The Little Book of Armagh

Armagh

INTRODUCTION

ARMAGH: THE ORCHARD COUNTY OF IRELAND

It’s my own Irish home

far across the foam

although I’ve often left it

in foreign lands to roam

no matter where I wander

through cities near or far

sure, my heart’s at home in old Ireland

in the County of Armagh.

The famed song quoted above, ‘The Boys from the County Armagh’, begins: ‘There’s one fair county in Ireland, with memories so glorious and grand, where nature has lavished its bounty, it’s the orchard of Erin’s green land’. Armagh is an enigma. Located in the ancient province of Ulster, it the smallest of the six counties of Northern Ireland and, at 1,254 square miles, comes in at twenty-seventh in size among Ireland’s thirty-two counties. It borders counties Monaghan and Louth to the south in the Irish Republic, County Down to the east, County Tyrone and Lough Neagh to the north and north-west respectively.

In historical terms, the name of the city and county was derived from ‘Ard Mhacha’, meaning ‘Macha’s height’. Macha was the ancient Irish goddess whose husband boasted that she could outrun the king of Ulster’s fastest chariot. Despite being heavily pregnant, she won her race then gave birth to twins and died. In her dying pain, embarrassed at having to give birth in public, she placed a blessing and a curse on the people of Ulster, which would last for ‘nine times nine generations’. Macha’s name became synonymous with Armagh and is preserved also at Navan Fort, a tree ring fort that was home to the ancient rulers of Ulster. In Irish, its name is ‘Emain Macha’ and lies two miles west of the city and was the earliest provincial capital of Ulster. Early history tells us that, Armagh was home to the Ulidia clan and ruled over by the Red Branch, whose seat of power was also at Navan Fort. In the fourth century, the region was invaded by the Colla clan, who ruled until the twelfth century.

The landscape of the county is divided between the rich farming lands in the north and the rugged hills in the south. The highest point is the extinct volcano Slieve Gullion at 573m, where folklore is preserved and celebrated in the fabled story of Fionn McCool, who was tricked into swimming to the bottom of the mountain’s lake by a beautiful young woman who claimed that she had dropped her golden ring into the bottomless pond. On finding the ring, Fionn emerged from the lake to discover that he had been tricked by a witch and had lost his youth. The summit of Slieve Gullion affords a view of nine of Ireland’s counties.

The county and its people have made an impact at many levels throughout the world. In fact, it could be said that Armagh has punched well above its weight. It was the birthplace of the Orange Order in 1795. In the 1960s, the singer Tommy Makem helped to redefine Irish folk music and opened it up to a new audience throughout the world; one of his great admirers was none other than Bob Dylan. In the sporting world, a certain William McCrum from Milford invented the penalty kick in soccer and changed forever the dynamics of the world’s most popular sport. Born in Armagh in 1819, Arthur Hunter Palmer emigrated to Australia in 1838, becoming the fifth Premier of Queensland in 1870. However, arguably the most famous politician to have been born in Armagh was Ian Richard Kyle Paisley in 1926. Paisley would found the Free Presbyterian Church in 1951 and end his career in politics as First Minister of Northern Ireland. In military history, Field Marshal Sir John Greer Dill was born in Lurgan in 1881. He served in the British Army during the First and Second World Wars. From May 1940 to December 1941, he was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, the professional head of the British Army.

Armagh is particularly important for being the seat of St Patrick, who made Armagh Ireland’s ecclesiastical capital and was where he established his main church. Armagh has been the spiritual capital of Ireland for 1,500 years and the seat of both Protestant and Catholic archbishops. It is also the only city in the world to contain two cathedrals named after the same saint. St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, as it is today known, was founded in AD 445. Remarkably, it has been destroyed and rebuilt seventeen times since then. It is also believed to be the burial place of the ancient Irish king, Brian Boru. The Catholic Cathedral of St Patrick was built in various phases between 1840 and 1904 in Gothic style. When the famine came to Ireland, work on the building was stopped, but the church opened eventually in 1873 thanks to fundraising and donations.

Armagh’s city status was formally recognised only in 1995. The famous Georgian city contains many buildings of note. The Armagh Observatory, which opened in 1790, has long been a world leader in astronomy. In 1967, the more modern Armagh Planetarium was opened. Armagh Public Library, one of the oldest in Ireland, contains a superb collection of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century texts, including Jonathan Swift’s annotated first-edition copy of his famed Gulliver’s Travels. Armagh is celebrated as the ‘Orchard County’ or the ‘Orchard of Ireland’. The middle of the county comes alive each year as pink flowers of apple trees come into bloom. There has been a history of apple growing in Armagh dating back 3,500 years and over 4,000 acres are dedicated to the fruit.

