Crossmaglen

Crossmaglen
Irish: Crois Mhic Lionnáin
Cross/The Cross
Road leading into the village
Crossmaglen shown within Northern Ireland
Population	1,459 (2001 Census)
Irish grid reference	H910152
- Belfast	52 mi (84 km)
District	Newry & Mourne
County	County Armagh
Country	Northern Ireland
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	NEWRY
Postcode district	BT35
Dialling code	028
EU Parliament	Northern Ireland
UK Parliament	Newry & Armagh
NI Assembly	Newry & Armagh
List of places: UK • Northern Ireland • Armagh

Crossmaglen or Crosmaglen (from Irish: Crois Mhic Lionnáin, meaning "Mac Lionnáin's cross") is a village and townland in south County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,459 people in the 2001 Census and is the largest village in south Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Ireland base and formerly of an observation tower (known locally as the "look-out post").

The square's name commemorates Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich, a local man who became Primate of All Ireland (head of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland), and who died in 1990.

Education

St. Brigid's Primary School

St. Brigid's Primary School is a primary school located in Crossmaglen, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is within the Southern Education and Library Board area.

• Address: 63 Glassdrummond Road, Crossmaglen, BT35 9DY.
• Enrolment: 139 in 1991/92 and 145 in 1995/96.

On 21 October 1998, President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, visited the school and met with pupils.

St. Patrick's Primary School

Encompassing Scoil Phádraig Naofa, an Irish-medium education unit.

> address: carran road, crossmaglen

History

On 13 January 1921, during the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) shot dead an Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) constable in Crossmaglen. He was the first member of the USC to be killed whilst on duty.

Cardinal Ó Fiach Square, Crossmaglen.

The Troubles

The British Army had a major presence in the area during "the Troubles" despite being unwanted by most of the local population. Crossmaglen and the wider South Armagh/South Down area was a republican stronghold and republican paramilitaries were very active. This earned it the nickname "Bandit Country". Labour Party MP Clare Short said in 1983 "It is ridiculous that British troops are here in Crossmaglen. The claim is that they're in Ireland keeping the peace between the two communities. But there is only one community in South Armagh, so what the heck are they doing here?" During the Troubles, at least 58 police officers and 124 soldiers were killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in South Armagh, many in Crossmaglen itself. Due to this, the Provisional IRA volunteers who carried out these attacks are seen as emotive symbols for Republicans and are usually dubbed "The fighting men from CrossMaglen" or simply "The fighting 10". See Provisional IRA South Armagh Brigade for further information.

For more information see The Troubles in Crossmaglen, which includes a list of incidents in Crossmaglen during the Troubles resulting in two or more fatalities.

Gaelic games

Crossmaglen in recent years has become known for its Gaelic football team, Crossmaglen Rangers, who won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2007 (after a replay) and 2010. The manager and several players of Rangers went on to win the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship with the Armagh GAA in 2002 and got to the final in 2003 but lost 0-12 0-9 to neighbours Tyrone. One of Crossmaglen's most notable players is Oísin McConville, who is also Ulster's Top scoring player ever. The county team were also in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final in 1953, local players Gene Morgan and Frank Kernan were on the team but they were defeated by Kerry. Armagh also made it to the 1977 All-Ireland final, but were soundly beaten by Dublin.

There is also an ongoing argument between Crossmaglen Rangers G.A.C, the Morgan Family of Crossmaglen and the British Army over the positioning of the army base which was placed on the Rangers pitch and on the back garden of the Morgan Family home on Cardinal Ó Fiaich Square. This was remedied beginning in April, 1999 (http://www.thefreelibrary.com/GAA:+Army+begin+retreat+from+Crossmaglen.(Sport)-a060388002)

On 17 March 2011, they defeated Roscommon champions St Brigids to again win the All-Ireland club championship. Crossmaglen Rangers hold the national record of 38 County Titles, including 13 in a row. They also hold the record of 7 Ulster club titles.

2001 Census

Crossmaglen is classified as a village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (ie with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,459 people living in Crossmaglen. Of these:

• 27.0% were aged under 16 and 14.8% were aged 60 and over
• 48.6% of the population were male and 51.4% were female
• 97.0% were from a Catholic background and 0.8% were from a Protestant background
• 6.5% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.

For more details see: NI Neighbourhood Information Service

External links

• Culture Northern Ireland
• The Free Library