Armagh

The ecclesiastical capital of Ireland: Patrick founded his church here around 445 beside the older royal centre of Emain Macha, and both the Catholic and Church of Ireland primates still take their title from it. Two cathedrals face each other across the city on separate hills. Its Observatory has been recording the weather without a break since 1795.

Emain Macha, Navan Fort, on the western edge of the city, was in legend the royal capital of Ulster, and was largely abandoned after the 1st century. In the 3rd century a bank and ditch were dug around Cathedral Hill, probably a pagan sanctuary named, like Navan, after the goddess Macha: Ard Mhacha, Macha's height. By tradition Patrick founded his main church here in 445. By the 7th century Armagh had the most important church, monastery and school in the north, and the Book of Armagh was written here in the early 9th century.

Vikings raided three times in one month in 832 and at least ten times in the next century. Brian Boru came in 1004, acknowledged Armagh as the head church of Ireland and left gold; after Clontarf in 1014 he was buried here. The Synod of Ráth Breasail confirmed Armagh's primacy in 1111, and the Council of Armagh in 1171 freed all English slaves in Ireland. Anglo-Normans attacked in 1185 and 1189, and in the 16th century the town, on the road between the Pale and the O'Neills' Tyrone, changed hands again and again.

Drawn from the History section of the Wikipedia article on Armagh ↗, rewritten here and adding nothing it does not say; licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

• Navan Fort · royal site · 3 km
• Benburb Castle · castle · 9 km
• Gosford Castle · castle · 10 km
• Charlemont Fort · castle · 11 km
• Roxborough Castle · castle · 11 km
• Creevekeeran Castle · castle · 13 km
• Clare Castle, County Armagh · castle · 14 km

Straight-line distances from the town centre, from each site's documented coordinates.

• Navan Fort (Emain Macha) · Capital of the Ulaid and stage of the Ulster sagas — where a huge timber temple was built, filled with stones and deliberately burned around 95 BC.
• The Yellow Ford · August 1598: Hugh O'Neill destroys an English army marching to relieve the Blackwater fort — the worst defeat England ever suffered in Ireland.
• Benburb · June 1646: Owen Roe O'Neill's Spanish-trained army annihilates Monro's Scots on the Blackwater — the greatest Irish victory of the Confederate wars.
• Emain Macha — the Red Branch · Court of King Conchobar and the Red Branch knights. From here the boy Sétanta followed the king to the smith Culann's feast, killed Culann's hound and became Cú Chulainn, 'the Hound of Culann'.
• Emain Macha — Macha's curse · Forced to race the king's horses while pregnant, Macha cursed the men of Ulster to suffer birth-pangs in their hour of greatest need — which is why one boy fought the Táin alone. The site bears her name.
• Emain Macha — Deirdre of the Sorrows · Deirdre, promised to King Conchobar, fled with Naoise; when Naoise was killed on their return to Emain, Conchobar kept her, then gave her to his killer, Éogan. She threw herself from the chariot against a rock. Later tellings have her die of grief, and in some, yew trees grew from the two graves and twined together.

All of these are pinned on the Hidden Ireland map.