Tandragee, Tóin re Gaoith, Co. Armagh

Tóin re Gaoith · Co. Armagh

A castle full of crisps, a circuit full of motorbikes, and orchards in every direction.

Tandragee sits on a hill above the Cusher river in mid-Armagh. The Irish name is Tóin re Gaoith - backside to the wind - which is honest about the weather and the geography both. The town climbs up from the river to a square, and the square is dominated by a castle that is also a crisp factory. That sentence is not a joke.

Tayto Northern Ireland have made crisps inside Tandragee Castle since 1956. It's a separate company from Tayto in the Republic - same name, different owners, licensing deal - and the tour through the factory is the closest you'll get to charging admission to a working castle in Ulster. The visitor centre is real, the gift shop is real, and the free six-pack at the end is real.

The other thing the town is known for is the Tandragee 100 - a closed-roads motorcycle race on a 5.3-mile circuit that's been running since 1958 and sits in the same family as the North West 200 and the Cookstown 100. It missed 2023 and 2024 while the roads were resurfaced, came back in late June 2025, and Michael Dunlop reset the lap record.

Outside those two things it's a quiet market town. Bramley apple orchards in every direction. The Newry Canal towpath two miles down the road at Madden Bridge. A golf course laid out on the old Manchester estate where the Duchess designed bunkers in the shape of the Great Lakes. Come for the castle, stay for the cider.

Population

3,545 (2021 census)

Founded

Plantation town c. 1610 (Sir Oliver St John)

Coords

54.3577° N, 6.4108° W

01 / 09

At a glance.

Three things every local will eventually mention. Read these and you've already understood more than most day-trippers do.

01 The castle

Tayto have made crisps in it since 1956.

Tandragee Castle was rebuilt by the 6th Duke of Manchester in 1837 on an O'Hanlon stronghold. Today it's the Tayto NI factory. You can tour it. Mr Tayto is on site.

Stories & lore → 02 The race

5.3 miles of public road, closed for two days.

The Tandragee 100 is one of the classic Irish road races. After a two-year break for resurfacing, it ran again in June 2025. Michael Dunlop set a new outright lap record at 111.58 mph.

Stories & lore → 03 The orchards

Bramley apple country.

Armagh grows the Bramley. The blossom comes in May, the fruit in September, and the Armagh Food and Cider Festival picks it up from there.

When to go →

02 / 09

The pubs.

None of these are themed Irish pubs, because they don't need to be. A few that earn the trip:

Montagu Arms

Across from the castle

Guesthouse bar

Named for the Manchester family. Bar attached to the guesthouse, food served, the obvious meeting point if you're in town for the day.

03 / 09

Where to eat.

Place	Type	€	Local note
Vault Bistro	Bistro	££	39 Market Street, in the old Northern Bank building. You can take your coffee in the actual vault. Daytime only - closes at 4.
Rumbles Hot Food Bar	Chipper	£	Fish and chips, steaks, large portions, no pretence. The town's go-to for a quick feed.

04 / 09

Where to sleep.

Place	Type	Local note
Montagu Arms	Guesthouse	Across from the castle gates. Modern rooms, breakfast included. Walking distance to everything in town, which is most things.

05 / 09

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

Tayto Northern Ireland

The crisp castle

The O'Hanlons held the hill from medieval times. Sir Oliver St John got the castle and 1,500 acres in the Plantation of 1610 and rebuilt it. The O'Hanlons burnt it back down in 1641 and it stayed ruined for two hundred years. The 6th Duke of Manchester rebuilt it in baronial style in 1837. The Manchesters held it until 1955 - then sold to Thomas Hutchinson, who started making crisps inside it the next year. The Hutchinsons still own Tayto NI. They run factory tours twice daily Monday to Thursday, once on Friday. Pre-book.

