en Bleary

Bleary
Irish: *Bladhraigh*
Bleary Irish: Bladhraigh;
	Bleary Location within County Down
Population	1,009 ; (estimate based on 2011 census)
Irish grid reference	J073540
• Belfast	24 mi (39 km)
District	Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon;
County	County Down;
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CRAIGAVON
Postcode district	BT63; BT66
Dialling code	028
UK Parliament	Upper Bann;
NI Assembly	Upper Bann;
Website	www.craigavon.gov.uk
	List of places UK Northern Ireland Down 54°25′23″N 6°20′42″W / 54.423025°N 6.344948°W

Bleary (likely from Irish Bladhraigh)^[1] is a small village and townland in County Down,^[1]^[2] Northern Ireland. It is near the County Armagh border and the settlements of Craigavon, Lurgan and Portadown. In the 2011 Census its population was counted as part of Craigavon.^[3] It lies within the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon area.

History

18 June 1972 - Three British soldiers (Arthur McMillan (aged 37), Ian Mutch (aged 31) and Colin Leslie (aged 26)) were killed in an IRA booby-trap bomb attack. The bomb had been left in a derelict house in Bleary.
27 April 1975 - Loyalists shot dead three people in Bleary Darts Club. See Bleary Darts Club shooting
28 October 1993 - The UVF shot dead two Catholic brothers (Gerrard Cairns, 22, and Rory Cairns, 18) at their home in front of their eleven-year-old sister in Bleary, County Down.^[4]

On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 1,009 people living in Bleary.^[6]

51.5% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion and 40.6% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion.
53.6% indicated that they had a British national identity, 20.4% had an Irish national identity, and 32.4% had a Northern Irish national identity.

There were 4,081 people living in the Bleary ward.^[7]

73.1% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion and 19.9% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion.
70.65% indicated that they had a British national identity, 11.43% had an Irish national identity, and 27.17% had a Northern Irish national identity.