County Armagh

County Armagh
Contae Ard Mhacha (Irish)
Coontie Airmagh/Armagh (Ulster-Scots)
Nickname: 
The Orchard County
CountryUnited Kingdom
RegionNorthern Ireland
ProvinceUlster
Established1584/5
County townArmagh
Area
  Total
512 sq mi (1,327 km2)
  Rank27th
Highest elevation1,880 ft (573 m)
Population
 (2021)
194,394
  Rank10th
  Density380/sq mi (146/km2)
Time zoneUTC±0 (GMT)
  Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
Postcode area
Contae Ard Mhacha is the Irish name; Coontie Armagh and Coontie Airmagh are Ulster Scots spellings.

County Armagh (Irish: Contae Ard Mhacha [ˌaːɾˠd̪ˠ ˈwaxə]) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders the Northern Irish counties of Tyrone to the west and Down to the east. The county borders Louth and Monaghan to the south and southwest, which are in the Republic of Ireland. It is named after its county town, Armagh, which derives from the Irish Ard Mhacha, meaning "Macha's height". Macha was a sovereignty goddess in Irish mythology and is said to have been buried on a wooded hill around which the town of Armagh grew. County Armagh is colloquially known as the "Orchard County" because of its many apple orchards.

The county covers an area of 1,327 km2 (512 sq mi), making it the smallest of Northern Ireland's six counties by size and the sixth-smallest county on the island of Ireland. With a population of 194,394 as of the 2021 census, it is the fourth-most populous county in both Northern Ireland and Ulster. It is the 10th most populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties, as well as the fifth-most densely populated. In addition to the city of Armagh and the western portion of the city of Newry, notable towns in the county include Lurgan, Portadown and Craigavon.