John Ward Armstrong (30 September 1915 – 21 July 1987) was an Irish Anglican bishop who served as Archbishop of Armagh from 1980 to 1986.
His translation to the See of Armagh in 1980 catapulted him into the fraught world of Northern Irish politics, a deteriorating security situation and the heightened community tensions of the Hunger Strikes and later still, the Anglo-Irish Agreement.
Along with fellow Church of Ireland bishops he regularly met political leaders to offer analysis and informed opinion: government minutes of some of those meetings have now been released.
[7] These meetings took place with political leaders in both jurisdictions on the island and Armstrong often led delegations to Dublin for talks.
[8] He formed such a warm and effective working relationship with his Armagh neighbour Cardinal Tomas O'Fiach that when he announced his retirement, it was recorded that his successor Robin Eames was regarded by comparison as a "cold fish".