Armagh

Understand

thumb | 300px | Iron Age house at Navan Fort Armagh was a religious and secular power centre even in pagan times. In 432 AD St Patrick literally capitalised on this tradition by building his first stone church here and declaring it to be the country's Christian capital. (Or at least, he did so in any history controlled by the Armagh church: earlier Christianising missionaries elsewhere in Ireland were studiously ignored, so today they have local observances but don't get to stop the New York traffic with a big annual parade.) The site of that 5th century church is now Saint Patrick's Cathedral, the seat of the Church of Ireland (i.e. Protestant) Archbishop & Primate of All Ireland. Here as elsewhere, the Protestants ejected the Catholics from their churches, and forbade them to build anew. Only in the 19th century was that prohibition abolished, so on the neighbouring hilltop was built St Patrick's Roman Catholic Cathedral, the seat of the RC Archbishop & Primate of All Ireland.

The religious divide was exacerbated by the national divide: after the Irish partition Armagh found itself in Northern Ireland, but with a large population who were Catholic and supportive of the republican cause, and with a nearby porous border with the Republic. "The Troubles" of 1969-1998 were very bitter hereabouts, with 86 deaths, and the place became run-down as business and individuals took flight.

Armagh lost its city status in 1840 but this was restored in 1994 - it's ceremonial, and the p…

Get in

By road from Belfast and the ferry ports follow M1 west to Craigavon then A3 through Portadown. From Dublin follow M1 / N1 / A1 north across the border to Newry then A28 to Armagh.

Goldliner Bus 251 takes 70 min from Belfast Grand Central via Lurgan and Portadown. It's hourly M-F, two-hourly Sa and only four buses on Sunday.

Goldliner 270 / 271 runs once a day on the same route, and from Armagh continues to Monaghan, Clones and Cavan Town.

Goldliner 278 runs in university term-time, with one bus Su-F from Monaghan via Armagh to Moy, Dungannon, Cookstown, Magherafelt, Garvagh, Coleraine, Ulster University, Portstewart and Portrush.

Ulsterbus 61 runs hourly from Craigavon and Portadown, taking 35 min.

Ulsterbus 72 runs every two hours from Dungannon, taking 40 min.

Ulsterbus 40 runs every two hours from Newry, taking an hour.

Ulsterbus 70 runs from Monaghan, taking 40 min, with five M-F and two on Saturday.

is on Lonsdale Rd in town centre.

Get around

Armagh is small enough to explore on foot. Ulsterbus 73 passes Navan fort on the road to Killylea and Caledon, but it's a sparse service.

Taxi firms are Callan (+44 28 3751 1170), Eurocabs (+44 28 3751 1900) and Diamond (+44 28 3752 5204).

National Cycleway 91 runs mostly on-road from Portadown to Armagh, Monaghan and Enniskillen. Route 95 runs from Armagh to Dungannon, Cookstown and Strabane.

See

thumb | 300px | St Patrick's Cathedral (C of I) thumb | 300px | St Patrick's Cathedral (RC) is a ruin just south of town centre. It was founded in 1263 but dissolved in 1542 by Henry VIII. thumb | 300px | County Museum Other notable buildings in town are the Gaol (primarily a women's prison, it closed in 1986), the Market House which is now a library, and the Archbishop's Palace, chapel and stables which are now council offices.

Do

thumb | 300px | Market Place Theatre Armagh Guided Tours explore the town and surrounds. Cinema: Omniplex is on Market Street. Market Place Theatre and Arts Centre is just behind the cinema, Box Office +44 28 3752-1821 Golf: County Armagh Golf Club is at 7 Newry Rd, south edge of town. White tees 6212 yards, par 70. Loughgall GC: see Portadown. Gaelic games: the County GAA team plays Gaelic football and hurling at the Athletic Grounds (capacity 18,500), off Killylea Rd half a mile west of town centre. Football: the Northern Ireland soccer season is Aug-May the same as the rest of UK. Armagh City play in the NIFL Championship, the second tier. Their Holm Park Stadium (capacity 3000) is 2 miles east of city centre. Loughgall FC also play in the NIFL Championship. Their home ground is Lakeview Park (capacity 1650) in Loughgall five miles north of Armagh. Fitness: There are leisure centres at Armagh City Hotel, Orchard LC on Folly Lane, and Cathedral Rd. Orange Order Parade is held on 12 July each year, but see the Parades Commission listing for smaller events throughout the year.

Buy

The main shopping centre is The Mall. Sainsbury's here is open M-W Sa 8AM-8PM, Th F 8AM-9PM, Su 1-6PM.

Eat

English Street is the main strip, with Shapla (above), Spice Lounge, Mulberry Bistro, Desburrito, Dante's, Lit Cafe, Embers, Uluru (below) and Indian Nights.

Drink

Pubs along main drag include Devlin's, McKenna's, Hughes, Turner's, Vintage Lounge Bar, Rafferty's, Red Ned and Hole in the Wall. Distillery: See Dungannon for Woodlab gin.

Sleep

thumb | 300px | Autumn view on The Mall Seven Houses is a quirky B&B at 49 Upper English St, 100 yards south of Charlemont Arms.

Connect

To call a number in Northern Ireland from the Republic, use area code 048 with no country code. The +44 28 versions given above also work but incur international rates.

As of June 2025, Armagh and its approach roads have 4G with EE, Three and Vodafone, and 5G from O2.

If you venture near the border, take care that your mobile doesn't latch on to an Irish carrier, which may incur extra charges.