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Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the
county town In Great Britain and Ireland, a county town is usually the location of administrative or judicial functions within a county, and the place where public representatives are elected to parliament. Following the establishment of county councils in ...
of
County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...
, in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, as well as a
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All Ireland for both the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and the Church of Ireland. In ancient times, nearby Navan Fort () was a pagan ceremonial site and one of the great royal capitals of
Gaelic Ireland Gaelic Ireland () was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the late Prehistory of Ireland, prehistoric era until the 17th century. It comprised the whole island before Anglo-Norman invasi ...
. Today, Armagh is home to two cathedrals (both named after Saint Patrick) and the Armagh Observatory, and is known for its
Georgian architecture Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarchs of the House of Han ...
. Statistically classed as a medium-sized town by NISRA, Armagh was given city status in 1994 and Lord Mayoralty status in 2012. It had a population of 16,310 people in the 2021 Census.


History


Foundation

''Eamhain Mhacha'' (or Navan Fort), at the western edge of Armagh, was an ancient pagan ritual or ceremonial site. According to
Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...
it was one of the great royal sites of
Gaelic Ireland Gaelic Ireland () was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the late Prehistory of Ireland, prehistoric era until the 17th century. It comprised the whole island before Anglo-Norman invasi ...
and the capital of
Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...
. It appears to have been largely abandoned after the 1st century. In the 3rd century, a ditch and bank was dug around the top of Cathedral Hill, the heart of what is now Armagh. Its circular shape matches the modern street layout. Evidence suggests that it was a pagan sanctuary and the successor to Navan. Like Navan, it too was named after the goddess Macha: ''Ard Mhacha'', meaning "Macha's height". This name was later
anglicised Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...
as ''Ardmagh'',Placenames Database of Ireland
(see archival records)
which eventually became ''Armagh''. Navan and Armagh were linked by an ancient road which passes over Mullacreevie hill. After
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
spread to Ireland, the pagan sanctuary was converted into a Christian one, and Armagh became the site of an important church and
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...
. According to tradition, Saint Patrick founded his main church there in the year 445, and it eventually became the head church of Ireland. Muirchú writes that a pagan chieftain named Dáire would not let Patrick build a church on the hill of Ard Mhacha, but instead gave him lower ground to the east. One day, Dáire's horses died after grazing on the church land. He told his men to kill Patrick, but was himself struck down with illness. They begged Patrick to heal him, and Patrick's holy water revived both Dáire and his horses. Dáire rewarded Patrick with a great bronze cauldron and gave him the hill of Ard Mhacha to build a church. Dáire has similarities with the Irish god the Dagda.


Medieval era

By the 7th century, Armagh had become the site of the most important church, monastery and
monastic school Monastic schools () were, along with cathedral schools, the most important institutions of higher learning in the Latin West#Use with regard to Christianity, Latin West from the early Middle Ages until the 12th century. Since Cassiodorus's educatio ...
in the north of Ireland.Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. pp.48-50 The '' Book of Armagh'' was produced in the monastery in the early 9th century and contains some of the oldest surviving specimens of
Old Irish Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic (, Ogham, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ; ; or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic languages, Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive written texts. It was used from 600 to 900. The ...
. Armagh was at the heart of the kingdom of the Airthir, a part of the Airgíalla federation. The church at Armagh looked to both the Airthir and neighbouring Uí Néill for patronage. The Uí Néill High King, Niall Caille (Niall of the Callan), was buried at Armagh in 846 after drowning in the River Callan. His son, High King Áed Findliath, had a house at Armagh. The first
Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
raids on Armagh were recorded in 832, with three in one month, and it suffered at least ten Viking raids over the following century. A hoard seemingly lost by Vikings in the River Blackwater shows the high quality of metalwork being made in Armagh at this time. Brian Boru,
High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...
, visited Armagh in 1004, acknowledging it as the head church of Ireland and bestowing it a large sum of gold. Brian was buried at Armagh cathedral after his death at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Armagh's claim to being the head church of Ireland was formally acknowledged at the Synod of Ráth Breasail in 1111. The 1171 Council of Armagh freed all Englishmen and women who were enslaved in Ireland. Following the
Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land in Ireland over which the List of English monarchs, monarchs of England then claimed sovere ...
, Armagh was attacked by Anglo-Normans led by Philip de Worcester in 1185 and by John de Courcy in 1189. It was also raided by Ruaidrí mac Duinn Sléibe of
Ulaid (Old Irish, ) or (Irish language, Modern Irish, ) was a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic Provinces of Ireland, over-kingdom in north-eastern Ireland during the Middle Ages made up of a confederation of dynastic groups. Alternative names include , which ...
in 1196 and 1199. Archbishop Máel Patraic Ua Scannail rebuilt Armagh cathedral in 1268 and founded a
Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...
friary, whose remains can still be seen. There was also a small Culdee community in Armagh until the 16th century.


