A Northern Ireland rug company with a global trade of over £20m has pleaded guilty to doing unauthorised work affecting Newry Canal.
Family run business, ‘Kukoon Rugs’ entered the plea at Newry Magistrates Court this week and has been fined £1,000.
Concerns about works affecting the canal banks were initially raised in November 2023 leading to a PSNI investigation and a PPS decision to prosecute made this September.
The Department for Communities’ Historic Environment Division works with justice partners and other bodies such as Newry, Mourne and Down District Council’s planning team to effect change around violations to scheduled monuments.
A spokesperson for DfC said: “The Department is aware of this court judgment and recognises the work of the PSNI and Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for their continued commitment to tackling heritage crime.
“The department will continue to assist our justice partners and, where warranted, seek prosecutions of unauthorised works at scheduled monuments.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) contacted the council and Kukoon Rugs for comment.
Kukoon, based at Shepherd’s Way in Newry close to the canal, launched as an online retailer in 2006 and now ships around 8,000 rugs per week to customers across the world.
Kukoon also has a flagship store in Belfast and was chosen as finalists in the ‘2026 EY Entrepreneur of the Year’ programme for Ireland.
Co-founders, brother and sister Paul Vallely and Clare Walsh were shortlisted after judges praised their drive and vision in growing the company from modest beginnings to record sales of £21 million, a figure publicly confirmed by its CEO.
An overall winner will be announced at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in late November.
The overall winner will represent Ireland at the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards the following June 2027 in Monaco.
Newry Canal, which runs through the city, opened in 1742 and is one of the oldest man made canals in Europe originally used to transport coal.
The area of Newry Canal at lock No.4 on the inland waterway known locally as Dodds Lock had been reviewed (approx May 5, 2023) by an Archaeologist from the Historic Environment Division (HED) of DfC.
The LDRS understands that after viewing updated images / records the archaeologist believed that there may have been damage caused to the bank walls of the canal lock.
The council has previously confirmed in an FOI that it holds no record of planning permission for an extension by the business Kukoon Rugs at this location.
The charges in court had read that the extension of unauthorised works had affected the canal lock during construction between dates from June 2021 to March 2022.
Under the Historic Monuments and Archaeological Objects (NI) Order 1995, it is unlawful to disturb, damage or destroy a scheduled monument.
In 2024, a Lisburn building contractor was fined £50k for demolishing a historic scheduled monument in Co Antrim, when he destroyed a set of 19th century lime kilns on land he owned in Moneybroom.
More recently in September 2025, a Co Antrim farmer was fined £2,000 for unauthorised works to a scheduled monument field system, which has existed for more than 1,000 years.
It is not known at this time what repairs will be required at the Newry Canal site or who will be financially responsible.
