County Monaghan ( ; ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in Ireland. It is in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

and is part of

Border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 cen ...

. Monaghan County Council is the

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

for the county. The population of the county was 65,288, according to the 2022 census. The county has existed since 1585 when the Mac Mathghamhna rulers of Airgíalla agreed to join the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

. Following the 20th-century

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

and the signing of the

Anglo-Irish Treaty The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty (), commonly known in Ireland as The Treaty and officially the Articles of Agreement for a Treaty Between Great Britain and Ireland, was an agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain an ...

, Monaghan was one of three Ulster counties to join the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State (6 December 192229 December 1937), also known by its Irish-language, Irish name ( , ), was a State (polity), state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-ye ...

rather than

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

Geography and subdivisions

County Monaghan is the fifth-smallest of the Republic's 26 counties by area, and the fourth smallest by population. It is the smallest of Ulster's nine counties in terms of population.

Baronies

* Cremorne () * Dartree () * Farney () *

() * Truagh ()

Civil parishes and townlands

Towns and villages

* Ballinode * Ballybay *

Carrickmacross Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The population was 5,745 at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a castle buil ...

* Castleblayney * Clones * Clontibret * Doohamlet * Drum * Emyvale * Inniskeen * Glaslough * Killanny * Knockatallon * Magheracloone *

* Newbliss * Oram * Rockcorry * Scotshouse * Scotstown * Smithborough * Threemilehouse * Tydavnet * Tyholland

Largest towns

As of the 2022 census: #

– 7,894 #

– 5,745 # Castleblayney – 3,926 # Clones – 1,885 # Ballybay – 1,329

Geography

Notable mountains include Slieve Beagh (on the Tyrone and Fermanagh borders), Mullyash Mountain and Coolberrin Hill (214 m, 702 ft). Lakes include Lough Avaghon, Dromore Lough, Drumlona Lough, Lough Egish, Emy Lough, Lough Fea, Inner Lough (in Dartrey Forest), Muckno Lough and White Lough. Notable rivers include the River Fane (along the Louth border), the River Glyde (along the Louth and Meath borders), the Ulster Blackwater (along the Tyrone border), and the Dromore River (along the Cavan border, linking Cootehill to Ballybay). Monaghan has a number of forests, including Rossmore Forest and Dartrey Forest. Managed by Coillte since 1988, the majority of trees are conifers. Because of a long history of

intensive farming Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of arable farming, crop plants and of Animal husbandry, animals, with higher levels ...

and recent intensive forestry practices, only small pockets of native woodland remain. The Finn Bridge is a border crossing point over the River Finn to County Fermanagh. It is close to Scotshouse. Clones Round Tower - geograph

Geology

Lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

used to be mined in County Monaghan. Mines included Annaglogh Lead Mines and Lisdrumgormley Lead Mines.

History

Monaghan has a number of ancient burial sites ( court cairns, dolmens and wedge tombs) spread across the county. In 1585, the English Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir John Perrot, visited the area and met the Irish chieftains. They requested that

be divided into counties and land in the kingdom of Airgíalla be apportioned to the local chiefs. A commission was established to accomplish this and County Monaghan came into being. The county was subdivided into five baronies: Farney, Cremorne, Dartrey, and

controlled by MacMahon and Truagh by McKenna. After the defeat of the rebellion of The Earl of Tyrone and the Ulster chieftains in 1603, the county was not planted like the other counties of Ulster. The lands were instead left in the hands of the native chieftains. In the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

, the McMahons and their allies joined the general rebellion of Irish Catholics. Following their defeat, some colonisation of the county took place by Scottish and English families.

Inland waterways

County Monaghan is traversed by the derelict Ulster Canal. However, Waterways Ireland are embarking on a scheme to reopen the canal from Lough Erne into Clones.

Railways

The Ulster Railway linked with and

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

in 1858 and with the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway at in 1863. It became part of the Great Northern Railway (GNR) in 1876. The partition of Ireland in 1922 turned the boundary with

County Armagh County Armagh ( ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and adjoins the southern shore of Lough Neagh. It borders t ...

into an international frontier, after which trains were routinely delayed by customs inspections. In 1957, the Government of Northern Ireland made the GNR Board close the line between and

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

, and all lines between Armagh and County Monaghan. This left the GNR Board with no option but to withdraw passenger services between Armagh and Clones as well. CIÉ took over the remaining section of line between Clones, Monaghan and Glaslough in 1958, but withdrew goods services between Monaghan and Glaslough in 1959 and between Clones and Monaghan in 1960, leaving Monaghan with no railway service.