Early modern era

During the 16th century
Tudor conquest of Ireland Ireland was conquered by the Tudor monarchs of England in the 16th century. The Anglo-Normans had Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland, conquered swathes of Ireland in the late 12th century, bringing it under Lordship of Ireland, English rule. In t ...
, Armagh suffered greatly in the conflict between the English and the O'Neills. Armagh was strategically important as it lay between the English Pale and the O'Neill heartland of Tyrone, and the town changed hands many times during the wars.Quinn, Kevin
"The Lost Castle of Armagh"
''History Armagh''.
In the 1560s, English troops under Thomas Radclyffe occupied and fortified the town, which was then attacked and largely destroyed by Shane O'Neill. After the Battle of the Yellow Ford in 1598, the
rout A rout is a Panic, panicked, disorderly and Military discipline, undisciplined withdrawal (military), retreat of troops from a battlefield, following a collapse in a given unit's discipline, command authority, unit cohesion and combat morale ...
ed English army took refuge at Armagh before surrendering to Hugh O'Neill. By the end of the
Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
, Armagh lay in ruins, as shown on Richard Bartlett's 1601 map. Following the Nine Years' War, Armagh came under English dominance and the cathedral came under the control of the Protestant Church of Ireland. The cathedral was rebuilt under Archbishop Christopher Hampton and the town began to be settled by Protestants from Britain, as part of the Plantation of Ulster. During the
Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...
, many British settlers fled to Armagh cathedral for safety. After negotiations with the besieged settlers, Catholic rebels under Felim O'Neill occupied the town. In May 1642, following several rebel defeats and massacres by settlers elsewhere, the rebels in Armagh seized the settlers' property and set fire to the town.


Modern era

The parliamentary borough of Armagh was a two-seat constituency in the
Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...
prior to 1801. It continued as a one-seat constituency in the United Kingdom House of Commons from 1801 to 1885. It had a municipal corporation which was abolished under the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840. Armagh has been an educational centre since the time of Saint Patrick, and thus it has been referred to as "the city of saints and scholars". The educational tradition continued with the foundation of the Royal School in 1608, St Patrick's College in 1834 and the Armagh Observatory in 1790. The Observatory was part of
Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
Lord Rokeby's plan to have a university in the city. This ambition was finally fulfilled, albeit briefly, in the 1990s when Queen's University of Belfast opened an outreach centre in the former hospital building. The Catch-my-Pal Protestant Total Abstinence Union was founded in 1909 in Armagh by the minister of 3rd Armagh (now The Mall) Presbyterian Church, Rev. Robert Patterson. Although relatively short-lived it was very successful for that time, attracting many tens of thousands of members. It was influential in the development of a "two-community" narrative in Ulster which was important in the Ulster Unionist campaign during the Home Rule Crisis. A
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...
historical marker commemorating Rev. Patterson was erected on The Mall in 2019. Three brothers from Armagh died at the
Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme (; ), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and the French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place between 1 July and 18 Nove ...
during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. None of the three has a known grave and all are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme. A fourth brother was wounded in the same attack. On 14 January 1921, during the
Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...
, a
Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...
(RIC) sergeant was assassinated by the
Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...
(IRA) in Armagh. He was attacked with a
grenade A grenade is a small explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a Shell (projectile), shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A mod ...
as he walked along Market Street and later died of his wounds. On 4 September 1921, republican leaders Michael Collins and
Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish revolutionary, soldier, police commissioner, politician and fascist. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a promin ...
addressed a large meeting in Armagh, which was attended by up to 10,000 people. During the Troubles in Armagh, the violence was substantial enough for a stretch of road on the outskirts of the city to be referred to by one RUC officer as " Murder Mile". Over the span of 36 years, although mainly concentrated in the years from 1969 until 1994, the small city, including some outlying areas, saw 86 deaths in the Troubles, including those of a number of people from the city who died elsewhere in Troubles-related incidents. Armagh City Hall, which had been built as the Tontine Buildings in 1828 and converted into a municipal building in 1910, was badly damaged in a bomb attack on 27 September 1972 and subsequently demolished.


