Aughanduff
Aughanduff is a small hamlet and townland in the civil parish of Forkhill, in the former barony of Orior Upper, and County of Armagh, Northern Ireland. The townland is roughly co-existent with Upper and Lower Aughanduff Mountains, both of which form part of the outer Ring of Gullion geological formation, the most spectacular example of a ring-dyke intrusion in Ireland or Britain, and was the first ring dyke in the world to be geologically mapped. Aughanduff has been populated since prehistoric times and has been recorded as a distinct district since at least the early 1600s.
The area's history is both well documented and reflects its location both in rural Ireland and on the borderlands of the Pale, the Plantation of Ulster, and latterly Northern Ireland; indeed, part of the district's northern boundary was proposed for forming part of the northern border of the Irish Free State by the Irish Boundary Commission in its final report of 1925. The Boundary Commission's report was never implemented and today, the area remains within Northern Ireland, some five miles from the border with the Republic of Ireland. Prominent in the hill country of southern Armagh, Aughanduff boasts views of six counties on a clear day, part of the area has been designated by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency as an Area of Special Scientific Interest, and the district forms part of the western element of Ring of Gullion Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Etymology
"Aughanduff" is commonly said to derive from the Irish Áth an Daimh, meaning "ford of the oxen", with the relevant ford being one across Balina stream which separates the townland from neighbouring Carricknagavina. It has also been argued, however, that the name comes from the Irish Achadh Dubh meaning "black fields". The spelling used for official purposes is Aughanduff, and the area is commonly pronounced Ann-duff.The modern English spelling Aughanduff appears to have emerged during the 18th century, and the Northern Ireland Place-Names Project records the following spellings being used in official documents or maps prior to Aughanduff being used in John Rocque's 1760 Map of County Armagh:
- Aghadampe - Esch. Co. Map, 5.26, 1609 ;
- Aghadamph - CPR Jas I, 187a, 1611 ;
- Aghaduffe the backside of - Civ. Surv., x $77, 1655c ;
- Aghadiffe - Inq. Arm., 228, 1657;
- Aghaduff - Inq. Arm., 225, 1657;
- Aghadu - Hib. Reg., Oryer, 1657c ;
- Aghaduffe - BSD, 3, 1661 ;
- Aghaduffe - HMR Murray, 131, 1664 ;
- Agheduffe - HMR Orior, 426, 1664 ;
- Aghneduffe or Aughinduffe - ASE, 107 b 7, 1666 ; and
- Aghaduffe - Hib. Del., 28, 1672c.
Location and geography
The small hamlet lies adjacent to Our Lady, Queen of Peace Church on the Silverbridge Road in the southern portion of the townland. Aughanduff lies north of the village of Mullaghbawn, south of Belleeks and from Silverbridge. Neighbouring townlands are Carricknagavina to the north-east, Tullymacrieve to the east, Cashel to the south-east, Umericam to the south-west, Ummerinvore to the west, and Tullyogallaghan to the north-west.
The geological record of Aughanduff is complex, with bedrock in the area dating at least 500 million years, but with the modern landscape a result of complex interaction between a number of periods of volcanic activity and glacial movements.
Aughanduff Upper and Lower mountains form a core part of the western outer ring of the Ring of Gullion, a survivor the sedimentary rock formations which comprised the local landscape prior to the creation of the ring dyke which was to form both Slieve Gullion and the inner Ring of Gullion. Aughanduff, and the formations to its west, are thus much older than the neighbouring inner Ring of Gullion meaning that, hornfelsed by the creation and collapse of the neighbouring ring dyke, Aughanduff form a hybrid-transition zone tectonically deformed by the Ring of Gullion's creation and destruction processes but part of the Longford-Down Massif which stretches from modern County Longford to Ards in County Down. The greater Longford-Down Massif is itself a small fragment of the Central Pangean Mountains which once spanned the super-continent Pangea and survive today in the Bohemian Massif in Central Europe, the Atlas and all the way to the Appalachians running from Newfoundland to Georgia, to form the eastern spine of North America.
Aughanduff's Greywacke core was formed by compacting and subduction of sediments at the bottom of the Iapetus Ocean; transforming muddy sediments into the hard, mineral rich, layered rock which now predominates. It is, therefore, geologically much more closely associated with Carrigatuke and Mullyash than immediately neighbouring Slievenacappel or Slieve Gullion. Although outwardly similar to the neighbouring ‘’inner’’ Ring of Gullion, with its sedimentary core shaped by glacial erosion and deposition; vegetation, peat, and till cover; and human activity with pastoral farming leaving it visually similar to neighbouring mountains and hills it is very much geologically distinct, and an outcrop of the pre-existing landscape which predominated prior to the onset of volcanism as Pangea broke apart.