Governance and politics

Local government

At the 2019 local election, County Monaghan was divided into three

local electoral area A local electoral area (LEA; ) is an electoral area for elections to Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local authorities in Ireland. All elections in the Republic of Ireland, elections use the single transferable vote. Republic of Ir ...

s, each of formed a municipal district: Ballybay– Clones,

– Castleblayney, and

Former districts

The towns of Ballybay, Carrickmacross, Castleblayney, Clones and Monaghan were formerly represented by nine-member

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland In 2002, 49 urban district councils and 26 town commissi ...

s which dealt with local matters such as the provision of utilities and housing. These were abolished in 2014 under the Local Government Reform Act 2014.

National politics

For elections to

Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...

, the county is part of the constituency of Cavan–Monaghan which elects five TDs. In the 2011 general election, there was a voter turnout of 72.7%. For elections to the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

, the county is part of the Midlands–North-West constituency.

Culture and architecture

County Monaghan is the birthplace of the poet and writer

Patrick Kavanagh Patrick Kavanagh (21 October 1904 – 30 November 1967) was an Irish poet and novelist. His best-known works include the novel ''Tarry Flynn'', and the poems "On Raglan Road" and "The Great Hunger". He is known for his accounts of Irish life th ...

, who based much of his work in the county. Kavanagh is one of the most significant figures in 20th-century Irish poetry. The poems "Stony Grey Soil" and "Shancoduff" refer to the county. CastleLeslieSummer2006

County Monaghan has produced several successful artists. Chief among these is George Collie (1904–75), who was born in

and trained at the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. He was a prolific exhibitor at the Royal Hibernian Academy throughout his lifetime and is represented by works in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland and the Ulster Museum. County Monaghan was also the home county of the Irish writer Sir Shane Leslie (1885–1971), 3rd

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of Glaslough, who lived at Castle Leslie in the north-east corner of the county. A Catholic convert, Irish nationalist and first cousin of Sir Winston Churchill,

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...

, Leslie became an important literary figure in the early 1900s. He was a close friend of many politicians and writers of the day including the American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940), who dedicated his second novel, '' The Beautiful and Damned'', to Leslie. Monaghan County Museum is recognised as one of the leading provincial museums in Ireland, with a Council of Europe Award (1980), among others, to its credit. Located in Hill Street, Monaghan Town, the museum aims to reflect the history of County Monaghan and its people in all its richness and diversity. The best of the county's architecture developed in the Georgian and Victorian periods and ranges from the dignified public spaces of Church Square and The Diamond in Monaghan Town to the great country houses of Lough Fea, Carrickmacross; Hilton Park, Clones and Castle Leslie, Glaslough. Significant ecclesiastical buildings include St Joseph's Catholic Church in

; the Gothic-Revival St Patrick's Church of Ireland Church, Monaghan Town, and St Macartan's Catholic Cathedral, Monaghan Town, by James Joseph McCarthy (1817–1882).

Economy

Agriculture is a significant part of the County Monaghan economy, employing about 12% of the population in 2011 (compared with 5% nationally). The county is the main source of egg supplies in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

Notable people

Literature and scholarship

* John Robert Gregg (1867–1948) – Pioneer of modern shorthand writing. * Sir Tyrone Guthrie (1900–1971) – Writer, theatrical director and founder of the Tyrone Guthrie Centre. Born in

Royal Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sand ...

, his maternal grandmother was from Newbliss. He settled at Annaghmakerrig House in County Monaghan late in his life. *

(1904–1967) – Poet * Sir Shane Leslie, 3rd

(1885–1971) – Writer and political activist, 3rd Baronet of Glaslough and first-cousin of Sir Winston Churchill. Resided at Castle Leslie. * Eugene McCabe (1930–2020) – Playwright, novelist and screenwriter, also a member of Aosdána. Lived in Clones. * Patrick McCabe (born 1955) – Novelist and member of Aosdána * Evelyn Shirley – Writer and antiquarian. Resided at Lough Fea House near Carrickmacross.

Politics and military

* Andrew, 11th Baron Blayney (1770–1834), a prominent military commander with the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, especially during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. Also had Castleblayney, his estate town, rebuilt in the early nineteenth century. * Sir Charles Gavan Duffy (12 April 1816 – 9 February 1903), Irish Nationalist and Australian politician who served as

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of the

Colony of Victoria The Colony of Victoria was a historical administrative division in Australia that existed from 1851 until 1901, when it federated with other colonies to form the Commonwealth of Australia. Situated in the southeastern corner of the Australian ...

