Armagh

Armagh
Irish: *Ard Macha*
Armagh Irish: Ard Macha;
Population	Expression error: "14,590; (2001 Census)" must be numeric
Irish grid reference	H876455
• Belfast	33 miles
District	Armagh City and District;
County	County Armagh;
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	ARMAGH
Postcode district	BT60, BT61
Dialling code	028 37
Police	Northern Ireland
Fire	Northern Ireland
Ambulance	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	Newry and Armagh;
Website	www.armagh.gov.uk
	List of places UK Northern Ireland Armagh

Armagh (from Irish Ard Macha 'The Height of Macha') is a city in Northern Ireland, the county town of County Armagh. Armagh was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994, and City status was officially re-conferred in 1995. Armagh is the least populated city in Northern Ireland. It had a population of 14,590 people in the 2001 Census.

Administration

The city is run by Armagh City and District Council, headquartered in Armagh, which covers a larger area than just the city, but not the entire county. 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 Member of Parliament is Conor Murphy of Sinn Féin, he is a former IRA prisoner and a member of the Sinn Féin negotiations team. He won the seat in the United Kingdom general election, 2005, after the retirement of long-serving SDLP MP Seamus Mallon.

The city has a long reputation as an administrative centre and currently located in the city is the headquarters of the Southern Education and Library Board and the Southern Health and Social Services Board.
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.
Armagh is the seat of both an Anglican and a Roman Catholic archbishop, the Archbishop of Armagh, both of whom hold the position of Primate of All Ireland for their respective denomination.

History

Emain Macha or Navan Fort, at the edge of the City, has a genuine claim to be the oldest settlement in Ireland, dating back to Queen Macha in 600 BC. The Celtic Queen gave her name to the City — Ard Macha, meaning The Height of Macha, reflecting the fact that the City developed on the hill overlooking Navan Fort.
A community hospital (Broin Bherg or House of Sorrows) was built in Armagh. Queen Macha Mong Ruadh built it long before other nations had hospitals to administer the Celts healthful ways, based on their dreams and visions (fey). She was killed at 46, by a rival, in 653 BC, after only seven years as queen.
The claim that Armagh is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland dates back to the early fifth century when Saint Patrick established his principal Church in Ireland here. It is the historical center of the cultus of Saint Patrick, the centre of a network of congregations. According to the Annals of the Four Masters in AD 457:

Ard Machab was founded by Saint Patrick, it having been granted to him by Daire, son of Finnchadh, son of Eoghan, son of Niallan. Twelve men were appointed by him for building the town. He ordered them, in the first place, to erect an archbishop's city there, and a church for monks, for nuns, and for the other orders in general, for he perceived that it would be the head and chief of the churches of Ireland in general.

Brian Boru is buried in the cemetery of the Anglican, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the principal church of the Church of Ireland. He is credited with driving the Norsemen out of Ireland in 1014.
It has also been an educational centre since the time of Saint Patrick, leading to it being known as the city of saints and scholars. Saint Patrick decreed that only those educated in Armagh could spread the gospel. The educational tradition was carried on with the foundation of The Royal School, Armagh in 1608. Generously assisted by Archbishop Robinson in the 18th century, the school, along with the Armagh Observatory, formed part of the Archbishops plan to have a university founded 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 City Hospital building.
Armagh acquired rail links to Belfast in 1848, Monaghan in 1858, Newry in 1864 and Keady in 1909. The line to Newry was closed in 1933, and all other lines to Armagh were closed in 1957.
The Armagh rail disaster occurred on June 12, 1889 near Armagh on the line to Newry.

The Troubles

For more information see The Troubles in Armagh, which includes a list of incidents in Armagh during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.

Demographics

Armagh city is classified as a Medium Town by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 10,000 and 18,000 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 14,590 people living in Armagh. Of these:

25.1% were aged under 16 years and 17.5% were aged 60 and over
48.1% of the population were male and 51.9% were female
68.3% were from a Catholic background and 30.2% were from a Protestant background
5.1% of people aged 16-74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

Buildings of note

Armagh Market House built 1815, 2 story, 5 bay building currently used as a Library and Learning Centre.
The city is home to Armagh Observatory, founded in 1790 and to the Armagh Planetarium established in 1968 to complement the research work of the Armagh Observatory. It has a Georgian area of heritage importance.
Among the city's chief glories is the Public Library on Cathedral Hill, close to St Patrick's Church of Ireland cathedral also known as the Stolen Church. Founded in 1771 by Archbishop Richard Robinson (later Lord Rokeby) using his own library as its nucleus, it is especially rich in 17th and 18th century English books, including Dean Jonathan Swift's own copy of the first edition of his Gulliver's Travels with his manuscript corrections.
BarOne - considered one of the great wonders of the city, as many teenagers flock to this dingy place and lose all their money for no apparent reason. Drugs are quite prevalent in this area and many who visit the establishment are labled as "townies".

Education

Primary

Post-primary

Sport

Gaelic Football is the most supported and played sport in Armagh. The Armagh GAA team is ranked in the top three in Ireland with Tyrone and Kerry.
In 2004, The Royal School, Armagh became only the second team in history to win both the school's rugby and hockey cups, in the same year.
The City of Armagh Rugby Club^[1] has also been very successful recently, winning the Junior Cup last year. Currently the firsts are top of their league.
The Mall in Armagh has a long association with cricket, and it is on the Mall that the clubhouse of Armagh City Cricket club is situated.
Armagh City Football Club currently play in the Irish League Premiership.

References

^ City of Armagh Rugby Club website.

External links

[1] City of Armagh Rugby Club website.

[1]

v t e Cities of the United Kingdom and overseas territories
England	Bath Birmingham Bradford Brighton and Hove Bristol Cambridge Canterbury Carlisle Chelmsford Chester Chichester Colchester Coventry Derby Doncaster Durham Ely Exeter Gloucester Hereford Kingston upon Hull Lancaster Leeds Leicester Lichfield Lincoln Liverpool City of London Manchester Milton Keynes Newcastle upon Tyne Norwich Nottingham Oxford Peterborough Plymouth Portsmouth Preston Ripon St Albans Salford Salisbury Sheffield Southampton Southend-on-Sea Stoke-on-Trent Sunderland Truro Wakefield Wells Westminster Winchester Wolverhampton Worcester York
Scotland	Aberdeen Dundee Dunfermline Edinburgh Glasgow Inverness Perth Stirling
Wales	Bangor Cardiff Newport St Asaph St Davids Swansea Wrexham
Northern Ireland	Armagh Bangor Belfast Derry Lisburn Newry
Dependent territories	British overseas cities