Armagh City – twin St Patrick's cathedrals

Overview

Armagh is Ireland’s ecclesiastical capital, the seat of both the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic primates, and it wears its history on two hills: a St Patrick’s cathedral on each, looking across the city at one another. Between them runs the Mall, an oval of lime trees and Georgian terraces that was once a racecourse. It is a small city – you can walk the lot in an afternoon – with an unusual concentration of things to do for its size, from an 18th-century library to a planetarium and the orchards that make the county’s cider.

If you have half a day, walk the Mall and climb both cathedral hills. If you have children, give the afternoon to the observatory and planetarium on College Hill.

History

Armagh’s story starts in the 5th century, when Saint Patrick chose the hill of Ard Macha for his first stone church, around AD 445. That site grew into the two cathedrals – the Church of Ireland cathedral on Sally Hill, the Roman Catholic one on the opposite mound – and the city stayed a centre of Christian learning for centuries. The Book of Armagh was compiled here, and the public library still holds a first edition of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels with his own handwritten notes in the margins.

The Mall has a less pious past. In the 18th century it was a racecourse, used for cock-fighting and bull-baiting, until an archbishop reclaimed it as a Georgian park. It is flanked by terraced houses designed by Francis Johnston, the Armagh Courthouse at the north end and the old Armagh Gaol at the south. Since then it has held everything from military parades to charity walks and the ‘Mum & Me in the Park’ sessions that still run today.

What to see and do

The twin cathedrals

• St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral – built on the hill where Patrick raised his first church, with a medieval crypt said to hold the grave of High King Brian Boru. You can go down into the crypt to see the carved stone heads of people and animals.
• St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral – a pale-limestone church on the opposite hill, reached by seven flights of steps but worth them for the view and the statue-filled, stained-glass interior.

Robinson Library

Founded in 1771, the Armagh Robinson Library is one of Ireland’s oldest public libraries: marble busts, a spiral staircase and shelves of rare books. The annotated Gulliver’s Travels is the prize, alongside a collection of Irish antiquities. Admission is free.

Armagh Observatory and Planetarium

Founded in 1789 by the 1st Baron Rokeby, the observatory stands on 14 acres of grounds known as the Astropark, and it has kept daily weather records without a break since 1794 – a run recognised by the World Meteorological Organisation in 2018. The adjoining planetarium opened in 1968 under Sir Patrick Moore. Together they offer full-dome shows, a Human Orrery, scale models of the Solar System and the chance to put your hand on Ireland’s largest meteorite (about 152 kg). In 2025 the site was added to the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list as one of the Irish Historic Astronomical Observatories. (There’s a fuller account on our Armagh Observatory & Planetarium page.)

The Mall

• Georgian terraces – the length of the Mall is lined with uniform brick façades and sash windows, about as good a set of Ulster Georgian houses as survives anywhere.
• Monuments – look for the Crimean cannon, the war memorial and the sculpture marking the 1889 Armagh rail disaster.
• Cultural neighbours – the County Museum, Ireland’s oldest county museum, sits at the north-eastern end; the Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum is to the south.
• Open space – the lawns take picnics, joggers and the summer fixtures of Armagh Cricket Club.

Palace Demesne and Palace Stables

A short walk south of the centre, the Palace Demesne is 300 acres of parkland around the ruined 18th-century Palace of the Archbishops and its chapel. The Palace Stables Heritage Centre, in the restored stable yard, runs regular community events.

No. 5 Vicars’ Hill

Near the Church of Ireland cathedral, this 1772 building was originally the diocesan registry. It now houses a small museum of rare coins, gems and historic records – a quiet look at how the city was administered.

Navan Centre and Fort

Two miles west of the centre, Navan Fort (Eamhain Mhacha) is one of Ireland’s most important archaeological sites: the legendary capital of Ulster and seat of its kings. The visitor centre has interactive exhibits, reconstructed Iron Age dwellings and costumed guides who tell the Ulster Cycle myths on the spot.

Events and festivals

• Armagh Cider Festival – each August in the city centre, with award-winning ciders from the surrounding orchards, music, food stalls and family events. Free entry.
• Planetarium anniversary shows – special full-dome programmes mark milestones through the year, often with a guest astronomer.
• Seasonal Mall activities – summer concerts, Christmas markets and the spring and autumn ‘Mum & Me in the Park’ sessions.

Practical information

One honest note on the hills: Armagh is built on drumlins, so the walk between the two cathedrals and up to the RC cathedral’s steps is more of a climb than the map suggests. Decent shoes, not heels.

Nearby

• Armagh County Museum – Ireland’s oldest county museum, with archaeology and local history.
• Armagh Drumlins – the rolling hills around the city, with walks and long views.
• Ardress House – an 18th-century National Trust house with formal gardens, a short drive out.
• Brownlow House – a historic mansion in parkland, now an events and exhibition venue.
• Royal Irish Fusiliers Museum – regimental history in a former railway depot.
• Maghery Country Park – 30 acres on the shore of Lough Neagh, with about 5 km of woodland walks and birdwatching, a short bus ride from the centre.

Start at the Mall, work out to the two cathedrals, and leave the planetarium for last – it’s the one that holds a wet afternoon together.