. Born in

town. * Joseph Finegan (17 November 1814 – 29 October 1885), Confederate General and victor at the Battle of Olustee * Francis Fitzpatrick (1859–1933), recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

* James Gillespie (1747–1805), an officer in the North Carolina militia in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

and a United States Congressman * Thomas Hughes (1885–1942), Soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross. * Sir Basil Kelly (1920–2008) - UUP politician and senior-ranking Northern Irish judge. He served as the last Attorney General for Northern Ireland under the old Stormont regime, serving in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Born in County Monaghan but raised and educated in

. * Charles Davis Lucas (1834–1914), A native of

who was the first-ever recipient of the

. Resided for a time at Castleshane. * Jim Lynagh, Commander East Tyrone Brigade IRA * Juan Mackenna (1771–1814), veteran of the Chilean War of Independence and Co-Liberator of Chile. * Heber MacMahon, Lord Bishop of Clogher -

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

who also served as a military commander for the ' Confederation of Kilkenny' during the 1640s. He commanded at the Battle of Scarrifholis, near Letterkenny, in 1650. Bishop MacMahon was born in Inishkeen. * Séamus McElwaine, OC South Fermanagh Brigade IRA *

Patricia McKenna Patricia McKenna (born 13 March 1957) is an Irish Independent politician (Ireland), independent and former Green Party (Ireland), Green Party politician. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin (European Parliament ...

, former MEP * David Nelson, recipient of the

Eoin O'Duffy Eoin O'Duffy (born Owen Duffy; 28 January 1890 – 30 November 1944) was an Irish revolutionary, soldier, police commissioner, politician and fascist. O'Duffy was the leader of the Monaghan Brigade of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and a promin ...

(20 October 1892 – 30 November 1944), turns Chief of Staff of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

, Commissioner of the

Garda Síochána (; meaning "the Guardian(s) of the Peace") is the national police and security service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is more commonly referred to as the Gardaí (; "Guardians") or "the Guards". The service is headed by the Garda Commissio ...

and leader of the

Blueshirts The Army Comrades Association (ACA), later the National Guard, Young Ireland and finally League of Youth, known by the nickname the Blueshirts (), was a paramilitary organisation in the Irish Free State, founded in 1932.New Irish Army Arises, Ne ...

and of

Fine Gael Fine Gael ( ; ; ) is a centre-right, liberal-conservative, Christian democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil Éireann. The party had a member ...

. He was also Commander of the Irish Brigade in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. Born near Castleblayney. * Fergal O'Hanlon (1936–1957), IRA volunteer, killed during the Border Campaign. * Rory O'Hanlon, politician, former Ceann Comhairle and former cabinet minister. Born 1934. * David Storey (1856–1924), member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

* Thomas Taggart (1856–1929), United States Senator and Mayor of Indianapolis. * Sir William Whitla (1851–1933), physician and politician. Born and raised in Monaghan Town.

Sport

* Dame Mary Bailey (1890–1960),

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

who was the daughter of The 5th Baron Rossmore and wife of Sir Abe Bailey, the South African ' Randlord'. * Tommy Bowe (born 1980),

Rugby Union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, born in

town * Kevin McBride, Olympic Boxer * Barry McGuigan (born 1960), world boxing champion 1985. Born in Clones. * Daniel McKenna (born 1987), rally driver * John McKenna (1855–1936), the first manager of Liverpool Football Club along with W.E. Barclay. * James Cecil Parke (1881–1946), Tennis and rugby player. Olympic silver medalist in tennis, twice winner of the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title and Australian Men's Singles title winner. Captain of the Irish rugby team

Music and entertainment

* Oliver Callan (born 1980), satirist and mimic, born County Monaghan * Terry Cavanagh, video game designer * The Flaws, indie rock band from

* " Big Tom" McBride (1936–2018), country singer * Ryan Sheridan, singer and guitarist

Acting

* Caitriona Balfe, fashion model and actress * Aoibhinn McGinnity, actress * Charlene McKenna, actress *

Ardal O'Hanlon Ardal O'Hanlon (; born 8 October 1965) is an Irish comedian, actor, and author. He played Father Dougal McGuire in ''Father Ted'' (1995–1998), George Sunday/Thermoman in ''My Hero (British TV series), My Hero'' (2000–2006), and DI Jack Moone ...

, actor and comedian

Art

* Alexander Williams (1846–1930), artist, born in

town.

Religion

* Dr John Darley (1799–1884),

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

Lord Bishop of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh, 1874–84. * George Jeffreys (1889–1962), Welsh founder of the Elim Pentecostal Church, which was first established in

town in 1915. The movement now has some 9,000 churches worldwide. * Ellen McKenna (1819–1883), Irish Sisters of Mercy nun, American civil war nurse and teacher.

Twin cities

County Monaghan is twinned with the following places: *

Geel Geel () is a municipality and city located in the Belgian province of Antwerp, which acquired city status in the 1980s. It comprises Central-Geel which is constituted of 4 old parishes a/o towns: Sint-Amand, Sint-Dimpna, Holven and Elsum. Furthe ...

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

, Belgium * Emyvale, Prince Edward Island, Canada * Miramichi,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada *

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada