Lurgan

Town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland; population (2001) 24,800; in 1965 it was joined with Portadown to form Craigavon, although the two towns still retain a measure of individual identity. Lurgan was a major centre for the linen industry and textile production is still important.

In the early 17th century the lands around Lurgan were planted with English settlers. The settlement was destroyed by Irish forces under the leadership of Phelum O'Neill in 1641, and again in the mid-17th century by troops of James II. The linen industry was established at the end of the 17th century, and during the 18th century the area was colonized by Huguenot and Flemish weavers.

Brownlow House (1836), erected in the centre of the town by the 1st Lord Lurgan, Charles Brownlow, is now the headquarters of the Imperial Grand Black Chapter of the British Commonwealth, an affiliation of the Orange Order.

Lurgan was the birthplace of James Logan (1674–1751), governor of Pennsylvania; George W Russell (1867–1935), poet and painter, was also born here.