www.armaghselfcatering.co.uk provide the accommodations Mallview House, Dobbin Lodge and Courtyard Mews the perfect spot for families, friends and small groups that want the convenience of staying in the City of Armagh. Within walking distance of tourist attractions, restaurants and shops combined with the comfort of luxury private selfcatering…
All of these accommodations are situated close to Belfast International and City Airport (1 hour by car) and Dublin Airport (1 and a half hour journey by car)
e. armaghselfcatering@hotmail.co.uk t. +44(0)28 3752 7172 m. +44(0)7712 677 882
Or visit www.armaghselfcatering.co.uk
Armagh (/ɑrˈmaː/ 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,[2] Armagh was given city status in 1994 and Lord Mayoralty status in 2012, both by Queen Elizabeth II. Its population of 15,000 makes it the least-populated city in both Northern Ireland and on the island of Ireland, and the fourth smallest in the United Kingdom.
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,[3][4] which eventually became Armagh.
According to tradition, when Christianity spread to Ireland during the mid-400s, Armagh became the island’s “ecclesiastical capital”, as Saint Patrick established his principal church there. Saint Patrick was said to have decreed that only those educated in Armagh could spread the gospel. According to the Annals of the Four Masters, in the year 457:
Ard Mhacha was founded by Saint Patrick, it having been granted to him by Daire, son of Finnchadh, son of Eoghan, son of Niallan. Twelve men were appointed by him for building the town. He ordered them, in the first place, to erect an archbishop’s city there, and a church for monks, for nuns, and for the other orders in general, for he perceived that it would be the head and chief of the churches of Ireland in general.
