ARMAGH, Archdiocese of. - With its seat at Armagh, a city of northern Ireland about 120 km north of Dublin, the capital of a county. The name derives from the Gaelic Ard Macha, height of Macha. The see with its primatial dignity goes back to St. Patrick, the apostle of Ireland, who around 445 erected there a church, a monastery and, it seems, the school, which became very famous in the following centuries. In it was compiled around 807 the Liber Ardmachanus, an important work written in Latin and Old Gaelic, which contains almost the entire New Testament, some ecclesiastical writings, the Confession and two Lives of St. Patrick. It is now preserved in Dublin.

In the exercise of their primatial right the archbishops of A., from the 8th century until the 13th, visited various regions of Ireland to strengthen discipline and to exact the taxes owed to them for the works (as it seems) of the see. This visitation was interrupted after the English invasion.

Among the great figures who occupied the see of A. the most worthy of note are St. Malachy (v.), and Blessed Oliver Plunkett (v.). The diocese comprises 55 parishes, two of which belong to the archiepiscopal mensa; 169 diocesan priests and 78 regulars. The population is 202,850, of whom 131,600 are Catholics. The suffragan dioceses are eight.

Bibliography7 works

BIBL.: J. Lanigan, Ecclesiastical History of Ireland, Dublin 1829; Annals of the Four Masters, ed. O' Donovan, ibid. 1856; J. O' Hanlon, Life of st. Malachy, ibid. 1859; P. F. Moran, Memoirs of Most Rev. Dr. Oliver Plunkett, ibid. 1861; J. Healy, Ireland's Ancient Schools and Scholars, ibid. 1890; J. Stuart, History of A., ed. Coleman, ibid. 1900; J. Linchaeus, De Praesulibus Hiberniae, ed. O' Doherty, ibid. 1944. - The Liber Ardmachanus was edited by Gwynn at Dublin in 1913.

Dionisio Mac Daid

@incollection{ec1_armagh_arcidiocesi_di, author = {Mac, Daid Dionisio}, title = {Armagh, arcidiocesi di}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {I}, pages = {1953}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1948}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/armagh-arcidiocesi-di} }

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Armagh, Archdiocese of

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