Statue of John Mitchel, St. Colman’s Park, Newry, Co Down

The statue of John Mitchel is a life-size limestone sculpture situated in St. Colman’s Park, Newry, County Down. It was erected in 1965 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of his birth. The statue stands on a roughly dressed granite pedestal set upon an ashlar granite base. An ashlar limestone plaque on the pedestal reads: ‘John Mitchell 1815-1875 After twenty years in exile for the sake of Ireland he returned with honour to die among his own people and he rests with his parents in the 1st Presbyterian Old Meeting House Green at Newry.’ The statue is signed ‘D.O.’Murcu ’65’ at the side. The base is semicircular, with stepped levels leading up to the statue and raised pavement areas on either side, with holes intended for plants. The statue is located at the foot of a railed and tree-lined park, with a listed three-storey house to its left and the terraced St Colman’s Park to its right. St Mary’s (Church of Ireland) Parish Church stands directly in front.

John Mitchel, the subject of the statue, was a prominent nationalist figure born near Dungiven in 1815, son of the Reverend John Mitchel. The family resided at Dromalane House in Newry from 1823. Mitchel became a solicitor in Banbridge in 1840 and was a key member of the ‘Young Ireland’ movement, advocating for Irish independence. He founded the ‘United Irishman’ newspaper which championed Irish republicanism. Following conviction for sedition in 1848, he was transported to Australia before returning to Ireland in 1875 and serving as an absentee MP for Tipperary, dying later that same year. He is buried in the 1st Presbyterian Old Meeting House Graveyard, Newry. Needham Place was renamed John Mitchel Place in 1919.

While the statue is a significant feature of the surrounding conservation area, it does not meet the criteria for individual statutory listing.