Politics
Aughanduff is part of both the Newry and Armagh UK Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly Countituencies. At Westminster level it is represented by Conor Murphy, and in the Northern Ireland Assembly by C. Boylan, D. Bradley, M. Brady, W. Irwin, Danny Kennedy and C. Murphy. The Townland also forms part of the Slieve Gullion ward of Newry and Mourne District Council where it is represented by Cllrs G. Donnelly, A. Flynn, P.J. Mc Donald, T. Hearty, and C. Burns.Features
The most obvious feature of the area is Upper and Lower Aughanduff mountains, although they are perhaps more correctly classed as two prominences of the same rock outcrop. As a result, the townland boasts scenic views of multi-peaked Slievenacappel, Slieve Gullion, Mullaghbawn, and Dromintee, as well as counties Louth and Monaghan to the south and west.Forming part of the boundary of the townland, one of the most attractive local features is Lower Cashel Lough, which is described as boasting "an extensive fringe of reed swamp and scrub woodland with alder and willow" and the area surrounding the lake has been designated an Area of Special Scientific Interest owing to its importance as a wetland habitat. The lake is used for trout fishing, for which a permit is required, and stocked twice annually.
A brook known locally as the 'roaring stream' forms part of the boundary of both Aughanduff and Parish of Forkhill with its neighbors to the west and marks the border between the ancient territories of Orior and Fews. In addition, historically an important local feature was the 'lone bush' which stood on top the mountain.
In terms of manmade features, at least one pre-historic site is known to have existed in the townland, with what is considered as having been an ancient fortified enclosure listed on the Northern Ireland Environment Agency's Monuments and Buildings Record.
Today most recognisable man-made feature in the area is Our Lady Queen of Peace Church on the Silverbridge Road, opened on 16 June 1957, and built with donations coming from families in the locality and beyond, most notably from the United States, and New York City and Philadelphia in particular. The church is in the New Romanesque style and boasts a 50 ft bell tower. It was designed by Simon Aloysius Leonard of the Dublin firm W. H. Byrne & Son.
Otherwise, most of the prehistoric remains in the area appear to have been lost and the only other man-made features of note include the former school-house, and a small holy well near the church. The townland is traversed by the Aughanduff and Glenmore roads while the Polkone, Cashel, and main Newry to Crossmaglen roads run through the south eastern portion of the townland.
Economic activity
A map from 1827 shows two lime kilns in the area, however these seem to have fallen out of use by the turn of the 20th century and despite the rocky nature of the townland no commercial quarrying activities take place today. Many people in Aughanduff work in services in nearby towns such as Newry or Dundalk and return to the area in the evening, although some commute as far as Belfast and Dublin. While the primary economic activity carried out within the townland remains farming, revenue is largely generated in services carried out outside the townland such as building, government and retail with most farmers engaging on the activity on a part-time basis. In 2007 Aughanduff saw its first electricity generating wind turbine erected, and the area also has access to broadband internet via satellite.Climate
Aughanduff, lying a mere from the sea enjoys a typical Oceanic climate generated by the Gulf Stream with damp mild winters, temperatures rarely dropping below freezing during daylight hours and though frost is not infrequent in the months November - February, snow rarely lies for longer than a few hours. Summers are also mild and somewhat damp with sunshine often interspersed with showers during summer months.People
The population of the townland is currently in excess of two hundred persons, with those of indigenous descent comprising almost all inhabitants bar a few residents of English and American extraction. In terms of religion most inhabitants are Roman Catholic or non-religious with Our Lady Queen of Peace being the sole house of worship in the area.As indicated by the adjacent table, the population of the townland has fallen significantly since the Irish Famine, with decline continuing from the 1840s until the 1980s. Recent years have seen a halt brought to this trend with something of a mild resurgence in terms of numbers resident in the townland.
English is by and large the sole language of communication used in the area today with Irish being spoken as a native tongue among a minority as late as the early 20th century - the last native Irish speaker in the townland, Molly Kavanagh, died in 1940. While the last monoglot Irish speakers appear to have died out in the mid-19th century, neighbouring Carricknagavina saw its last native Irish speaker, Annie Quinn, die at age 105 in 1997.