Armagh City

Armagh (from Irish: Ard Mhacha meaning "Macha's height") is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is an ancient site of worship for both Celtic paganism and Christianity. Although classed as a medium-sized town,^[1] Armagh was granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994. Its population of 14,590 (2001 Census) makes it the least-populated city in both Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland. Medieval era In 839 and 869, the monastery in Armagh was raided by Vikings. As with similar raids, their objective was simply to acquire valuables such as silver, which the churches and monasteries often kept. The Book of Armagh came from the monastery. It is a 9th century Irish manuscript now held by the Library of Trinity College, Dublin (ms 52). It contains some of the oldest surviving specimens of Old Irish. In 1189, John de Courcy, a Norman knight who had invaded Ulster in 1177, plundered Armagh. Modern era 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 Royal School in 1608 and the Armagh Observatory in 1790. This was part of the Archbishop's plan to have a university founded 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. Three brothers from Armagh died at the Battle of the Somme during World War One. None of the three has a known grave and all are commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. 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.^[5] On 4 September 1921, Michael Collins and Eoin O'Duffy addressed a large meeting in Armagh, which was attended by up to 10,000 people. The Troubles For more information see The Troubles in Armagh, which includes a list of incidents in Armagh during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities. Source: Wikipedia