 |
 |
County Armagh
 |
| Attractions: Annaghmare Tomb Armagh Navan Fort |
 |
 |
| Co. Armagh Árd Mhacha Prov. Ulster Nortern Ireland (United Kingdom) |
| Major cities: Armagh |
| Surface: 1,254 km2 Population: 127,700 |
The name of County Armagh derives from the Gaelic Ad Macha, meaning Height of Macha, and refers to the story that Macha, the wife of Nemed, is buried here.
County Armagh is a county for the nature lover and angler. There are several forests and nature reserves with signposted walking tracks.
If you are walking along the road you have to be aware that iron balls can drop out of the sky. These balls are not a natural phenomenon, but are the attributes for road bowls. Road bowls is a popular game in County Armagh and in County Cork. The winner is the player who manage to hurl his ball with the fewest throws along a course. And yes, there is betting involved. This game is also known in some regions in the Netherlands as klootschieten, meaning nut-shooting.
Perhaps it is saver to rent a boat and go fishing on the largest lake of Ireland Loch Neagh or the Blackwater River.
The prevailing opinion about the town of Armagh is that it became the spiritual centre of Ireland with the arrival of Saint Patrick, who had a loyal supporter and powerful host in the King of Ulster. Excavations in the Navan Fort, a few kilometres west of the city, are suggesting that the fort was not primarily build for defence but for ceremonial purposes. This would implicate that the designated spiritual centre, the Hill of Tara in County Meath, had a competitor.
Nowadays Armagh is still the seat of both the Catholic as the Protestant archbishop and therewith the spiritual centre of Ireland.
Armagh is not the tranquil rural Ulster town you might expect. It is a small brimming county town with several institutions, two cathedrals and the world famous planetarium and observatory.