of Craigavon. The new city was an enormous playground of hidden cycle paths, roads that ended suddenly in the middle of nowhere and futuristic buildings standing empty in an artificial landscape".[6] Craigavon became notorious for its many roundabouts.[5]

The identity of a new city never really caught on. The name 'Craigavon' is today used by locals to refer to the area between Lurgan and Portadown, and many citizens of those towns resent being identified with the 'new city' of Craigavon.[8]

For more information, see The Troubles in Craigavon, which includes a list of incidents in Craigavon during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities. On 10 March 2009 the CIRA claimed responsibility for the fatal shooting of a PSNI officer in Craigavon — the first police fatality in Northern Ireland since 1998. [10]

Much of Craigavon is within the civil parish of Seagoe. The following is a list of townlands within Craigavon's urban area (excluding Lurgan, Portadown and Bleary), along with their likely etymologies:[13][14][15]

• Balteagh (from Irish Bailte Fhiaich 'Fiach's townlands')
• Clanrolla (from Cluain Drola meaning "meadow of the shaft")
• Crossmacahilly (from Cros Mhic Eachmhilidh meaning "McAughley's crossroads")
• Drumgask (from Druim gCásca meaning "Easter ridge")
• Drumgor (from Druim gCorr meaning "ridge of the herons")
• Drumnagoon (from Dromainn Uí Dhubháin meaning "O'Doone's ridge")
• Knockmenagh (from An Cnoc Meánach meaning "the middle hill")
• Legaghory or Legahory (from Log a' Choire meaning "hollow of the cauldron")
• Monbrief (historically also Moybreefe, perhaps from Má Bhreagh meaning "plain of the rising ground" or Má Bhréach, "plain of wolves")
• Moyraverty or Moyraferty (from Maigh Raifeartaigh meaning "Raifeartach's plain")
• Tamnafiglassan (from Tamhnach an Ghlasáin meaning "grassy field of the finch")
• Tannaghmore West (from Tamhnach Mór meaning "big grassy field")
• Tullygally (from Tulaigh Geala meaning "white hills")