Atlantic Wharf - 'Little Ireland'

'Little Ireland'

The district of Newtown was constructed on the initiative of the Marquess of Bute in the mid-1800s to provide housing for the labourers who were building the new docks. The area consisted of six streets in the far north edge of what is now Atlantic Wharf. The streets were occupied mainly by Irish immigrants from Cork. Over 100 years after its creation, the buildings of Newtown were subject to compulsory purchase and were demolished in 1970 for redevelopment. The area eventually became an industrial estate next to the mainline railway.