The long wait is over, no Northern Ireland town will be granted city status by Her Majesty in this the Diamond Jubilee Year. However, the Province will have another Lord Mayor. No longer will we be able to refer to the Lord Mayor and mean The Rt Hon the Lord Mayor of Belfast.

Armagh has a long and distinguished history as the ecclesiastical capital of the island of Ireland. Both the Church of Ireland and the Catholic Church have an Archbishop there. His Grace The Lord Primate of All Ireland, The Most Reverend Alan Harper is the Church of Ireland one, and His Eminence Seán Cardinal Bradly, Primate of All Ireland is the Roman Catholic one.

And now added to these distinctions, the City of Armagh will have a Lord Mayor. It makes no difference to the Council’s operation. But it is a distinction. In the whole of Northern Ireland there has been until now only one Lord Mayor – that of Belfast. So, congratulations to Armagh.