Think of the Armagh football championship and the first thing that most people will think of is Crossmaglen Rangers dominance. Rangers have 43 county senior titles; more than double that of their nearest rivals Armagh Harps.

Rangers have won an incredible 19 of the last 20 Armagh titles. The only blip in this streak was when Pearse Óg won in 2009.

This sustained monopoly could hardly have been predicted in 1996 when they began their run. In the twenty years between 1976 and 1995 a total of eight different clubs won the Armagh senior title – Clan na Gael (1976, 1980, 1981, 1987, 1993, 1994), Carrickcruppen, (1978, 1979, 1982), Keady Dwyer’s (1984), Pearse Óg (1985, 1988, 1992), Armagh Harps (1989, 1991) Sarsfields (1990), Mullaghbawn (1995) as well as Crossmaglen Rangers winning in 1977, 1983 and 1986.

The dominance of Crossmaglen has caused some to question the strength of the Armagh championship. Some of the score lines in the county finals have been very one sided. However Crossmaglen were often given a stern test on the way to these finals. For example last year they only had three points to spare over Maghery in the semi-final – hardly a hammering by any standards.

A look at its neighbouring counties also tells a story. In Tyrone six different clubs have been champions in the last ten years. This suggests a much more competitive championship in Tyrone but not necessarily because it is filled with better clubs as no Tyrone club has won the Ulster title since Errigal Ciarán in 2002.

Also, apart from Tyrone not all of Armagh’s neighbours have such open championships. In Monaghan just four different clubs have won the senior title since 2006. In Down just three clubs have won the title in the same period. In Antrim just two clubs – Cargin and St Gall’s have won their championship and St Gall’s took eight of these. So perhaps the Armagh championship is not alone in having a dominant team.

Another fact that would seem to defend the reputation of the Armagh championship is this – between 2006 and 2012 Crossmaglen won six Ulster club titles. The only break in this run was in 2009 when they were defeated by Pearse Óg. So the only Ulster team that beat Rangers during that period was an Armagh side.

In all Crossmaglen have won six All Ireland club titles since 1997. So it’s fair to say they would probably dominate in any county. Have a look at the excellent BBC documentary above and make up your own mind.