Editing Armagh (section)

==History==
[[File:The Cathedral Church of Armagh, 1832 (IA jstor-30002643) (page 1 crop).jpg|thumb|[[St. Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh (Church of Ireland)]], in 1832, built on the site of the original church]]
[[File:I love her cathedral and city (27198346843).jpg|thumb|250px|Scotch Street, {{Circa|1900}}]]

===Foundation===
[[Navan Fort|''Eamhain Mhacha'']] (or Navan Fort), at the western edge of Armagh, was an ancient [[Celtic polytheism|pagan]] ritual or ceremonial site. According to [[Irish mythology]] it was one of the great [[Royal sites of Ireland|royal sites]] of [[Gaelic Ireland]] and the capital of [[Ulster]]. It appears to have been largely abandoned after the 1st century. In the 3rd century, a [[Henge|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.<ref>Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO, 2006. p.80</ref> Like Navan, it too was named after the [[goddess]] [[Macha]]: ''Ard Mhacha'', meaning "Macha's height". This name was later [[anglicised]] as ''Ardmagh'',<ref name="PDI">[http://www.logainm.ie/2742.aspx Placenames Database of Ireland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523182225/http://www.logainm.ie/2742.aspx |date=23 May 2012 }} (see archival records)</ref><ref>Hill, George. ''The Fall of Irish Chiefs and Clans: The Conquest of Ireland''. Irish Roots Cafe, 2004. p.114. {{ISBN|978-0940134423}}</ref> which eventually became ''Armagh''. Navan and Armagh were linked by an ancient road which passes over Mullacreevie hill.<ref>Lynn, Chris. ''Navan Fort: Archaeology and Myth''. Wordwell, 2003. p.88</ref>

After [[Christianity]] [[Christianity in Ireland|spread to Ireland]], the pagan sanctuary was converted into a Christian one, and Armagh became the site of an important church and [[monastery]]. According to tradition, [[Saint Patrick]] founded his main church there in the year 445, and it eventually became the head church of Ireland. [[Muirchú moccu Machtheni|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]].<ref>Ó hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopaedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. pp.357-358</ref>

===Medieval era===
By the 7th century, Armagh had become the site of the most important church, monastery and [[monastic school]] in the north of Ireland.<ref name="duffy">Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. pp.48-50</ref> 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]].

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.<ref name="duffy"/> The Uí Néill [[High King of Ireland|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.<ref name="duffy"/>

The first [[Viking]] raids on Armagh were recorded in 832, with three in one month,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Roesdahl |first1=Else |title=The Vikings |date=2016 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-141-98476-6 |page=233 |edition=Third}}</ref> 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.<ref name="duffy"/>

[[Brian Boru]], [[High King of Ireland]], 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.<ref>Llywelyn, Morgan. ''1014: Brian Boru & the Battle for Ireland''. Courier Dover, 2020. pp.97, 240</ref> Armagh's claim to being the head church of Ireland was formally acknowledged at the [[Synod of Ráth Breasail]] in 1111.<ref name="duffy"/> The 1171 Council of Armagh freed all Englishmen and women who were [[Slavery in Ireland|enslaved in Ireland]].<ref name="sourcebooks.fordham.edu">{{Cite web |title=Internet History Sourcebooks Project |url=https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/1171latrsale.asp |website=sourcebooks.fordham.edu}}</ref>

Following the [[Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland]], Armagh was attacked by Anglo-Normans led by Philip de Worcester in 1185 and by [[John de Courcy]] in 1189.<ref>{{Cite book|author1=DeBreffny, Brian |author2=Mott, George | year=1976 |title=The Churches and Abbeys of Ireland | publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] | location=London | pages=60–61}}</ref> It was also raided by Ruaidrí mac Duinn Sléibe of [[Ulaid]] in 1196 and 1199.<ref>Smith, Brendan. ''Colonisation and Conquest in Medieval Ireland: The English in Louth, 1170-1330''. Cambridge University Press, 1999. p.62</ref>

Archbishop [[Máel Patraic Ua Scannail]] rebuilt Armagh cathedral in 1268 and founded a [[Franciscans|Franciscan]] friary, whose remains can still be seen. There was also a small [[Culdee]] community in Armagh until the 16th century.<ref name="duffy"/>

