Armagh Gaol

Counties Down & Armagh


On the Mall opposite the courthouse is the once-forbidding Armagh Gaol. Built in 1780 to the design of Thomas Cooley, it remained in use as a women's prison until 1988. There are plans to convert the building into a hotel. It's closed to the public.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Counties Down & Armagh attractions

1. Mall

0.2 MILES

This long grassy expanse east of Armagh's centre was a horse-racing, cock-fighting and bull-baiting venue until the 18th century, when Archbishop Robinson…

2. Armagh County Museum

0.21 MILES

Prehistoric axe heads, artefacts found in bogs, corn dollies and straw-boy outfits, and military costumes and equipment are among the items on display at…

3. Charlemont Place

0.23 MILES

The east side of the Mall is lined with handsome Georgian terraces including Charlemont Place, designed by local Francis Johnston, who later became one of…

4. Palace Demesne Public Park

0.31 MILES

This palace and surrounding 121-hectare estate were home to the archbishops of the Church of Ireland from the 1770s to the 1970s. The palace now houses…

5. Armagh Courthouse

0.35 MILES

At the northern end of the Mall stands Armagh Courthouse, rebuilt after being destroyed by a huge IRA bomb blast in 1993. It originally dates from 1809,…

7. No 5 Vicar's Hill

0.41 MILES

The collection of nearby Armagh Robinson Library spills over into the octagonal rooms of No 5 Vicar's Hill, a depository for Church of Ireland records,…

8. Armagh Planetarium

0.44 MILES

Aimed mainly at educating young people, the Armagh Planetarium has an interactive exhibition on space exploration, and a digital theatre that screens a…