It is in County Armagh and rich with Irish history and folklore.

Its dynasty held power for 700 years until defeated by the Collas brothers , who moved their power base back onto the hill at Armagh.

A hundred years later , in 445 A.D , Saint Patrick declared the hill the site of his primacy and first bishopric. Having converted the local chieftain he built his cathedral here.

Later , between the ninth and eleventh centuries the city was repeatedly pillaged by the Vikings.

Its a great wee hidden gem on tours of Ireland , and also accessible on our extended Belfast tours.

Ireland’s patron saint was a Roman Briton , first carried off as a youth from somewhere near Carlisle in Northern England by Irish raiders. He spent six years in slavery in Ireland before escaping home again and , at the age of thirty , decided to return to Ireland as a Bishop , to spread Christianity.

Christianity had already reached Ireland a while earlier , probably through traders and other slaves , and , indeed , St Patrick was not in fact the first Bishop of Ireland , but he remains easily the most famous. He arrived in Ireland this second time , according to his biographer Muirchu (also his erstwhile captor , converted) , on the shores of the Lecale Region , and his first Irish sermon was preached at Saul in 432. Today the region commemorates the association with sites at Struell Wells and Saul , as well as at Downpatrick town.

All worth seeing on Ireland tours.

Our private day tours allow for sight-seeing , activities like golf and horse riding , and so much more.

Some of our most popular Belfast tours extend to….

THE GIANTS CAUSEWAY

DUNLUCE CASTLE

BUSHMILLS DISTILLERY

FERMANAGH AND DEVENISH ISLAND

MARBLE ARCH CAVES

THE MOUNTAINS OF MOURNE

SAINT PATRICKS GRAVE

ARDS PENINSULA

BOAT TRIPS ON THE ATLANTIC AND LOUGH ERNE

If you are on tours of Ireland and visiting Belfast try our Belfast tours !

Or if you are visiting on a cruise ship and want to see as much as possible our tours are perfect !

County Armagh is an inland county in the province of Ulster , one of the six counties of Northern Ireland.

Armagh has an area of 480 square miles and a population of approx 150,000.

The county is highly fertile and agriculture is a staple of its economy.

Known in song as “the orchard of Ireland,” Armagh has a strong fruit-growing industry.

Its hilly southern portion includes some of the most beautiful scenery in Ireland , such as the spectacular mountain Slieve Gullion. In the north, where Armagh borders Lough Neagh , lies the Lurgan valley with its industrial towns.

Linen was once a major industry , and it is still manufactured today.

Throughout the county are remnants of some four hundred raths , or ring forts , including the magnificent Navan Fort (c.700 B.C.) which was once the capital of the pre-Christian kings of Ulster. Two miles west of the city of Armagh , this fort , known as Emhain Macha in Irish mythology , was where King Conor Mac Nessa held court with his Red Branch Knights , whose stories feature the great hero Cuchulainn and the tragic lover Deirdre.

From the 7th century , Armagh has been the ecclesiastical center of the Catholic Church in Ireland. This is attributed to Armagh’s close association with St. Patrick.

Written in the 9th century , the Book of Armagh , portions of which contain accounts of the life of Patrick , is one of Ireland’s most important early medieval monastic works.

Armagh was severely affected by the Nine Years War (1593 – 1603). The devastation of the conflict was compounded by the subsequent “Plantation of Ulster”  , in which Gaelic Catholic landowners had their lands confiscated and granted to English and Scottish “undertakers” , who in turn replaced much of the native population with Protestant settlers from Britain.

The transfer of land ownership from Catholic to Protestant in Armagh was completed with the Cromwellian Settlement.

By 1700, almost all the land in the county was held by Protestant landlords , with native Catholics confined to the boggy and mountainous south.

A truly historical hidden gem. Visit the sights on any tours of Ireland. Armagh is very easy to get to on our Belfast tours and beyond. If you are visiting on a cruise ship it should certainly be considered.

It is the most important source for our knowledge of the life and writings of Saint Patrick , whose name you will hear on any Ireland tours.

It is the only early manuscript that can be dated in the 800s with any degree of reliability. A real hidden gem.

An inscription states that Ferdomnach wrote it at the behest of Torbach , who was abbott of Armagh in the years 807 and 808.

This small format book includes Saint Patricks own “Confessio” , a copy of the New Testament , and the life of Saint Martin of Tours.

Its illustrations , such as the Four Evangelist symbols , are drawn in monochrome brown ink with as firm a hand as the more colourful counterparts in the Book of Kells.

It is in the library of Trinity College , Dublin.

Have a look !!!!!

It is a journey to Saint Patricks Purgatory , or Station Island , in County Donegal.

If you are on Ireland tours and wish to participate then it takes place between June 1st and August 15th each year.

The pilgrims spend 3 days on the island and perform a series of penances , including vigils and fasting.

It was a widely popular relegious practice before the Great Famine ( 1845 – 1851 ) but was transformed betwen 1850 to 1875 during the Irish devotional revolution. This condemned indigenous relegious practices in an effort to normaliize Irish Catholicism.

Worth a thought on any tours of Ireland ?????