County Armagh is traversed by two major highways – the M1 linking Belfast to Dungannon crosses the north of the county whilst the A1/N1 from Belfast to Dublin runs in the far south east. The life they are living in comparison to the life that guys like me had, when we were growing up at that age. Mains became deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and was involved in many high-profile cases, giving evidence to the Smithwick tribunal about claims of IRA/Garda collusion relating to the murders of two senior RUC colleagues.

Macha is also said to have been responsible for the construction of the hill site of Emain Macha (now Navan Fort near Armagh City) to serve as the capital of the Ulaid kings (who give their name to Ulster), and is believed to be the high place from which the county takes its name.The county was administered by Armagh County Council from 1899 until the abolition of county councils in Northern Ireland in 1973. Andrew Nesbitt (1960), raised in Aughnagurgan, County Armagh, professional rally driver and winner of the 2000 and 2002 Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. It is one of four counties in Northern Ireland with a Catholic majority, with 58% of the population coming from a Catholic community background.

Around 10% of the population was born outside the United Kingdom and Ireland, mainly immigrants from the European Union and concentrated in the Craigavon urban area ( Lurgan, Portadown and Craigavon).A bomb went off one day, my sister walked into the house and she was stung from head to toe by hedge nettles. The real measure of change is reflected in the lives of his three children: “They’re at an age now where, if they want, they can walk up the town on a Friday after school to get an ice-cream or do whatever they want to do. The British army helipad has disappeared and a windowless army bunker that backed on to the police station has been replaced with a bread making factory.

But I will always say this: a lot of the people I met in south Armagh, to this day, I’m still very friendly with. Places likes Creggan (a village beside Crossmaglen where the ‘lost’ O’Neill clan vault was accidentally discovered in a graveyard in 1973) are unique.

The possibilities for Cross and surrounding areas are endless if the proper investment and proper faith was shown in the people of the area… but we’re actually doing okay. Outside Keenan’s Bar, an official Northern Ireland tourist information sign hangs which serves as the “centre point” for Walsh’s walking tours. The Bandit helps Angel face off against some shady characters smuggling stolen silver ingots hidden in the carnival. Troops honed their urban warfare skills as they countered the threat of snipers, booby traps, mortars and bombs.

County Armagh also remains as a district for legal and property purposes; however, its baronies no longer have any administrative use. Colin Turkington (1982), born in Portadown, County Armagh, professional racing driver and 2009 British Touring Car champion. We just sort of got on with things because if you’re living under that sort of oppression, and it was oppression, it’s something that you carry with you. Contae Ard Mhacha is the Irish name; Coontie Armagh [3] and Coontie Airmagh [4] are Ulster Scots spellings.Former Armagh footballer Oisín McConville on the terrace of the Crossmaglen Rangers pitch which is overlooked by the still heavily fortified police station.