Crossmaglen
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- There is also a small town named Crossmaglen in New South Wales, Australia, near the city of Coffs Harbour.
Crossmaglen (Irish:Crois Mhic Lionnáin Lennon's Cross) is a village in south County Armagh, 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 (PSNI, formerly the Royal Ulster Constabulary) base and formerly of an observation tower (known locally as the "look-out post").
The town's name means Lennon's Cross, a reference to the two roads which intersect at the town square, linking Dundalk with Keady and Carrickmacross with Newry. Lennon is believed to be Owen Lennon, a local resident in the 18th century, who was famed as the owner of a shebeen, an illegal ale house.
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. Locals claim the square is the largest in Western Europe, after Saint Peter's Square in Rome. Crossmaglen has been described by Belfast journalist Malachi O'Doherty as "a southern town that had the border laid down on the wrong side of it."
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[edit] Education
- Anamar Primary School
- Clonalig Primary School
- St. Brigid's Primary School
- St. Joseph's High School
- St. Patrick's Primary School Encompassing Scoil Phádraig Naofa, an Irish-medium education unit.
[edit] The Troubles
The British army had a major presence in the area during the Troubles despite being unwanted by most[1] of the local population. 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.
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.
[edit] 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 and 2007, the latter after a replay. 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 1-8 0-10 to neighbours Tyrone. One of Crossmaglen's most notable player 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 1954, when Gene Morgan was the captain but they were defeated by Kerry. Armagh also made it to the 1977 All-Ireland final, but were soundly beaten by Dublin.
There is a long-running dispute between the local Gaelic Athletic Association club and the British Army over the siting of one section of the military base right onto their pitch in the 1970s. While this section was removed some years ago, the base still extends onto the club's grounds.
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 British army base which was placed on the Rangers pitch and on the back garden of the Morgan Family home on Cardinal Ó Fiaich Square
In march 2007 they beat Dr. Crokes to win the All-Ireland club championships.
[edit] 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
- 99.0% 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
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