Editing Tandragee (section)

==== Home Rule crisis ====
[[File:The Tandragee Volunteers.jpg|thumb|The Tandragee Volunteers at Tandragee Castle]]
From the introduction of the [[Government of Ireland Bill 1886|First Home Rule Bill]] in 1886, the Protestant community in Tandragee strongly opposed the idea and played a role in the establishment of a proposed 'Orange Army'.  An effigy of [[William Ewart Gladstone|Prime Minister William Gladstone]] was set alight in the town following an anti-Home Rule demonstration.<ref name="Cousins">{{Cite book |last=Cousins |first=Colin |url=https://archive.org/details/armaghgreatwar0000cous/mode/2up |title=Armagh and the Great War |date=2011 |publisher=Dublin : History Press Ireland |via=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-84588-711-7}}</ref>

Tandragee also had a strong representation in the [[Ulster Defence Union]]. In the central assembly of 600 members appointed on 21 October 1886, the southern region, including Armagh, Cavan, and Monaghan, was represented by eight local representatives: Rev. P.A. Kelly, Rev. W. McEndoo, Rev. R.J. Whan, Maynard Sinton, Thomas White, William O’Brien, John Atkinson, and Rev. George Laverty.<ref name=":3" />

In 1910, branches of the [[Unionist Club]] were founded in Tandragee, [[Clare, County Armagh|Clare]], [[Scarva]], [[Poyntzpass]], and Ballyshiel. In September, under the supervision of [[William Montagu, 9th Duke of Manchester]], members of the Tandragee Club engaged in drills prior to the [[Ulster Covenant]].<ref name=":3" />

During the [[Government of Ireland Act 1914|Third Home Rule Crisis]], the [[Ulster Unionist Party]] leadership chose to unite the various [[Ulster loyalism|unionist paramilitary groups]]. By December 1912, the County Armagh Committee included several figures from the business sector, the legal field, and the local [[aristocracy]]. The representatives from Tandragee were Rev. R.J. Whan and George Davison. These people played a role in the eventual formation of a local battalion of the [[Ulster Volunteers]].<ref name=":3" />

Tandragee was identified by the [[Royal Irish Constabulary]] in 1912 as one of ten locations where unionist paramilitary drills were occurring. The population of the Tandragee area became a majority of the Third Battalion of the County Armagh Regiment of the [[Ulster Volunteers|Ulster Volunteer Force]] - also known as the Tandragee Volunteers.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=McKenna |first=Micheal |date=2019-07-08 |title=Tandragee history re-discovered |url=https://armaghi.com/news/tandragee-news/tandragee-history-re-discovered/90285 |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=Armagh I |language=en}}</ref> Tandragee Castle was the headquarters of the Tandragee Volunteers, with records indicating that the 9th Duke of Manchester occasionally inspected the troops and permitted the use of his estate.<ref name=":3" />

A mural commemorating the Third Battalion of the County Armagh Regiment UVF is located at the junction of Montague Street and Ballymore Road in Tandragee.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Wall mural commemorating 9th Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers |url=https://www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/265245/ |access-date=2024-10-13 |website=www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk |language=en}}</ref>