A painting of the Boy Alex. Named after his brother who died in WW1, Thomas Newell purchased this vessel and became the first man to buy a boat using the NI Fishermans scheme.
1833 – Present Day
The Newell family’s back ground in maritime and in fishing goes back into the 1800’s. William Newell was a fisherman who lived on the harbour Road and was born in 1833. He would have grown up in Kilkeel at a time before there was a port, harbour, or much sense of a maritime industry in the area.
In 1911 he is registered on the Census as being as a fisherman, as is his son Thomas. Thomas would go on to be a well know fisherman in the area, and became the first skipper to purchase a boat using a new grant scheme.
Thomas’s son Alex would also fish all his life, owning vessels such as the Forethought and Loyal Friend. Alex fished through the height of the industry in Kilkeel, and still works at the Fish market in the mornings. His house is at the top of the Rooney Road, a stone’s throw from the harbour where his family has worked and lived for almost 200 years.
THIS PROJECT HAS BEEN PART-FINANCED BY THE