County of Armagh

Armagh, the Orchard County, is an inland county of Ulster, extending from Lough Neagh to the northern boundary of the Irish Republic.

It is bounded, on the north-west, by County Tyrone; on the north, by Lough Neagh; on the east, by County Down; on the south by County Louth in the Irish Republic; and on the west by County Tyrone, and County Monaghan in the Irish Republic.

The boundary line, on the north-west, is the River Blackwater; on the north, is of course the shore of the greatest lake in the British Isles.

From Lough Neagh to Knockbride, a distance of about nine miles, is a series of well-defined enclosures through beautiful and highly improved countryside.

From Knockbride to the head of Carlingford Bay, or along much of the greater part of the east, is the Newry Canal.

Along most of the south is a series of water-sheds, streamlet courses, miserable enclosures and imaginary marches, aggregately ill-defined, and extending across so bleak, wild and barren a district as to afford small inducement for its being accurately ascertained.

Along the north-west and west, over a distance of about 20 miles, is retrogradely the River Fane and one of its tributaries; whereas over the next four miles, a chain of poor fences and naked ditches.

Along the remaining distance down towards Lough Neagh is an affluent of the River Blackwater to Caledon, and the Blackwater itself to Lough Neagh.

Its form is a parallelogram of 24 miles by 11, with a considerable triangular protrusion at the north-east corner, a smaller triangular protrusion at the south-east corner, and a large, curved expansion of 14 miles by 7 on the west side.

Its greatest length, from Maghery on Lough Neagh to the townland of Dromlece [sic], near Foxfield, is 25 miles.

Its greatest breadth is from Scarva on the Newry Canal to the boundary with County Monaghan near the village of Glaslough is upwards of 16 miles.

The county's circumference is about 80 miles; and its area about 300,000 acres.

Slieve Gullion, at a height of 1,880 feet, is the highest mountain.

Select bibliography ~ Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland, 1841.