Closed-roads racing

The Tandragee 100

Run by the North Armagh Motorcycle and Car Club since 1958. A 5.3-mile circuit on closed public roads - the kind of racing the rest of the world stopped doing decades ago and Northern Ireland never quite did. It's usually the first weekend of May, but the 2023 and 2024 events were cancelled while the council resurfaced the circuit. It came back on 27-28 June 2025. Michael Dunlop won the Open Superbike race by 0.4 seconds and set a new outright lap record. The town is full of leathers, motorhomes and people who know the names of the corners.

Apple country

The Bramley

Armagh's apple-growing tradition is documented back to St Patrick. The Bramley - a tart cooking apple - is the dominant variety here, granted Protected Geographical Indication status as the Armagh Bramley in 2012. The blossom is white-pink and arrives mid-May. The Armagh Food and Cider Festival in early September is the main public moment. Drive any small road out of Tandragee in the right week and you'll see the orchards in flower or in fruit, depending.

The parish church

St Mark's, Ballymore

Beside the castle on Church Street. Records go back to 1343. Burnt by Edmond O'Hanlon in the 1641 rising - same year as the castle - and reconstructed in 1812 when the congregation outgrew the ruin. The transepts and chancel were added in 1846. CWGC graves in the churchyard from both wars.

06 / 09

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Newry Canal Way (Scarva section) The towpath runs Portadown to Newry, flat and surfaced, part of National Cycle Route 9. Tandragee is 1.8 miles via the A51 from Madden Bridge. The Scarva-Poyntzpass stretch is the prettiest - locks, woods, no cars.

20 miles end-to-enddistance

A day to walk it alltime

Tandragee Golf Club Laid out for the 9th Duke of Manchester in 1911 by John Stone of Sandy Lodge. The original bunkers were designed by the Duchess of Manchester in the shape of the Great Lakes. They're still there.

18 holesdistance

4 hourstime

Cusher river loop The river runs at the foot of the town. Quiet road walks along its banks. Sintons' Mill stood here until the 1990s - gone now, but the millrace is still legible.

Variousdistance

Shorttime

07 / 09

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

Apple blossom mid-May. Tandragee 100 used to be early May - now June, post-resurface. Check the date.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

The race weekend (late June 2025; verify each year) is the big draw. Otherwise quiet, long evenings on the towpath.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

Harvest. Cider season. The Armagh Food and Cider Festival runs in early September across the orchard county.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

Tayto tours run year-round on weekdays. Outside that, not much reason to be here.

◐ Mind yourself

08 / 09

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Showing up to Tayto Castle without booking

Pre-booking is required. They will turn you away. The website is taytotours.com.

Wearing shorts to the factory tour

Full coverage of arms and legs is mandatory, and no open-toed shoes. It's a working factory, not a heritage site.

Driving the race circuit during race week

The roads close. You'll be sent back. Park up, walk in, watch from a hedge like everyone else.

Expecting a buzzing town centre at night

It's a market town of 3,500 people. The Montagu Arms is the main bar. Most of the social life is in private houses or at the golf club.

Getting there.

By car

Off the A27 between Portadown and Newry. 25 minutes from Armagh city, 50 minutes from Belfast on the M1/A27. Free parking around the square.

By bus

Translink Ulsterbus 63 (Newry-Portadown) stops in Tandragee, hourly Mon-Sat, less on Sunday.

By train

No station. Nearest is Portadown (15 minutes by road) on the Belfast-Dublin Enterprise line.

By air

Belfast International (BFS) 50 minutes. Belfast City (BHD) 45 minutes. Dublin (DUB) 1h 30m.

Next on the tour

Co. Louth

Carlingford

Medieval lanes, oysters, and the mountain at your back. 45 minutes south.

Co. Monaghan

Monaghan

County town across the border, drumlins and loughs. About an hour west.

Co. Louth

Dundalk

Closest big town in the Republic. 35 minutes via Newry. Train south from there.

Co. Armagh

Craigavon

Ten kilometres south through the orchards to the new town of the 1960s, best known now for its lakes.

Co. Armagh

Lurgan

A quarter-hour south, a planted ridge-top town with a park that runs the length of it.