Crossmaglen (, ) is a village and townland in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 1,610 in the 2011 Census and is the largest village in South Armagh. The village centre is the site of a large Police Service of Northern Ireland base and formerly of an observation tower (known locally as the "look-out post"). The square's name commemorates Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich, a local man who became Primate of All Ireland (head of the Catholic Church in Ireland), and who died in 1990. However, the Cardinal originated from Crossmaglen's close neighbour, Cullyhanna. Crossmaglen has its own GAA team, Crossmaglen Rangers GAC. Travelling by road, Crossmaglen is to the north of Dublin, to the west of Newry, and to the south of Belfast. History On 13 January 1921, during the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Republican Army (IRA) shot dead an Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) constable in Crossmaglen. He was the first member of the USC to be killed whilst on duty. Crossmaglen, along with the rest of South Armagh, would have been transferred to the Irish Free State had the recommendations of the Irish Boundary Commission been enacted in 1925. The Troubles The British Army had a major presence in the area during the Troubles. Crossmaglen and the wider South Armagh/South Down area was a republican stronghold and republican paramilitaries were very active, earning the area the nickname "Bandit Country." Labour Party MP Clare Short said in 1983 "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 is only one community in South Armagh, so what the heck are they doing here?" During the Troubles, at least 58 police officers and 124 soldiers were killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in South Armagh, many in Crossmaglen itself. Education Anamar Primary School (burnt down) Clonalig Primary School St Brigid's Primary School St Patrick's Primary School Gael Scoil Phadraig Naofa St Joseph's High School Governance Crossmaglen forms the Newry & Armagh constituency for elections to the Westminster Parliament. The Member of Parliament is Mickey Brady of Sinn Féin. He won the seat at the 2015 United Kingdom general election, retaining it in 2017 and 2019. For Local Government purposes it belongs Newry, Mourne and Down (which was created on 1 April 2015 by merging Newry and Mourne District and