===Early modern era===
[[File:The City of Armagh, view of College-street, taken from the road leading to the Observatory, 1835 (IA jstor-30004374) (page 1 crop).jpg|thumb|250px|A view of College Street in 1835, from the ''[[Dublin Penny Journal]]'']]
During the 16th century [[Tudor conquest of Ireland]], Armagh suffered greatly in the conflict between the English and the [[O'Neill dynasty|O'Neills]]. Armagh was strategically important as it lay between the [[English Pale]] and the O'Neill heartland of [[Tír Eoghain|Tyrone]], and the town changed hands many times during the wars.<ref name="quinn">Quinn, Kevin. [http://www.history-armagh.org/dox/210420110872.pdf "The Lost Castle of Armagh"]. ''History Armagh''.</ref> In the 1560s, English troops under [[Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex|Thomas Radclyffe]] occupied and fortified the town, which was then attacked and largely destroyed by [[Shane O'Neill (Irish chieftain)|Shane O'Neill]]. After the [[Battle of the Yellow Ford]] in 1598, the [[rout]]ed English army took refuge at Armagh before surrendering to [[Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone|Hugh O'Neill]].<ref name="quinn"/> By the end of the [[Nine Years' War (Ireland)|Nine Years' War]], Armagh lay in ruins, as shown on Richard Bartlett's 1601 map.<ref name="duffy"/>

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 (bishop)|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]], many British settlers fled to Armagh cathedral for safety. After negotiations with the besieged settlers, Catholic rebels under [[Felim O'Neill of Kinard|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.<ref>Annaleigh Margey, Eamon Darcy, Elaine Murphy (editors). ''The 1641 Depositions and the Irish Rebellion''. Routledge, 2015. p.92</ref>

===Modern era===
[[File:Armagh geograph-3773981-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg|thumb|250px|Armagh from the Newry Road, 1960]]
The [[Armagh Borough (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|parliamentary borough of Armagh]] was a two-seat constituency in the [[Irish House of Commons]] prior to 1801. It continued as a [[Armagh City (UK Parliament constituency)|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 [[The Royal School, Armagh|Royal School]] in 1608, St Patrick's College in 1834 and the [[Armagh Observatory]] in 1790. The Observatory was part of [[Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland)|Archbishop]] [[Richard Robinson, 1st Baron Rokeby|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]] historical marker commemorating Rev. Patterson was erected on The Mall in 2019.

Three brothers from Armagh died at the [[Battle of the Somme]] during [[World War I]]. 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]], a [[Royal Irish Constabulary]] (RIC) sergeant was assassinated by the [[Irish Republican Army]] (IRA) in Armagh. He was attacked with a [[grenade]] as he walked along Market Street and later died of his wounds.<ref>[http://www.dcu.ie/~foxs/irhist/january_1921.htm Dublin City University] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609122959/http://www.dcu.ie/~foxs/irhist/january_1921.htm |date=9 June 2012 }}. Chronology of Irish History 1919&nbsp;– 1923: January 1921</ref> On 4 September 1921, [[Irish republicanism|republican]] leaders [[Michael Collins (Irish leader)|Michael Collins]] and [[Eoin O'Duffy]] addressed a large meeting in Armagh, which was attended by up to 10,000 people.<ref>[http://www.dcu.ie/~foxs/irhist/september_1921.htm Dublin City University] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612023607/http://www.dcu.ie/~foxs/irhist/september_1921.htm |date=12 June 2011 }}. Chronology of Irish History 1919&nbsp;– 1923: September 1921</ref>

[[File:Armagh Library and open air market - geograph.org.uk - 647704.jpg|thumb|250px|Open-air market on Market Street]]

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|Murder Mile]]".<ref name="Blanche">{{cite news | url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-06-mn-6869-story.html | title=Irish Police Face Peril of 'Murder Mile' | work=[[Los Angeles Times]] | date=6 January 1985 | access-date=20 February 2016 | author=Blanche, Ed | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807054935/http://articles.latimes.com/1985-01-06/news/mn-6869_1_patrol-car | archive-date=7 August 2011 | url-status=live }}</ref> 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<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dia.ie/works/view/57428/building/CO.+ARMAGH%2C+ARMAGH%2C+TONTINE+BUILDINGS|title= Tontine Buildings|publisher=Dictionary of Irish Architects|access-date=5 June 2021}}</ref> and converted into a municipal building in 1910,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.dia.ie/works/view/3325/building/CO.+ARMAGH%2C+ARMAGH%2C+TOWN+HALL|title=Armagh Town Hall| publisher=Dictionary of Irish Architects|access-date=5 June 2021}}</ref> was badly damaged in a bomb attack on 27 September 1972<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.northernslant.com/northern-lens-troubled-times-in-my-home-town/armagh12-armagh-city-hall-after-a-bomb-explosion-on-wednesday-september-27-1972/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604232944/https://www.northernslant.com/northern-lens-troubled-times-in-my-home-town/armagh12-armagh-city-hall-after-a-bomb-explosion-on-wednesday-september-27-1972/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=4 June 2021|title=Armagh City Hall after a bomb explosion on Wednesday September 27, 1972|date=15 August 2017 |publisher=Northern Slant|access-date=5 June 2021}}</ref> and subsequently demolished.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Astronomy & Geophysics|volume=45|date=1 February 2004|pages=1.18–1.22|doi=10.1046/j.1468-4004.2003.45118.x|title=A modern vision: Eric Lindsay at Armagh|first=John|last=McFarland|doi-access=free}}</ref>