Bleary

Bleary (likely ) is a small village and townland in County Down, 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. It lies within the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon area.

The Troubles

 * 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.

Education

 * Bleary Primary School

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


 * 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.


 * 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.