Armagh

Nursing Homes near Armagh

Northern Ireland

Approximate Population: 14,590

The city of Armagh (from the Irish: Ard Mhacha meaning “The Height of Macha”) is an ancient religious site of worship of both Celtic paganism and Christianity, the oldest of the five cities in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. Armagh was granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994, and city status was officially re-conferred in 1995. Armagh is the least-populated city in both Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland. It had a population of 14,590 people in the 2001 Census.

Emain Macha (or Navan Fort) at the city’s edge, 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 CE. 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 Macha means “The Height of Macha”.

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.

Nursing Homes near Armagh

Northern Ireland