A pottery to rival Belleek?
Sometime between 1897 - 1900 potters from the Belleek factory in Co Fermanagh established a small factory near Coalisland, Co Tyrone. They manufactured a range of vessels similar to Belleek porcelain. Several of these beautifully decorated cups and jugs have found their way into the collection.Ex...

A strange bronze object
Is it a hand grenade?One of the most unusual objects on display is often mistaken for a hand grenade. It is in fact not a weapon but possibly a musical percussion instrument.Known as a 'crotal', most of these objects were all found in one hoard from Dowris in Co Offaly (dating to around 800BC). T...

Armachiana
The heading 'Armachiana', found in several display cases at the Museum, is a general term used to indicate that the information and objects relate to the development of Armagh city and county. Although the site has been occupied since Neolithic times, the city’s foundation is traditionally ...

Bog butter
Sometimes Irish bogs reveal the most unusual finds. Two wooden 'methers', or drinking vessels, retrieved from bogs contain an unusual substance most commonly referred to as bog butter. The 'butter' is a waxy substance, a creamy white or very pale yellow in colour.This practice is found throu...

Buildings of Armagh
This painting is the work of Timothy Lennox, completed when he was a student in Armagh.It shows many of important buildings in the City, including the Museum, St Patrick's cathedrals and the War Memorial on the Mall.The painting was on loan for several years before being generously purchased by t...

City of Armagh (1810)
This detailed view of Armagh from the early 1800s by James Black shows some of the landmark buildings in the City.Although it is difficult to make out from this image, the original painting is quite large and it is possible to follow the town's street pattern.At one end of the Mall is the courtho...

Military
The period leading up to and after the 1798 rebellion by the United Irishmen was a tremendously tumultuous time, with many different fighting forces, each with different names and insignia. However, our wealth of material stemming from this period is one of the strengths of the displays.Obje...

Penal Crosses
The story of the crucifixion has inspired the imagination of artists for generations and in Ireland during the 18th century it found expression in wooden carved crosses.These 'penal' crosses take their name from a series of laws passed to suppress the Catholic population. It restricted the types ...

Potty about Pots
The Museum has a very good collection of prehistoric pots. The ability to 'fire' clay and make a pot was a skill first learned in the Neolithic period (about 4000BC).  These were made from coils of clay rather than using a potter's wheel.  As well as using pots for cooking, they were of...

Railway disaster
On 12th June1889, 89 people died and hundreds were injured in Ireland’s worst railway disaster (get closer by clicking the images). That morning almost 1200 people crammed into 13 carriages at Armagh Station - about 400 more passengers than expected. At 10.15am, the train departed for ...