County Armagh

County Armagh (named after its county town, Armagh) is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland and one of the 32 traditional counties of Ireland, situated in the northeast of the island. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 1,326 km² and has a population of about 174,792. It is within the historic province of Ulster. County Armagh is known as the "Orchard County" because of its many apple orchards.

Etymology

The name "Armagh" derives from the Irish word Ard meaning "height" and Macha, together meaning "height" (or high place) and Macha. Macha is mentioned in the Book of the Taking of Ireland, and is also said to have been responsible for the construction of the hill site of Emain Macha (now Navan Fort near Armagh City) to serve as the capital of the Ulaid kings (who give their name to Ulster), also thought to be Macha's height.

Geography and features

From its highest point at Slieve Gullion, in the south of the County, Armagh's land falls away from its rugged south with Carrigatuke, Lislea and Camlough mountains, to rolling drumlin country in the middle and west of the county and finally flatlands in the north where rolling flats and small hills reach sea level at Lough Neagh.

Armagh

Coordinates: 54°21′00″N 6°39′17″W / 54.3499°N 6.6546°W / 54.3499; -6.6546

Armagh (/ɑːrˈmɑː/ ar-MAH; from Irish Ard Mhacha, meaning "Macha's height" [aɾˠd̪ˠ ˈwaxə]) is the county town of County Armagh in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All Ireland for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland. In ancient times, it and nearby Navan Fort (Eamhain Mhacha) was one of the great royal capitals of pagan Gaelic Ireland. Today it is home to two cathedrals and the Armagh Observatory.

Although classed as a medium-sized town, Armagh was given city status in 1994 and Lord Mayoralty status in 2012, both by Queen Elizabeth II. It had a population of 14,749 people in the 2011 Census, making it the least-populated city in both Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland, and the fourth smallest in the United Kingdom.

History

Foundation

Eamhain Mhacha (or Navan Fort), at the western edge of Armagh, is believed to have been used as an ancient pagan ritual or ceremonial site. According to Irish mythology it was once the capital of Ulster, until it was abandoned during the 1st century. The site was named after the goddess Macha, and as the settlement grew on the hills nearby, it was also named after the goddess – Ard Mhacha means "Macha's height". This name was later anglicised as Ardmagh, which eventually became Armagh.

Armagh (UK Parliament constituency)

Coordinates: 54°20′53″N 6°39′22″W / 54.348°N 6.656°W / 54.348; -6.656

Armagh or County Armagh was a parliamentary constituency in the House of Commons. It was replaced in boundary changes in 1983.

The Act of Union 1800 provided for the Parliament of Ireland to be merged with the Parliament of Great Britain, to form the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The 300 seats in the Irish House of Commons were reduced to 100 Irish members in the United Kingdom House of Commons. The thirty-two Irish counties retained two seats in Parliament.

Members of Parliament

Politics and history of the constituency

The union took effect on 1 January 1801. There was no new election for the members of the 1st Parliament of the United Kingdom, as the House of Commons was composed of members elected to the previous Parliaments of Ireland and Great Britain. The constituencies consisted of the whole of County Armagh, excluding the part in the Parliamentary borough constituency of Armagh City.

Armagh (Assembly constituency)

Coordinates: 54°20′53″N 6°39′22″W / 54.348°N 6.656°W / 54.348; -6.656 Armagh was a constituency used for the Northern Ireland Assembly.

The seat was first used for a Northern Ireland-only election for the Northern Ireland Assembly, 1973. Members were then elected from the constituency to the 1975 Constitutional Convention and the 1982 Assembly. After the Assembly dissolved in 1986, the constituency was not used again, its area being represented by parts of Newry and Armagh and Upper Bann.

It usually shared boundaries with the Armagh UK Parliament constituency, however the boundaries of the two constituencies were slightly different from 1983 to 1986 as the Assembly boundaries had not caught up with Parliamentary boundary changes.

For further details of the history and boundaries of the constituency, see Armagh (UK Parliament constituency).

Members

In 1982 elections were held for an Assembly for Northern Ireland to hold the Secretary of State to account, in the hope that this would be the first step towards restoring devolution. Armagh elected 7 members as follows: