ARMAGH, an inland county in the province of Ulster, in Ireland, is bounded on the north by Lough Neagh, on the east by the county of Down, on the south-east by that of Louth, on the south-west by that of Monaghan, and on the west by the county of Tyrone. According to Ptolemy, it was inhabited by the Vinderii and Voluntii. It afterwards formed part of a territory called Orgial or Uriel, which also extended over Louth, Monaghan, and some smaller districts. It was likewise subdivided into the tracts or countries of Clanbrassil, the M‘Cahans or M‘Canes, Oirthir or Orior, the O’Hanlons, the Fews, and Hy Niellan. In the reign of James I. it was made shire ground, under its present name. It is now divided into∙l the eight baronies of Armagh, Upper Fews, Lower Fews, O’Neilland East, O’Neilland West, Upper Orior, Lower labour. The result has shown the soundness of Mr Rasbotham’s opinion. It is doubtful whether 30,000 persons were employed in all the branches of the cotton manufacture in 1767; whereas, in consequence of those very inventions which the workmen endeavoured to destroy, there are now upwards of 1,000,000 directly engaged in its different departments ι There is, in fact, no idea so groundless and absurd as that which supposes that an increased facility of production can, under any circumstances, be injurious to the labourers.
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Orior, and Turaney. The superficies of the county has been estimated at 293,919 acres, or nearly 458 square miles.

Considered in its ecclesiastical relations, it forms part of the archiepiscopal province of Armagh, which comprises the dioceses of Armagh, Clogher, Meath, Down, Connor, Derry, Raphoe, Kilmore, Dromore, and Ardagh. The archbishopric of Armagh extends over 468,500 acres, in the counties of Armagh, Londonderry, Tyrone, Louth, and Meath. It contains 111 parishes, consolidated into 80 benefices, having 78 churches, 75 glebe houses, and 16,324 acres of glebe, which, if equally apportioned among the incumbents, would give an average of 204 acres to each. Of these benefices the king presents to 4; the archbishop to 43; other dignitaries of the diocese to 14; laymen to 11; Trinity college, Dublin, to 4; St Patrick’s cathedral, Dublin, to one; besides which, there are two joint presentations, and one disputed. The tithe paid by 48 of these parishes, which have conformed to the provisions of the tithe composition act, amounts to L.19,292, being at the rate of L.402 annually to each parish. If the aggregate of the tithe of those which have not yet compounded bear the same proportion to the number of parishes as those which have, the total tithe of the diocese would amount to L.44,613, which, divided among the 80 incumbents, would afford an income to each of L.557 per annum, independently of glebes, manses, or occasional dues. The archbishop’s income, derived from lands, is estimated at L.22,000 per annum.

The county of Armagh contains 22 entire parishes, and 5 parts of parishes, the remainder of which are in some of the adjoining counties. The total population, according to the last census, taken in 1821, amounts to 197,427 souls, being at the rate of one individual to every acre and a half, or one family to every eight acres. Of this population, 28,905 are stated in the same census to be employed in agriculture, 67,182 in trade, manufactures, and commerce, and 14,521 in other occupations, leaving 86,819 of both sexes and of every age unoccupied.

The county of Armagh returns three members to the imperial parliament,—two for the county at large, and one for the city. The election for the county is vested, as in all the other counties of Ireland, in the freeholders, whose number, previously to the passing of the Catholic Relief Bill in 1829, amounted to 8746,—a large number for a county, one of the smallest in superficial extent. These were classed as follows,—203 freeholders holding tenures of L.50 value; 124 of those of L.20; and 8419 of those of L.2, or, as they are more commonly called, forty shilling freeholders. The abolition of the last-named class, which took place at the period just mentioned, reduced the number of electors to 1361, viz. 235 freeholders of L.50; 186 of L.20; and 940 of L.10, which is now the lowest value of a tenure entitling a freeholder to vote.

The nature of the soil, and the general character of the land, are well adapted for agricultural purposes. Hills of gentle ascent, of pleasing forms and various altitudes, diversify the surface. Large tracts, particularly in the vicinity of Armagh city, and thence throughout the northern parts, are covered with a stratum of rich productive soil: many of these are well adapted for the culture of wheat, being composed of a strong clay resting on a substratum of excellent limestone. The southern and western parts rise into a rugged, and in many parts a barren elevation, known by the name of the Fews Mountains. The highest of these mountains, and the second in height in the province, is named Slieve-Gallien. Its top is crowned by a large cairn or pile of stones, which forms the roof of a singular cavern of artificial construction, seemingly intended for other than sepulchral purposes.

Two lower ranges, named the Newry and Fathom Mountains, he nearer the sea.

Indications of lead show themselves in several parts; traces of deserted mines of this mineral have also been discovered, but none are now wrought. Marble of good quality and some beauty is raised in large quantities near the city of Armagh. A blue stone, well adapted for building, is common in many places. The steatite or soap-stone has also been found; as likewise good potters’ earth, brilliant cubic pyrites, and ironstone of very rich quality. Chalybeate springs in several parts point out the existence of iron; but this mineral has not been found in sufficient quantities to justify the outlay of money towards raising it. Pearls, the production of a species of shell-fish between the oyster and the muscle, have been found in the river Bann.

The county is well watered by numerous streams; the principal are the Callen, the Tynan, and the Tallwater, which fall into the Blackwater, a river that, after forming part of the boundary between this county and Tyrone, empties itself into the south-western angle of Lough Neagh. The Tara, the Newtoun Hamilton, the Creggan, and the Fleury, flow into the Bay of Dundalk. The Cam or Cam-lin joins the Bann, which, rising in the Mourne Mountains, in the southern extremity of the county of Down, forms part of the western boundary of Armagh county, and falls into Lough Neagh to the east of the Blackwater. With the aid of a canal, the Bann is navigable for vessels of sixty tons burden through part of its course.

Lough Neagh, which stretches along the north of Armagh, is confined by it and the four counties of Down, Londonderry, Antrim, and Tyrone. It is of an oblong form, and is computed to cover 94,274 acres. Seven rivers and a number of smaller streams flow into it, while the only vent for its accumulated waters is through the channel of the northern Bann. Though estimable as a means of water communication through an extensive tract of country, it has little of the picturesque or romantic to attract attention. Ram Island, near the Antrim shore, and Derrywarragh, near the mouth of the Blackwater, are its only islands. Some parts of its shores have long been celebrated for the petrifying qualities of its waters. The cause of this phenomenon is not satisfactorily ascertained; for, though logs and branches of trees, in various stages of the petrifactive process, have been found, this effect has not been produced on any pieces of timber laid there for the sake of experiment. Catnlough and Lough Clay, the only lakes within the county, are of small dimensions.

Tillage cannot be said to be either in a very advanced or a very backward state. Farm manure is much used, but lime still more; which latter, though abundant in some parts of the county, is so scarce in others that it is drawn eight or ten miles for the purposes of tillage. It is chiefly burned with turf raised from bogs dispersed throughout most districts, but chiefly in the northern parts, where they are of fine quality and large dimensions. Fifty barrels of lime are allowed to the Irish acre. The chief succession of crops is oats repeated two or three seasons after potatoes or wheat, with manure. Green crops are every year more attended to, particularly among the wealthier farmers, and the gentry, who hold land in their own hands, and thus give a tone and example to the country for agricultural improvements.

The farms are in general very small, yet their owners are generally in circumstances of comparative comfort. There are few who do not keep at least one cow, or a few sheep; none but the poorest cottar is without a pig· Their usual diet is oatmeal, potatoes, and milk porridge, varied sometimes by salt herrings. The better description of farmers use animal food, chiefly bacon and poultry.
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Cheese in small quantity, and butter more than sufficient for domestic use, are-obtained from their cows. Their sheep furnish wool, which is manufactured into the coarse cloths, blankets, and druggets, used by themselves and their families.

The manufacture to which the industry of the country is chiefly directed, and which has given a peculiar tone to the character of the population, is the linen. It is noways necessary to the promotion of this manufacture, that the spinners and weavers should be congregated in large towns, or united in crowded and unwholesome factories. On the contrary, most of its branches can be carried on in the cottages of the peasantry. The men devote to the loom those hours which are not required for the cultivation of their little farms; the women spin and reel the yarn during the intervals of their other domestic occupations. Every female servant is bound to produce a certain quantity of yarn weekly, in addition to her other dudes. Smooth lawns, perennial streams, pure springs, and the open face of heaven, are necessary for perfecting the bleaching process. Hence the extensive bleachers, with all their assistants and machinery, dwell in the country. Such is the effect of this combination of agricultural occupations with domestic manufactures, that the farmers are more than competent to supply the resident population of the county with vegetable, though not with animal food; and some of the less crowded and less productive parts of Ulster receive a considerable supply of oats, barley, and flour from it. Apples are grown in such quantities as to entitle the county to the epithet bestowed on it, of the orchard of Ireland.

The cause now dwelt upon has had an effect equally striking on the manners and appearance of the people. The men are stout and well proportioned; nor does it appear that their growth is checked or their general health deteriorated by their early application to the sedentary and stooping labour of the loom. The women are generally handsome, and, in consequence∙of being chiefly employed within doors, fairer than those of other districts. On Sundays, and at fairs and similar places of resort, the dress and manners of both sexes indicate a superior degree of civilization. The interior of their cottages is neat, the exterior and the appendages cleanly. Cockfighting was once a favourite amusement among them, but the taste for it is rapidly declining. They delight in dancing, and have frequent meetings for the enjoyment of it; but hunting seems above all to be their darling recreation. The moment the cry of the hounds is heard, the labourer drops his spade, the weaver rushes from his loom, and the chase is followed with ardour and activity almost incredible; yet it rarely happens that redoubled exertions at their employments do not compensate for the time thus lost. Lively gratitude for favours, and a quick sense of injury or insult, yet seldom tinctured with feelings of revenge, are leading characteristics of their moral temperament.

