The N12 road is one of the shortest

national primary road A national primary road () is a road classification in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of road has the pr ...

s 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. ...

, running from outside

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 ...

(where it leaves the N2) to the border 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 ...

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 ...

, at ''Ardgonnell Bridge'' outside Middletown. The N12 is part of an overall route running from

Cavan Town Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Ballysh ...

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 ...

Route details

The route, entirely contained within

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

, commences at the junction with the N2 on the outskirts of Monaghan town, in the townland of Coolshannagh. From here the route passes through the townlands of Tullyhirm and Cavanreagh, with the R185 leaving the route to the north. Just before the border, the N12 passes through Tyholland, and in the townland of Killyneill just after this and before the border, the R213 leaves the route to the south. The overall

-Belfast route, of which the N12 is but a link, passes through Butlersbridge, Wattlebridge,

Clones Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to: Places * Clones, County Fermanagh, Ireland * Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland * Clones railway station, Ireland Biology * Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massiv ...

, Smithborough and

Monaghan Town Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and Monaghan barony. The population of the town as of the 2022 census was 7,894. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry a ...

as the N54 / A3. After the N12, it passes through or around Middletown,

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 ...

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh and roughly southwest of Belfast. The town is linked to Belfast by both the M1 motorway (Northern Ireland), M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin rail ...

and

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

as the A3, and A1 (from Lisburn to Belfast). Similar routes in the

, which constitute part of a route that also passes through Northern Ireland, include the N2, N3 and routes N13–N16. The east–west route corridor of which the N12 is a part also includes the N54 to the west of Monaghan.

Architecture and history

A small aqueduct runs parallel to Ardgonnell Bridge, where the N12 meets the A3. The aqueduct formerly carried the now defunct

Ulster Canal The Ulster Canal is a canal running through part of County Armagh, County Tyrone and County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. The Ulster Canal was built between 1825 and 1842 and was 74 km (46&nb ...

across the Corr River from

. The N12 was formerly part of the T15 trunk road, which was a route from

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

to the border (and eventually Belfast). On Thursday, 7 December 2017, Ardgonnell Bridge on the route was visited by the

Exiting the European Union Select Committee The Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union, commonly known as the Brexit Select Committee and formerly the Exiting the European Union Select Committee, was a select committee of the British House of Commons that examines matt ...

('the

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

Committee') of the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

. Ardgonnell Bridge spans the Corr River between County Monaghan and County Armagh. The select committee was visiting where the N12 meets the A3 as part of a wider visit to inspect parts of ' the Border' between the

and

Future plans

There are no immediate programmes to upgrade the N12. However, Monaghan County Council include a proposed realignment of the route in their development plan.Development Plan Policies
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Monaghan County Council

References

Roads Act 1993 (Classification of National Roads) Order 2006
–

Department of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

{{Roads in Ireland 12 Roads in County Monaghan

Route details

Architecture and history

Future plans

See also

References