City status

As the seat of the Primate of All Ireland, Armagh was historically regarded as a
city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...
, and recognisably had the status by 1226.Beckett 2005
p.134
It had no charter granted but claimed the title by prescription, and was later formerly chartered as a borough in 1613 under James I; Acts of the Parliament of Ireland in 1773 and 1791 refer to the "City of Armagh". Armagh lost the status with the abolition of its city corporation by the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 after it was deemed ineffective and unrepresentative of its population. From 1953, Armagh began to argue for the restoration of the status lost in 1840,Beckett 2005
p.133
with several applications to the Home Office being made. The council used the appellation "city" unofficially until 1994 when, at Queen Elizabeth's personal request, Armagh along with the Welsh town of St Davids was awarded the status.
Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...
during a visit in July 1994 announced it had been granted to mark the 1,550th anniversary of the traditional date of Armagh's foundation by Saint Patrick, and also "in recognition of rmagh's and St Davids'important Christian heritage and their status as cities in the last century". The award of city status is typically granted to a
local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...
body, and the
letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...
was initially presented to dignitaries and Armagh District Council by Queen Elizabeth during a visit on 9 March 1995. Following this, it was renamed Armagh City and District Council from 1 October 1995.
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Armagh City and District Council, Banbridge District Council and Craigavon Borough Council. The first elections to the ...
presently holds the status on behalf of the city as there is no localised council body since the aforementioned districts were merged in 2015 as a result of local government reform. Armagh contains the lowest population of all the cities of Northern Ireland, and is sixth physically smallest in the UK. Its urban area covering , makes it the smallest city by size in Northern Ireland, however several other cities are smaller when the UK is taken as a whole.


Notable buildings

Armagh is the site of two cathedrals, both on hills and both named after Saint Patrick. The Church of Ireland cathedral dates back to around 445. The present-day, post-Reformation, Roman Catholic cathedral was constructed during the latter half of the 19th century and features twin spires, making it the tallest such structure in the county. Armagh is one of the few cities in the world that is home to two cathedrals of the same name. Armagh has a Georgian area of heritage importance. Perhaps one of the more well known of the buildings is the former women's prison.Kerr, Robert: ''Three Gaols: Images of Crumlin Road, Long Kesh and Armagh Prisons'', MSF Press, 2011, The construction of Armagh Gaol began in 1780 and was extended in the 1840s and 1850s. The front façade of the prison was built in the Georgian style, while the later development, based on the design of Pentonville (HM Prison), is Victorian. For most of its working life it was a women's prison although not exclusively so. Armagh Gaol was the primary women's prison in Northern Ireland. In 1986 the prison closed and its prisoners were transferred to the new prison at Maghaberry. The city is home to the Armagh Observatory, founded in 1790, and to the Armagh Planetarium, established in 1968 to complement the research work of the Observatory. The palace of the Archbishop of Armagh is now the local council offices and, along with the archbishop's private chapel, is open to the public. The Palace Stables heritage centre is a reconstructed stable block dating from the 18th century, which was once part of the Archbishop's estate. Among the city's chief glories is Armagh Public Library on Abbey Street. It was founded in 1771 by Archbishop Richard Robinson (later created the first Baron Rokeby in 1777), using his own library as its nucleus. It is especially rich in 17th- and 18th-century books in English, including Dean
Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...
's own copy of the first edition of his ''
Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', originally titled ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'', is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clerg ...
'' with his manuscript corrections. Armagh Market House was built in 1815 as a two-storey five-bay building, and is currently used as a library. Armagh County Museum is the oldest county museum in Ireland. The building dates from 1833 and was originally a school house. It was opened as th
County Museum
in 1937.


