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the county town of County Armagh was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth
II in 1994, and City status was officially confimed in 1995. Armagh is the least
populated city in Northern Ireland and has a population is around 15,000
Industry
Armagh has benefited enormously from peacetime investment and increased tourism
with tourists flocking to discover the hidden charm of this most ancient of cities
and the surrounding areas of South East Ulster for themselves. There is a wide range
of accomodation available including bed and breakfast, hotel accommodation, self
catering, guest house, cottage, camping and caravan sites.
Geography
Armagh is located in the North of Ireland. Armagh, like counties Down and Monaghan
which adjoin it, is a county of gentle hills with the land becoming more hilly towards
the south, where Slieve Gullion rises to 1,893 feet. Armagh, a largely rural county
dotted with small lakes and hills and bisected by the rivers Bann and Blackwater,
boasts some of the best fishing in the North of Ireland as a result its bordering
Lough Neagh, Ireland's largest lake
History
Two miles west of the city is the great mound of Navan Fort, stronghold of the kings
of Ulster from 700 BC. It occupies a key place in Heroic Age legend. Armagh is the
oldest settlement in Ireland, dating back to Queen Macha in 600 BC. 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. Brian Boru,
one of the great historical Irish Kings who drove out the Norse invaders in 1014,
is buried in the cemetery of the St. Patrick's Cathedral. Armagh is one of the oldest
settlements in Ireland. Abundant Neolithic remains found dotted around the region
are testament to a history at least 4,000 years old. The name Armagh comes from
the Gaelic Ard Macha or Macha's Height. Macha was a pagan queen who is said to have
chosen this spot for her fortress in 5,000BC. The city of Armagh, as we know it
today, began in 445 AD when St Patrick established his first church here. The Celtic
king Daire first allowed Patrick to preach at the base of a hill, where St Patrick's
Fold is today. Later, having converted to Christianity, he gave Patrick permission
to build his first stone church on the hilltop where the Church of Ireland Cathedral
now stands. With the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ireland, Armagh became a middle
ground between the opposing Gaelic stronghold of the O'Neills in Dungannon, and
the invading Anglo-Normans from Co. Down. Between 1184 and 1217 the city was raided
and ravaged by opposing forces nine times. The few hundred years up the Plantation
of Ulster at the beginning of the 17th century witnessed a complex series of battles
between Gaelic clans and invading forces from England. One of the most famous of
these was the "Battle of the Yellow Ford" near Callan Bridge in 1598, when Hugh
O'Neill defeated the English. Such victory was short-lived: O’Neill was eventually
forced to flee Ireland for the Continent - the great defeat of Irish resistance
known as The Flight of the Earls.
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