In the towns and level parts of the county the protestant religion, in its two principal forms of the established church and the presbyterian discipline, predominates; but the Roman catholic is prevalent in the mountainous and less cultivated parts. As far as may be conjectured from the returns of the commissioners of education, the Roman catholics appear to constitute nearly one half of the gross population.

' According to those returns, the number of children at school in 1824 amounted to 13,800. If the total number of children between five and fifteen years of age, which may be called the period of education, be 49,000, as stated in the population returns of 1821, upwards of two thirds of the whole remain uninstructed. The religious persuasions of those educated are as follows:—Established church 4655, presbyterians 2864, other dissenters 511, Roman catholics χ 5281. The number of schools is 333, of which 264, containing 9151 students, are supported wholly by the fees of the pupils; the remaining 69 are maintained either by grants of public money or by the voluntary contributions of the wealthier classes; viz. 44 schools, educating 3153 pupils, are supported by the former means, and 25 schools, educating 1540 pupils, by the latter.

The population, as may be inferred from the preceding statements, is chiefly rural. The county can boast but of four towns of more than 1000 inhabitants each, viz. Armagh city 8493 ;. Lurgan 2715; part of Newry, the other and more populous part being in the county of Down, 2543; and Tanderagee 1158: total population of the larger towns 14,909. That of the remaining towns and villages, 17 in number, amounts but to 6987 souls; the rural population, therefore, is 175,431, being nearly in the ratio of 12 to 1 with respect to that of the larger towns, and of 8 to 1 with respect to that of the towns and villages of every description.

The city of Armagh is 82 miles north of Dublin, being in 54° 20' 55" N. lat., and in 6° 37' 57" W. long. Though now much reduced in population, it was once considered as the metropolis of the island, and second only to Dublin in the number of its inhabitants. The honour of being its founder is attributed to St Patrick. It was built on an eminence named Druimsailech, or the Hill of Willows; its present name is supposed to be a slight corruption of Ard-macha, the High Place or Field. In 448 a synod was held here, the canons of which are still in existence. During the period anterior to the arrival of the English in Ireland, it suffered extremely from the assaults of the Danes, by whom it was repeatedly plundered and burnt. Nor was its condition much bettered by the change of masters. De Courcy, FitzAdelm, and De Lacy, pillaged it in turn in their attempts to subdue Ulster; and it was exposed to similar calamities during the wars by which the north of Ireland was desolated in the reign of Elizabeth. Her successor, James I., granted it a charter, according to which it has since been governed. Its decline was still farther increased by the non-residence of the archbishops, who, in consequence of the unsettled state of the northern province, fixed their residence for many years at Drogheda. From this deplorable state it was raised by LprdRokeby, better known by the name of Primate Robinson. When he determined to make it the seat of his permanent residence, this venerable city was little more than a collection of cabins. He erected in it an archiepiscopal palace, a college or grammar school for classical education, a library now containing upwards of 12,000 volumes, and an observatory well furnished with astronomical instruments. Besides these, the city now contains a Roman Catholic chapel and a Presbyterian meeting-house, both on a large scale; and several places of worship for other religious denominations. Its other public buildings are, the cathedral, a cruciform building, more remarkable for its antiquity than its architectural beauty; the court-house, the prison, the charter-school, the barrack, the county infirmary, the lunatic asylum, and the fever hospital, which last was erected and is maintained at the expense of Lord John Beresford, the present primate. The number of poor relieved at the charitable institutions just mentioned amounted in the year 1829 to 2678, and occasioned an expenditure of L.2562. Besides these there are eleven dispensaries in various parts of the county, the returns from six of which give an aggregate of 9558 individuals relieved during the same year, at an expenditure of L.967, one moiety of which is derived from the contributions of individuals, the other from grants of public money. In [7:3:574]Armagh city there is a mendicity society, which maintained 500 paupers during the same year, at an expenditure of L.584, being at the rate of L.l. 3s. 4∣d. each. The city is governed by a sovereign and twelve burgesses, who, when deaths occur, elect to the vacancies. The elective franchise is confined to the burgesses, and they uniformly return the archbishop’s nominee as their representative. Although the linen trade has declined considerably, both here and throughout the north of Ireland, much of it is still manufactured in the vicinity of the city, and is disposed of at the market held here every Tuesday. (See Wakefield’s Ireland; Barton’s Natural History of Lough Neagh ; Coote’s Statistical Survey of Armagh ; Shaw Mason’s Parochial Account of Ireland, articles Creggan, Ballymoyer, and Seagoe; Erck’s Ecclesiastical Register; Stewart’s History of the City of Armagh ; Parliamentary Papers; Population Peturns, 1821; Peports of Commissioners of Education, 1814, 1824—26; Peport of Committee on the State of the Poor in Ireland, 1830.)