Aughanduff (from Irish Áth an Daimh 'ford of the oxen') is a small village and townland in the civil parish of Forkhill, in the former barony of Orior Upper, and County of Armagh, Northern Ireland.

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.

At Westminster level it is represented by Conor Murphy[20] (Sinn Féin),[21] and in the Northern Ireland Assembly by C. Boylan, D. Bradley, M. Brady, W. Irwin, Danny Kennedy and C.

As a result, the townland boasts scenic views of multi-peaked Slievenacappel ("mountain of the horse"), Slieve Gullion, Mullaghbawn, and Dromintee, as well as counties Louth and Monaghan to the south and west.

[25] A brook known locally as the 'roaring stream' forms part of the boundary of both Aughanduff and Parish of Forkhill with its neighbors to the west and marks the border between the ancient territories of Orior and Fews.

In terms of manmade features, at least one pre-historic site is known to have existed in the townland, with what is considered as having been an ancient fortified enclosure listed on the Northern Ireland Environment Agency's Monuments and Buildings Record.

[26] Today most recognisable man-made feature in the area is Our Lady Queen of Peace Church[27] on the Silverbridge Road (Newry-Crossmaglen), opened on 16 June 1957, and built with donations coming from families in the locality and beyond, most notably from the United States, and New York City and Philadelphia in particular.

A map from 1827 shows two lime kilns in the area, however these seem to have fallen out of use by the turn of the 20th century and despite the rocky nature of the townland no commercial quarrying activities take place today.

No prehistoric remains of note appear to survive in the area, however, bar an undated site listed on the Northern Ireland Environment Agency's Monuments and Buildings Record.

Photographic records show a series of earthworks and although a field inspection in 2004 failed to locate upstanding remains, it is noted that the site would have been an excellent position for a settlement.

[26][37] The townland lies just over a mile (2 km) from An Aughnaclough mullion, where in 1815 the first, and reportedly most remarkable, megalith tomb in Ireland (subsequently destroyed) was discovered by Mr. John Bell of Newry.

Into this uneasy situation came the Lord of Innisowen's (Sir Cahir O’Doherty) rebellion of 1608, and although this began as a result of a local dispute with the Crown Governor of Derry it would prove to have wide-scale repercussions for Ulster.

Both men inherited their fathers’ rival claims to chiefdom of the Fews and continued their local O'Neill Sept's practice of duplicitous dealings when it came to supporting their cousins to the North and the Dublin Government, whose territories they bordered directly to the south.

For the son of a former chief of the Fews and holder of his families domains at Toaghie, the townlands of Aughanduff and Maphoner were something of a poor consolation but his grant reflected his status at the time.

[61]The newspaper reports a short, non-fatal gun battle occurred thereafter, and the police returned to their barracks, but concludes that the events "will serve to demonstrate the state of mischievous excitement and reckless turbulence to which a part of this neighbourhood, hitherto considered peaceable, has at length been brought by designing demagogues and itinerating agitators".

On Tuesday, at half-past eleven o'clock, as a National School teacher, John Mooney, stationed at Aughanduff, was engaged in instructing a class of children, he was suddenly knocked over by a flash of lightning, which illuminated the building for the moment in a manner almost dazzling to the on-lookers.

A little boy stating near the teacher had his breast and clothes severely singed, and so terrified were the scholars at the awful sight they had witnessed, that some of them screamed aloud, and others rushed from the place.

[67] The famine hit poor in the area hardest with stories circulating over a century later of the destitute starving with their mouths turned green, having resorted to eating grass.

[68] Upon (the younger) Joshua McGeough's death in 1817, his fourth child, Walter MacGeough (1790–1866), a barrister and previously High Sheriff of Armagh in 1819,[69] inherited the families interests in the district.

[75] Matters escalated with the following the establishment of the Land League, which was active in the area, and whose campaign led to withholding of rent by a number of the tenants in the townland and surrounding districts.

On 12 April 1882, a force of twenty police, accompanied by bailiffs and assistants of Mr. McGeough, arrived and began executing forty ejectment decrees for non-payment of rents in the townland and surrounding districts.

The Belfast News-Letter reports their progress as follows: it may be stated that the district over which the evictions were to take place is about the only part of the county in which the Land League succeeded in obtaining a footing.

For some time past, it has been in a rather disturbed state and Mr. McGeough himself was obliged to get police protection […] The evictions commenced about elevent o’clock in the morning and were continued until fourteen of the tenants were put out, and re-admitted as caretakers, on signing an agreement to that effect.

First came the death of a resident on 6 June 1920 when a young man, Mr. Peter McCreesh was shot in the back while attempting to flee from an exchange of gunfire between police and rebels while attending an Aeridheacht gathering with his brother in nearby Cullyhanna.

They tendered sympathy to the relatives and added: ‘We condemn the sending of police to such gatherings as Cullyhanna Aeridheacht, believing their presence there in the present state of affairs causes trouble’.

[84] Although it was claimed he attempted to escape, Mackin later successfully sued the authorities for malicious wounding and was awarded £250 in damages (with £10 and 10 shillings in witness expenses) at Ballybot Quarter Sessions on 30 September 1921.

May 1955 marked saw an important development in the local community, with the laying of the foundation stone of a new Catholic church, Our Lady Queen of Peace,[88] which fronts unto the Newry-Crossmaglen Road.

Blessed Oliver Plunket and his intimate friends, John Brennan, Bishop of Waterford refused to abandon their flocks and fled for refuge to Mullaghbawn, where they could depend upon the loyalty of the people.

The most significant event relating directly to the townland which was to occur during the troubles was probably an attack on a military helicopter en route from Crossmaglen to Bessbrook in June 1988, and which Harden records as follows: The Libyan shipments further enhanced the IRA's anti-aircraft capability when 18 DShKs were landed between 1985 and 1987.

Lieutenant David Richardson, a Royal Navy pilot attached to the Army Air Corps, felt his Lynx get into a spin as it was hit 15 times around the fuselage and rotors, damaging control cables and stopping on engine.