Townlands

Armagh is within the civil parish of Armagh. Like the rest of Ireland, this parish is divided into
townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
s, whose names mostly come from the Irish language. When these townlands were built upon, they lent their names to various streets, roads and housing estates. In 1830, most of Armagh's urban townlands were amalgamated for administration and became known as Corporation Lands or simply Corporation. The surrounding townlands remained as separate units and they were eventually built upon too. They are listed below alongside their likely
etymologies Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
. *Aghamoat () *Ballynahone More (from ''Baile na hAbhann'', "townland of the river") *Cargagh (from ''Cairgeach'', "rocky land") *Cavanacaw (from ''Cabhán an Chatha'', "hollow of the battle" or ''Cabhán na Cáithe'', "hollow of the chaff") *Drumadd (formerly Drumadokeenan, from ''Dromad Uí Chianáin'', "O'Keenan's ridge") *Drumarg (from ''Droim Mairge'', "ridge of the boundary") *Drumman More (from ''Dromann'', "the ridge") *Killuney (from ''Cill Liamhna'', "Liamhain's church") *Legarhill or Mullaghcreevie (from ''Mullach Craoibhe'', "hilltop of the branch"; ''legar'' is from an old English word for a military camp) *Longstone (named after a
standing stone A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright rock (geology), stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the Eur ...
) *Lurgyvallen (from ''Lorga Uí Mhealláin'', "O'Mallon's long low ridge") *Mullynure (from ''Mullach an Iúir'', "hilltop of the yew") – part of Grange parish *Parkmore (from ''Páirc Mhór'', "great field") *Tullyelmer (originally Tullyelmaine, possibly from ''Tulaigh Alúine'', "hillock of the yellow clay") *Umgola (from ''Iomghuala'', "hill-shoulder") Some of the former townlands included: *Doonullagh (possibly from ''Dún Ulaidhe'', "fort of the tomb")Corporation
Place Names NI.
*Drumbreda (from ''Droim Brighde'', "Brigid's hill")Oates, Gerry
"Origins of some Armagh place-names"
''History Armagh'', Spring 2007.
*Knockadrain (from ''Cnoc an Droighin'', "blackthorn hill") – site of the Catholic cathedral *Knockamell (from ''Cnoc Uí Ághmaill'', "O'Hamill's hill") – site of the Observatory *Knockenboy (from ''Cnocán Buidhe'', "yellow hillock") *Lisanally (formerly Liosconalia, from ''Lios Chon Allaidh'' meaning "fort of the wolf"; "Cú Allaidh's fort") *Tullynalecky (from ''Tulaigh na Leice'', "flagstone hill") – site of St Patrick's Catholic graveyard *Templebreed (from ''Teampall Brighde'', "Brigid's chapel") *Templefertagh (from ''Teampall Fearta'', "chapel of the graves or miracles") *Tullyasnagh


Demography


2021 Census

On Census day (21 March 2021) there were 16,310 people living in Armagh. Of these: * 22.36% were aged under 16, 62.11% were aged between 16-65, and 15.52% were aged 66 or over. * 51.91% of the usually resident population were female and 48.09% were male. * 67.3% (10,977) belong to or were brought up Catholic, 23.76% (3,875) belong to or were brought up 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)', 1.35% belong to other religions and 7.59% have no religious background. * 47.93% had an Irish national identity, 20.17% indicated that they had a British national identity, 24.08% had a Northern Irish national identity, and 16.27% had an 'other' national identity. (respondents could indicate more than one national identity). * 21.67% had some knowledge of Irish (Gaeilge) and 5.35% had some knowledge of Ulster Scots.


