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. This earned it 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.
Gaelic games
Crossmaglen in recent years has become known for its Gaelic football team, Crossmaglen Rangers, who won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2011 and again in 2012. The manager and several players of Rangers went on to win the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship with their county team in 2002 and reached the final again in 2003, only to lose to neighbours Tyrone. One of Crossmaglen's most notable players is Oisín McConville, who is also Ulster's top scoring player. The county team were also in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final in 1953; local players Gene Morgan and Frank Kernan were on the team but they were defeated by Kerry. Armagh also made it to the 1977 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, but were beaten by Dublin. 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.
Crossmaglen is classified as a village by the . On Census day 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.
For more details see:
2011 Census
On Census Day the usually resident population of Crossmaglen Settlement was 1,610 accounting for 0.09% of the NI total. On Census Day 27 March 2011, in Crossmaglen Settlement, considering the resident population:
99.88% were from the white 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 ' 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.
