Information Monaghan Ireland

The hills of County Monaghan are the answer to the lakes of its neighbour, County Cavan. The hills were created by the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the Ice Age ten thousand years ago.

The area of Monaghan itself was planted by Scottish Presbyterians in the seventeenth century, yet it was retained as a part of the Republic after 1921. The town of Monaghan still retains a flavour of assiduous, workmanlike Protestantism, with its stone brick buildings. A huge nineteenth century cathedral, St McCartan’s, has a spire seventy five metres high. In keeping with the fact that Monaghan prospered due to the linen trade, the county town has three main squares against the one that would usually feature in towns of a similar size.

Hilly as County Monaghan is, the farmers are burdened with land of poor quality. Inishkeen, made famous by the poet Patrick Kavanagh, who lived here until his life as a poet took him to London and Dublin, was the inspiration for much of his work. He himself lived as a small farmer on the land until his thirties. The farm of Shancoduff lies on a track about a mile off the road out of Inishkeen – this is Kavanagh’s actual farm.

In the town of Clones you will find a tenth century high cross – relocated from St Tiernach’s Monastery on Abbey Street, it now stands on the Diamond. One side of the cross features scenes from the Old Testamant, the other side scenes from the New. Sports fans may be interested to know that Clones (pronounced Clone-ezz) is also where the boxer Barry McGuigan grew up – he had the nickname “The Clones Cyclone”).

Clones is a lace manufacturing town, and so too is the town of Carrickmackross, home to a Lace Gallery where you may be lucky enough to catch a demonstration of the craft.