Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [556]
Now the army has gone and, for today’s visitors, Crossmaglen is a friendly place with a reputation for Gaelic football (Crossmaglen Rangers were the All-Ireland Club Champions in 2007, and Ulster champions in 2008 and 2009), horse breeding and lively pubs known for their excellent music sessions.
You can get tourist information at RoSA ( 3086 8900; 25-26 O’Fiaich Sq; 9am-5pm Mon-Fri).
Murtagh’s Bar ( 3086 1378; aidanmurtagh@hotmail.com; 13 North St; s/d £30/50) offers good craic, traditional music, bar meals and B&B, while the modern Cross Square Hotel ( 3086 0505; www.crosssquarehotel.com; 4-5 O’Fiaich Sq; s/d £45/70, mains £6-11; food served 9am-9pm) serves bar meals all day and an à la carte menu at lunch and dinner. There’s live music on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.
Bus 42 runs from Newry to Crossmaglen (£4, 50 minutes, five daily Monday to Friday, four Saturday) via Camlough and Mullaghbane.
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ARMAGH CITY
pop 14,600
The little cathedral city of Armagh (Ard Macha) has been an important religious centre since the 5th century, and remains the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland, the seat of both the Anglican and Roman Catholic archbishops of Armagh, and Primates of All Ireland. Their two cathedrals, both named for St Patrick, stare each other out from their respective hilltops.
Despite having a number of attractive Georgian buildings, the town has a bit of a dreary, run-down feel to it, with gap sites, wasteland and boarded-up windows spoiling the streetscape, but it’s still worth a visit for the fascinating Armagh Public Library and nearby Navan Fort.
History
When St Patrick began his mission to spread Christianity throughout Ireland, he chose a site close to Emain Macha (Navan Fort), the nerve centre of pagan Ulster, for his power base. In AD 445 he built Ireland’s first stone church on a hill nearby (now home to the Church of Ireland cathedral), and later decreed that Armagh should have pre-eminence over all the churches in Ireland.
By the 8th century Armagh was one of Europe’s best-known centres of religion, learning and craftwork. The city was divided into three districts (called trians), centred around English, Scottish and Irish streets. Armagh’s fame was its undoing, however, as the Vikings plundered the city 10 times between AD 831 and 1013.
The city gained a new prosperity from the linen trade in the 18th century, a period whose legacy includes a Royal School, an astronomical observatory, a renowned public library and a fine crop of Georgian architecture.
Armagh is associated with some prominent historical figures. James Ussher (1580–1655), Archbishop of Armagh, was an avid scholar who is best known for pinning down the day of the Creation to Sunday 23 October 4004 BC by adding up the generations quoted in the Bible, a date that was accepted as fact until the late 19th century. His extensive library became the nucleus of the great library at Trinity College, Dublin. Jonathan Swift (1667–1745), Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, and author of Gulliver’s Travels, was a frequent visitor to Armagh, while the architect Francis Johnston (1760–1829), responsible for many of Dublin’s finest Georgian streetscapes, was born in the city.
Information
Armagh City Library ( 3752 4072; Market St; 9.30am-5.30pm Mon, Wed & Fri, to 8pm Tue & Thu, to 5pm Sat) Internet access for £1.50 per 30 minutes.
Tourist information centre ( 3752 1800; www.visitarmagh.com; 40 Upper English St; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat year-round, also noon-5.30pm Sun Jul & Aug, 2-5pm Sun Sep-Jun) Part of the St Patrick’s Trian complex.
Sights
ST PATRICK’S TRIAN
The old Presbyterian church behind the tourist office has been turned into a heritage centre and visitor complex known as St Patrick’s Trian ( 3752 1801; 40 Upper English St; adult/child £5/3.25; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat,