Travelling by road, Crossmaglen is 61.6 miles (99.1 km) to the north of Dublin, 15.8 miles (25.4 km) to the west of Newry, and 51.6 miles (83.0 km) to the south of Belfast.
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.[5]
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."[6][7]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?"[8] 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.
There was an ongoing dispute for years between Crossmaglen Rangers, the Morgan family of Crossmaglen, and the British Army over the positioning of the army base which was placed on the Rangers pitch and on the back garden of the Morgan family home on Cardinal Ó Fiaich Square. This was remedied, beginning in April 1999.
Crossmaglen Rangers hold the national record of 39 county titles, including 13 in a row. They also hold the record of nine Ulster club titles.[citation needed]
Crossmaglen is classified as a village by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (i.e. with population between 1,000 and 2,250 people). On Census day (29 April 2001) there were 1,459 people living in Crossmaglen. Of these:
27.0% were aged under 16 and 14.8% were aged 60 and over
48.6% of the population were male and 51.4% were female
97.0% were from a Catholic background and 0.8% were from a Protestant background
6.5% of people aged 16–74 were unemployed.
2011 Census
On Census Day (27 March 2011) the usually resident population of Crossmaglen Settlement was 1,610 accounting for 0.09% of the NI total.[3]
On Census Day 27 March 2011, in Crossmaglen Settlement, considering the resident population:
99.88% were from the white (including Irish Traveller) ethnic group;
96.27% belong to or were brought up in the Catholic religion and 3.17% belong to or were brought up in a 'Protestant and Other Christian (including Christian related)' religion; and
4.66% indicated that they had a British national identity, 73.04% had an Irish national identity and 21.43% had a Northern Irish national identity.
Respondents could indicate more than one national identity
On Census Day 27 March 2011, in Crossmaglen Settlement, considering the population aged 3 years old and over:
22.38% had some knowledge of Irish;
1.42% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots; and
3.56% did not have English as their first language.
