ONCE THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE IN IRELAND – Crossmaglen in South Armagh.
I revisit Crossmaglen in South Armagh more than 50 years after it was nicknamed Bandit Country for being the most deadly place to serve as a British Soldier during The Troubles.
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The British Army presence in South Armagh was only made possible through air transportation and billeting in very heavily armoured barracks with the use of strategic lookout towers.
The British Army moved around South Armagh, by helicopter. Was it for convenience? No in fact traveling by road was deemed far to dangerous in this part of Ireland during The Troubles, due to possible IRA ambush or booby trap explosives at the side of the road.
I’ve come to Crossmaglen today to see the place 50 years after the footage here was taken, but bear in mind that the Good Friday Agreement, which ended The Troubles, wasn’t signed until 1998, so Crossmaglen has seen less than 30 years of relative peace. A small community like Crossmaglen will take a long time to recover from its experience of the Troubles. I guess the irony is that this is a beautiful landscape that kind of place you might have wanted to come to on holiday had history been different. It certainly was no holiday for the British Army, and Crossmaglen (which had a large Army barracks) was considered one of the toughest and most dangerous places to be stationed.
After parking up in Cardinal O’Fiaich square, you can be forgiven for thinking that the village is still a bit shabby in places, but as I said, places need time to heal – and investment too I guess. Though there are parts of the square that look more prosperous and it would be nice to think that Crossmaglen is bouncing back. There are certainly a few pubs in the square now that look quite inviting.
There are a number of memorials in the square to IRA Volunteers, so this place remembers its past. In fact it had been recommended that the whole of South Armagh be transferred to the Irish Free State by the Boundary Commission in 1925 but the recommendation was never enacted. Small wonder then that this area, which was, and still is, almost entirely Catholic and profoundly republican, became such an impossible place to govern during the Troubles.
Republican areas refused to accept the RUC (Royal Ulster Constabulary) who were almost entirely a protestant police force, with the result that they couldn’t function within republican areas without a substantial British Army escort.
In 1983 The Labour MP Clare Short controversially said, “It is ridiculous that British Troops are here in Crossmaglen. The claim is that they’re in Ireland keeping the Peace between the two communities. But there’s only one community in South Armagh, so what the heck are they doing here?”
The Provisional IRA shot dead 58 RUC officers and 124 British soldiers in South Armagh – many of who were killed here in Crossmaglen. It’’s for this reason that the area earned the name Bandit Country. These were very dark times indeed.
Back in the present day we see the Sinn Fein office in O’Fiaich Square, a reminder that this part of the world finally did find a political way forward.
And as a consequence, people in this area can finally live lives without fear and a new generation of people can grow up without a memory of IRA ambushes or British SAS covert operations.
And as we see so much conflict now in other parts of the world, perhaps there’s something to be learned here. That dialogue and compromise are the biggest weapons in your arsenal. I certainly never though peace was possible here when I was growing up – but I was wrong about that.
And, as always, there’s a small, very small, group of people who would love to drag us back to all this. To the killings and the stops and the searches, the hatred and the intolerance. If you didn’t live through the Troubles then I hope this humble video might show you some of the futility of it all. And if you, like me, lived through all this, then hopefully this will serve to remind us that we should never go back.
I love making videos about incredible Irish towns, villages, pubs and beaches as you know, but it’s important sometimes to consider that Ireland has a troubled history, a history we should all be aware of. I also think it’s positive to know that the conflict here was resolved, obviously some people are still suffering psychologically, but the daily killing has stoped.
Perhaps there’s hope for other conflicts going on in the world.
24 Comments
Very nice video, it brought back many memories. I grew up in Crossmaglen in the 70’s and 80’s and I’ll always consider it my home town and visit every time I return to Ireland. I was looking at those young kids wondering if it was someone I knew or was in class with.
Maybe it wasn’t in the scope of your video and you deliberately focused on what Cross is most (in)famous for, but it’s a little sad when Cross is still today so closely associated with the troubles. There is so much more to the town and surrounding countryside today. If too many social media videos focus on all the negative history there is a risk of us being stuck in the past and not moving forward and developing at the same pace as the rest of the country. I know you did comment on how Crossmaglen is very different today, but the imagery appeared to be focused on it’s difficult past.
With that said I understand it’s not your job to act as PR for any community and you should make the videos that interest you and your audience. I just hope if you ever return to South Armagh to make another video, there will be more focus on all that is positive in the region.
Still, a very nice video. You’ve a new subscriber.
I remember up at Clermont cairn watching the endless streams of puma and lynx helicopters, from the republic side … Too this day I'm wary of going up north. Today's youth wouldn't understand. Only us auld foogies.
When I do … I say nought. The thick southern accent – Brought fear to anyone I met. ☘
still waiting on bread being delivered
Men in platform shoes being arrested for bombings
Put that nonsense behind us. Peace is everything.
Crown forces didn’t need to have a presence in South Armagh, and Crossmaglen in particular, due to it being in an exclusively Nationalist/Republican stronghold, it was all about domination and proving a point, but it proved a very costly point?!!
Good video, I was a young British soldier back then and recall the fear I felt during my time stationed in Ireland . I am so glad that things are much better and the killing and violence has stopped . I now have a lovely daughter in law from just over the border , she and my son have given us 4 gorgeous grand children who are loved by us in Scotland and their grand parents in Ireland . Thank you
No way covinience, there safety.
What about the sniper at work and the signs that advertised it , nice to look at but I hope we never go back to war .🙏
Terrific video. Informative and beautiful, thank you.
Never forgot
I worked with the Irish Ordnance Survey out of Carrickmacross and Dundalk mapping in and around the 'border' and the border counties from 1983-1986. Made lots of good friends there, from both sides of that "border", including lovely people (I remember you, Siobhán and Sharon🥰) from Crossmaglen and surrounding areas. I was very young, early 20's, constantly getting stopped and searched by somewhat puzzled British soldiers in my little R.O.I registered Datsun Cherry as I made my way into the north shopping for cheap booze and petrol. I enjoyed drinking in the pubs in Crosmaglen, (once I had passed the vetting process and been vouched for by local pals), and I learned the basic protocols. (Don't ask questions, don't talk shite, don't diss the 'Ra.) Despite the grimness, those Armagh heads still knew how to enjoy life! Nothing but fond memories….
Thank you for your video, well done
The British army did enough damage. Thankfully the South Armagh brigade gave them back some
That's not 1976 at the start, more like 2006.
‘Sniper at work’
Have visited Cross many times, since 2005. The barracks was still heavily fortified, and the watchtowers were still there. Returning there through the years it was good to see all that gone. The people are so friendly and welcoming, and deserve the peace and quiet they enjoy now.
The use of Drones would make war like this almost impossible today. And the horrors of Gaza have meant that Genocide isn't a problem anymore. We live in horrible times and I hope modern war is never visited on this island again!
Whenever I hear the word Crossmaglen it always reminds me of a saying my grandpa said at some stage that I think was passed down from his mother that grew up in South Armagh but nearer to Camlough/Bessbrook that has the words rogues and wicked men in it. I also remember them calling it Bandit Country as well. My mum has pictures of her visiting the family farm, pre Troubles, when she was just a young child, but I never went until recently years.
My grandpa, who was brought up in South Armagh always saw himself as Irish despite living most of his life in England, having come over during the war, meeting my nan and settling and building his life over here. Would love videos on more of this area, it's a beautiful landscape, but I just can't imagine what it would have been like to live here during the Troubles and even more so the Irish War of Independence, it looked like a warzone in footage I've seen of these times.
Poor boys were stooges of the British powers that be.
I served in N/I & I can assure you not one of the soldiers murdered in N/I in any area wanted to be there, had absolutely no issues with Irish citizens, had little if any understanding of the real problems with the firstly one Ireland issue, which eventually
developed into a money issue for the ones at the top of the IRA hierarchy!
Ireland is a wonderful country but sadly like many ruined by religion.
For my little place called forkhill it is always true British Ulster and Presbyterian nonviolent defiant and against always the oppressorWATP 🇬🇧🏴🇬🇧😊
Very interesting.
I was there in the 90s and just remember everything as being grey, even the grass was grey!