ARMAGHevidence to confirm the claim that Patrick ever founded
a church at Armagh, though Armagh was certainly
within his mission field.
Seventh-century records show that Patrick already
enjoyed a national reputation. Cummian’s letter of 633
referred to Patrick as “papa noster,” recognizing him
as the “father” of the Irish Church. Pope-elect John
IV’s letter of 640 addressed to leading churchmen in
northern Ireland, with Bishop Tómméne of Armagh at
the head of the list, points to Armagh being one of the
leading ecclesiastical centers in the north of Ireland (if
nottheleading center) by that date. The works of
Muirchú and Tírechán and the Book of the Angel
amplified Patrick’s existing reputation and bound it
with the church at Armagh.
Wealth
Armagh’s subsequent rise to national importance was
associated with the cult of Patrick, but also on the
great wealth the church leaders at Armagh were able
to command, both in terms of land and the tributes
drawn from dependent churches and monasteries in
its far-flung paruchia. Armagh claimed jurisdiction
over many supposedly Patrician foundations, and
churches like Sletty that placed themselves under
Armagh’s protection. Political factors must have
played a role in Armagh’s accumulation of such
wealth and power, though the process is obscured by
lack of evidence.
Certainly Armagh was at the center of the kingdom
of the Airthir, a branch of the Airgialla federation. The
churchmen at Armagh, as one can see most blatantly
in Muirchú’s Life, looked to the Airthir and Uí Néill
for patronage. The abbots of Armagh probably gained
possession of their rich hinterland as discarded seg-
ments of the royal Airthir dynasty reprised themselves
as ecclesiastical dynasties under the protection of the
church. The successful courting of the Uí Néill meant
that as they progressed towards a national hegemony
(never fully realized), the church of Armagh’s claims
to national primacy were promoted in their train. The
close tie between Armagh and the Uí Néill is symbol-
ized by Áed Findliath, the king of Tara, having a house
in Armagh in 870.
Armagh’s monastery grew over time, as reflected
in the growing number of church offices recorded in
eighth- and ninth-century annals. It became a sizeable
ecclesiastical settlement. A Viking raid on the city in
1020 destroyed the fort at Armagh and all the build-
ings in it, save the library, countless houses in and
around Armagh, the great stone church on the hill
and at least two lesser churches, and the students’
accommodations and “much gold and silver, and
other precious things.”
Vikings
The first Viking raid on Armagh was recorded in 832,
and they were frequent thereafter. The raiders came
for slaves as well as precious religious objects and
other portable wealth. A hoard lost by Vikings in the
Blackwater River shows the high quality of metalwork
being carried out at Armagh at the time. The church
at Armagh survived repeated raids, apparently undi-
minished, though the loss of manuscripts and ecclesi-
astical treasures, not to mention lives and mundane
goods, must have been considerable over the years.Twelfth-Century Reforms
Armagh’s claims to being Ireland’s primatial see
were formally acknowledged at the synod of Raith
Breasail in 1111. The synod was part of the “twelfth-
century reform” which sought to bring the Irish
Church more closely in line with that elsewhere in
Latin Christendom. The reform movement is closely
associated with Malachy of Armagh, though Malachy
faced tremendous opposition to his reforming efforts
from the Clann Sínaig, the hereditary abbots of
Armagh. The reformers eventually prevailed, though
Popes Adrian IV and Alexander III directed Henry II
of England to launch the Anglo-Norman invasion of
Ireland in the third quarter of the twelfth century to
complete the reforms.Later Middle Ages
Armagh and most of its hinterland remained the pos-
session of the archbishops in the later middle ages.
Archbishop Máel Pátraic Ua Scannail (1261–1270) built
Armagh’s medieval cathedral, which survives in a
heavily “restored” guise. It was described in 1553 as
“one of the fairest churches in Ireland.” Ua Scannail also
founded a Franciscan friary in Armagh whose ruins can
still be seen. An Augustinian priory built around the
same time to house the reformed monastic community
of Armagh was described as “the best building in
Armagh” by Bishop Chiericati, the papal nuncio to the
court of Henry VIII. There was also a small Céile Dé
community in the city which survived into the sixteenth
century. At the close of the middle ages, there was a
convent at Templenaferta which boasted four carved
panels in white alabaster of Italian cinquecento design.
Armagh remained a significant town throughout the
later middle ages. English soldiers under Lord Deputy
Sussex set fire to Armagh in 1557, though less than a
quarter of the town was actually destroyed, which may
reflect something of its size. However, by the end of
the Tudor wars of conquest, Armagh had been all but