This book aims to bring to light the many stories that have been lost in the mists of time. Stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. It also hopes to provide a glimpse into the past of Armagh, the class and sectarian divisions, stories of hangings and skulduggery, personal endeavour, failure and little-known facts. It is my hope that the stories retold within this book will help to shed further light on Armagh, its people and places.

1

INDIVIDUALS AND PLACES OF NOTE IN THE ORCHARD COUNTY

A CITY OF GEORGIAN SPLENDOUR

The creation of the Georgian city of Armagh can be attributed to one Lord Rokeby, Richard Robinson, who was born in Yorkshire in 1709, and served as the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, before being appointed as Church of Ireland Primate in 1765. He was from a wealthy background and was determined to use his affluence and power to found and maintain charitable and educational institutions, particularly within his adopted city of Armagh. He also wished to create a city that was fit to serve as the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland, but he was dismayed by the state of Armagh in the 1760s; it consisted largely of mud huts and thatched cottages and the cathedral was roofed with shingles. Robinson’s grand plan for Armagh was supported through public subscription and generous contributions from within his own fortune.

His Grace initially employed the services of the architect Thomas Cooley, who was responsible for the design of the Royal School, the Primate’s Palace and the library. When Cooley died in 1784, Francis Johnston was appointed to continue the work. Johnston remains one of Armagh’s most notable sons. He was a founder of the Royal Hibernian Society and was responsible for the design of the Armagh Observatory, the county courthouse and the museum. Robinson died in Bristol in October 1794, aged 85. His body was interred in the cathedral in Armagh, where a monument was erected to his memory. His portrait and bust were placed in the hall of Christ Church in Oxford, an institution to which he was also a generous benefactor.

THE BURIAL OF BRIAN BORU

The Battle of Clontarf took place on Good Friday, 23 April 1014, and saw the conclusion of two centuries of warfare between the Irish Celtic chieftains and the invading Norsemen, who had taken a firm foothold in Ireland. In Munster, Brian Boru had defeated the Viking armies on several occasions. His ultimate aim was to unite the Celtic kingdoms under one high king. In 1005, the king had donated 10 ounces of gold to the clergy in Armagh and decreed that the ancient city was the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland. It is estimated that between 7–10,000 men were killed in the battle, one of which was Brian Boru. It is said that Brodar, a Danish commander, retreated from the battle and his path led him directly to the hill upon which sat Brian Boru’s tent. When he realised who was in the tent, he attacked it and killed Brian Boru and his old companion Conaing, who were on their knees, praying.

Prior to his death, the king had bequeathed his soul to God and willed that his body be buried in Armagh. As a funeral offering, the clergy of Armagh were provided with over 200 oxen. Boru’s body was accompanied by his nephew to Swords in Dublin. The cortège made its way to Armagh through Duleek and the bones of Brian Boru are said to be buried in the North Wall of Saint Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh, which dates back to medieval times. In the west wall of the north transept is a granite slab, placed there in 1914, commemorating the burial on the north side of the cathedral of Brian Boroimhe (Boru), High King of Ireland, in 1014.

‘THE BARD OF ARMAGH’

The famous song, ‘The Streets of Laredo’, was inspired by many older songs, most famously ‘The Bard of Armagh’. In that song, the bard is called ‘the bold Phelim Brady’, which was the name the bard went under as he tramped over the hills of South Armagh with a fiddle under his arm during times of persecution in the late 1600s. This strolling minstrel was Bishop Patrick Donnelly and it was by adopting this alter ego that the bishop was able to travel the county. Born near Cookstown, Donnelly was ordained in Armagh by Oliver Plunkett and was made a bishop in the months before the Battle of the Boyne. He served as a bishop for twenty-five years, during which he dressed in tattered clothes and visited fairs and markets, playing tunes and ministering to his flock. His ‘palace’ was a mud hut in Slieve Gullion. He died in 1716 and, under cover of night, he was delivered back to his native Tyrone to be buried.

THE GREAT MASTER MCGRATH

I’ve known many greyhounds that filled me with pride,

In the days that are gone, but it can’t be denied,

That the greatest and the bravest that the world ever saw,

Was our champion of champions, great Master McGrath.

Armagh is justly proud of the achievements of the great Irish coursing champion, Master McGrath. Owned by Charles Brownlow, the 2nd Lord Lurgan, the greyhound was born in 1866 in County Waterford and was sired by Brownlow’s coursing champion, Dervock. As a pup, he was considered underweight and was due to be put down, but was spared when a kennel boy named Master McGrath pleaded for the dog’s life. The dog was given the name ‘Master McGrath’ and went on to become one of the most famous coursing greyhounds of his day, both in Ireland and England. Master McGrath was entered in England’s prestigious Waterloo Cup in 1868, at just 2 years of age, and, against the odds, took the cup back to Ireland. In 1869, over 12,000 people gathered at Altcar to