2011 Census

On Census day (27 March 2011) there were 14,777 people living in Armagh (5871 households), accounting for 0.82% of the NI total, This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th
Open Government Licence v3.0
© Crown copyright.
representing an increase of 1.3% on the Census 2001 population of 14,590. Of these: * 20.90% were aged under 16 years and 15.44% were aged 65 and over. * 52.52% of the usually resident population were female and 47.48% were male. * 68.85% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic Christian faith and 26.95% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion. * 44.39% had an Irish national identity, 27.18% indicated that they had a British national identity and 26.43% had a Northern Irish national identity (respondents could indicate more than one national identity). * 37 years was the average (median) age of the population; * 18.76% had some knowledge of Irish (Gaeilge) and 4.08% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots.


Governance

Armagh City and District Council was a single district council until 2015 when it merged with Banbridge District Council and Craigavon Borough Council under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become
Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council is a local authority that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaced Armagh City and District Council, Banbridge District Council and Craigavon Borough Council. The first elections to the ...
, sometimes colloquially referred to as the ABC council. Armagh is part of the Newry and Armagh Assembly constituency. Together with part of the district of Newry and Mourne, it forms the Newry & Armagh constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament and
Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
.


Administration

The Education Authority (Southern) and the Southern Health and Social Care Trust have their headquarters in the city, which has a long reputation as an administrative centre. The secretariat of the North/South Ministerial Council is based in Armagh, and consists jointly of members of the civil services of both Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...
. Armagh is the seat of both the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, both of whom hold the position of '' Primate of All Ireland'' for their respective denominations.


Education


Primary

*Armstrong Primary School *Christian Brothers Primary School Armagh *The Drelincourt Primary School *Dromintee Primary School *Drumhillery Primary School *Mount St Catherine's Primary School * The Royal School Preparatory School *Saints and Scholars Integrated Primary School *St. Malachy's Primary School *St. Patrick's Primary School


Post-primary

* City of Armagh High School * St. Catherine's College, Armagh * St. Patrick's Grammar School, Armagh * The Royal School, Armagh * Southern Regional College


Transport

The Ulster Railway linked Armagh with
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
in 1848 and
Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...
in 1858. The Newry and Armagh Railway (N&A) opened in 1864 and the Castleblayney, Keady and Armagh Railway (CK&A) was completed in 1910. In 1876 the Ulster Railway became part of the new Great Northern Railway (GNR), which took over the N&A in 1879 and the CK&A in 1911. The Armagh rail disaster, which killed 80 people, occurred on 12 June 1889 on the N&A line near Armagh. The partition of Ireland in 1922 hastened the railways' decline, and the GNR closed the Keady – Castleblayney section of the CKA in 1923.Hajducki, ''op. cit.'', map 39 The GNR withdrew passenger trains from the Armagh – Keady section of the CKA in 1922 and closed the Armagh – Markethill section of the N&A in 1933. The Government of Northern Ireland forced the GNR Board to close all remaining lines serving Armagh railway station on 1 October 1957: the goods branch from Armagh to Keady and the main line through Armagh from as far as the border at Glaslough on the way to Monaghan. Today Armagh is the only city in Ireland that is not served by rail, however Portadown is the nearest station. NI Railways train services run from Portadown to Belfast Grand Central and the cross-border Enterprise service runs via Newry to Dublin Connolly. Poyntzpass also has a limited service. When he was Minister for the Department for Regional Development, then MLA Danny Kennedy had indicated plans to restore the railway from Armagh station to Portadown.


Sport

Armagh City Football Club, which plays in the NIFL Championship is the main association football club, and the City of Armagh Rugby Club is the local rugby club. Lisanally Rangers F.C. is another football team, playing in the Mid-Ulster Football League.
Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
is represented by Armagh Harps and Pearse Ógs. The local GAA handball club is Eugene Quinn's, named after a player from the Armagh area who died on an attempted swim from Tory Island to mainland
County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
. The local
hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
club is Armagh Cúchulainns. In 2004, the Royal School, Armagh became only the second team in history to win both the schools' rugby and hockey cups in the same year. The Mall in Armagh has a long association with
cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
, and is the location of the Armagh Cricket Club clubhouse. Armagh Athletics Club, which was founded in 1969, organises the annual Armagh International 5k Road Race. The race was first organised in 1980.


Notable people

Only people who are sufficiently notable to have individual entries on Wikipedia have been included in the list and, in each instance, their birth or residence has been verified by citations. * Tom Boyd, Irish professional golfer, was born in Armagh in 1888 * Daragh Carville, playwright and screenwriter, whose works include '' Cherrybomb'', was born in Armagh in 1969 * David Cunningham (born 1954), musician * Moses Harvey, clergyman and naturalist, famous for studies of the giant squid, was born in Armagh in 1820 * John Lennox (born 1943),
mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
who grew up in Armagh and attended the Royal School. He specialises in
group theory In abstract algebra, group theory studies the algebraic structures known as group (mathematics), groups. The concept of a group is central to abstract algebra: other well-known algebraic structures, such as ring (mathematics), rings, field ( ...
, is a
philosopher of science Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and a Christian apologist * Patrick Magee, actor and director known for his collaborations with
Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish writer of novels, plays, short stories, and poems. Writing in both English and French, his literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal, and Tragicomedy, tra ...
and
Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...
, was born in Armagh in 1922 *
Saint Malachy Malachy (; ; Modern ; ) (11th century in Ireland, 1094 – 2 November 1148 in Ireland, 1148) is an Irish saint who was Archbishop of Armagh, to whom were attributed several miracles and an alleged vision of 112 popes later attributed to t ...
of Armagh was born there in 1094 * Seamus McGarvey,
Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-nominated cinematographer ('' Atonement'', '' Anna Karenina''), was born in Armagh in 1967 * Colin Morgan, actor, known for playing the lead role in '' Merlin'', was born in Armagh in 1986 * Ian Paisley, politician, founder of the Democratic Unionist Party and First Minister of Northern Ireland, was born in Armagh in 1926 * Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), astronomer, lived in Armagh * Christopher Vokes, Major General, was born in Armagh in 1904 * William Whitford (1846 – 1930), physician and temperance reformer * Charles Wood, composer, was born in Armagh in 1866


Climate

Armagh has a temperate maritime climate (''Cfb'') according to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system. The nearest Met Office standard weather station, at Armagh Observatory, provides long term weather data back to 1794. The lowest temperature was on 7 February 1895. This is also the coldest temperature on record for February in Northern Ireland. Armagh also holds the record for highest daily minimum temperature in Northern Ireland, at on 31 July 1868. The lowest daily maximum temperature on record is which occurred on 20 December 2010.


Annalistic references

See Annals of Inisfallen (AI) * ''AI715.2 Flann.Febla,
abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...
of Ard Macha, rested.'' * ''AI729.1 Kl. Repose of Suibne, abbot of Ard Macha.'' * ''AI750.1 Kl. Repose of Congus, abbot of Ard Macha.'' * ''AI768.3 Repose of Feradach son of Suibne, abbot of Ard Macha.'' * ''AI772.2 Suibne, abbot of Ard Macha, ested'' * ''AI791.1 Kl. Cú Dínisc son of Cú Ásaig, abbot of Ard Macha, rested.'' * ''AI793.1 Dub dá Leithe, abbot of Ard Macha, rested.'' * ''AI794.1 Kl. Airechtach, abbot of Ard Macha, ested'' * ''AI795.3 Repose of Faendledach Bec, abbot of Ard Macha.'' * ''AI807.1 Kl. Connmach son of Dub dá Leithe, abbot of Ard Macha, rested.'' * ''AI808.1 Kl. Taicthech grandson of Tigernán, lector of Ard Macha, rested.'' * ''AI834.1 Kl. Eógan, bishop of Ard Macha, rested.'' * ''AI845.2 Forannán, abbot of Ard Macha, was carried off by the heathens from Cluain Comarda, and the shrine of Pátraic was broken and carried off by them.'' * ''AI846.1 Kl. Niall son of Aed, king of Temuir, was drowned in the Calann, i.e. a river beside Ard Macha.'' * ''AI852.2 Forannan and Diarmait, abbots of Ard Macha, fell asleep.'' * ''AI852.2 Repose of Cathasach, abbot of Ard Macha.'' * ''AI874.1 Kl. The third feria uesday ninth of the moon. Féthgna, abbot of Ard Macha, rested in Christ.'' * ''AI883.2 Repose of Cathasach, abbot of Ard Macha.'' * ''AI888.3 Repose of Mael Coba son of Crunnmael, abbot of Ard Macha.'' * ''AI893.1 First after Bissextile. Kl. Repose of Mochta, bishop of Ard Macha.'' * ''AI924.2 Muiredach son of Domnall, abbot of Mainister Búiti and tanist-abbot of Ard Macha, rested.'' * ''AI927.1 Kl. Repose of Mael Brigte son of Tornán, abbot of Ard Macha and abbot of Í Coluim Chille.'' * ''AI936.1 Kl. Repose of Ioseph, abbot of Ard Macha; and Mael Pátraic succeeded him in the abbacy.'' * ''AI966.2 Repose of Muiredach son of Fergus, abbot of Ard Macha.'' * ''AI973.3 Dub dá Leithe, coarb of Patrick, came to Mumu and made his visitation; and he and the coarb of Ailbe quarrelled regarding the levy, and Mathgamain, king of Mumu, made peace between them, and they agreed upon the perpetual right of he coarb ofPatrick.'' * ''AI996.4 Ard Macha was set on fire by lightning, which did not leave unburnt a steeple therein, nor a house, nor the house of an elder inside the fort.'' * ''AI996.5 Dub dá Leithe, coarb of Ard Macha (or, of Patrick) and coarb of Colum Cille, rested in Christ.'' * ''AI1001.2 Muirecán, abbot of Ard Macha, was expelled from his abbot's seat, and Mael Maire took the abbacy instead.'' * ''AI1005.5 Repose of Eochaid ua Flannacáin, historian of Ard Macha.'' * ''AI1020.3 Mael Muire son of Eochaid, coarb of Patrick, rested in Christ.'' * ''AI1020.4 Ard Macha was burned, both stone-church and bellhouse, and all the buildings.'' * ''AI1026.3 The coarb of Patrick, accompanied by his venerable clerics, and Donnchadh son of Gilla Pátraic, king of
Osraige Osraige (Old Irish) or Osraighe (Classical Irish), Osraí (Modern Irish), anglicized as Ossory, was a medieval Irish kingdom comprising what is now County Kilkenny and western County Laois, corresponding to the Diocese of Ossory. The home of ...
, erein the house of Donnchad, son of
Brian Brian (sometimes spelled Bryan (given name), Bryan in English) is a male given name of Irish language, Irish and Breton language, Breton origin, as well as a surname of Occitan language, Occitan origin. It is common in the English-speaking world. ...
, at Cenn Corad at Eastertide.'' * ''AI1029.8 Flaithbertach Ua Néill, on his pilgrimage to Ard Macha.''


See also

*'' Book of Armagh'' * List of localities in Northern Ireland by population * Market houses in Northern Ireland * List of archaeological sites in County Armagh


References


External links


Visit ArmaghOnline Guide to Armagh City
{{authority control 457 establishments Cities in Northern Ireland Civil parishes of County Armagh County towns in Northern Ireland Georgian architecture in Ireland Georgian architecture in the United Kingdom