Aughanduff - Location and Geography

Location and Geography

Aughanduff townland sits within the Ring of Gullion geological formation in rural County Armagh, and has been included within the Ring of Gullion Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty on its designation in 1991. It is in large part co-existent with the extent of lower and upper Aughanduff mountains, which form part of the 'outer ring' of the Ring of Gullion system, although its territory extends both east into the valley between the upper and lower mountains and Slievenacappel, and south of the Upper mountain to Cashel Lough Lower.

The small hamlet lies adjacent to Our Lady, Queen of Peace Church on the Silverbridge (Newry-Crossmaglen) Road in the southern portion of the townland. Aughanduff lies 2 miles (3.2 km) north of the village of Mullaghbawn, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Belleeks and 3+1⁄₂ miles (5.6 km) from Silverbridge. Neighbouring townlands are Carricknagavina to the north-east, Tullymacrieve to the east, Cashel to the south-east, Umericam (Ball North) 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 lies 5 miles (8.0 km) from the border with the Republic of Ireland, with Dundalk a mere 11 miles, however, Newry, at nine miles (13 km) off to the east, is the nearest large town.

The townland comprises 893 acres (3.61 km2), with most fertile group in the valley between Upper and Lower Aughanduff mountains and Slievenacappel. The townland is described as "poor, gravelly and rocky" in a map of 1827 and the area is mostly gravel and rock, with heather and bog but also significant tracts of pasture and some arable ground.