St Patrick's Cathedral, Armagh () is a Church of Ireland cathedral in Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is the seat of the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh and Diocese of Armagh. It was originally the site of a Celtic Christian monastery, said to have been founded by St Patrick. Throughout the Middle Ages, the cathedral was the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Armagh, head of the Catholic Church in Ireland, and one of the most important churches in Gaelic Ireland. With the 16th-century Protestant Reformation, the cathedral was taken over by the Church of Ireland, with Englishman, George Cromer, becoming the first Anglican archbishop. Following Catholic Emancipation in the 19th century, a new Catholic cathedral was built in Armagh, also called St Patrick's Cathedral. History Early history of the site The cathedral was historically the ecclesiastical capital of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland. According to tradition, a church was founded on the site in 445 by Saint Patrick. Evidence suggests that the hilltop was originally a pagan sanctuary. By the 7th century, it had become the most important monastery and monastic school in the north of Ireland, and monastic settlement grew up around it. Brian Boru, High King of Ireland, visited Armagh in 1004, acknowledging it as the head cathedral of Ireland and bestowing it a large sum of gold. Brian was buried at Armagh cathedral after his death at the Battle of Clontarf in 1014. Armagh's claim to the primacy of Ireland was formally acknowledged at the Synod of Ráth Breasail in 1111. The church itself was partially destroyed and rebuilt 17 times. It was renovated and restored under Dean Eoghan McCawell (1505–1549), having suffered from a devastating fire in 1511 and being in poor shape. Soon after his death the cathedral was described by Lord Chancellor Cusack as "one of the fairest and best churches in Ireland". However, by the end of the Nine Years' War in 1603, Armagh lay in ruins. The cathedral and its assets were appropriated by the new state church, called the Church of Ireland, as part of the Protestant Reformation. The English government under King Henry VIII of England transferred the assets. It has remained in Anglican hands since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Modern history Following the Nine Years' War, Armagh came under English control and the town began to be settled by Protestants from Britain, as part of