County Monaghan Contae Mhuineacháin | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Nicknames: The Drumlin County;The Farney County | |
| Motto: | |
 Interactive map of County Monaghan | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Ulster |
| Region | Northern and Western |
| Established | 1585[2] |
| County town | Monaghan |
| Government | |
| • Local authority | Monaghan County Council |
| • Dáil constituency | Cavan–Monaghan |
| • EP constituency | Midlands–North-West |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,295 km2 (500 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 28th |
| Highest elevation | 373 m (1,224 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 65,288 |
| • Rank | 28th |
| • Density | 50.42/km2 (130.6/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC±0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (IST) |
| Eircode routing keys | A75, A81, H18, H23 |
| Telephone area codes | in the South of the County 042 - Carrickmacross and Castleblayneyin the North of the County 047 - Clones and Monaghan |
| ISO 3166 code | IE-MN |
| Vehicle index mark code | MN |
| Website | Official website |
County Monaghan (/ˈmɒnəhən/MON-ə-hən;[3]Irish:Contae Mhuineacháin) is acounty in Ireland. It is in theprovince ofUlster and is part ofBorder strategic planning area of theNorthern and Western Region. It is named after the town ofMonaghan.Monaghan County Council is thelocal authority for the county. The population of the county was 65,288, according to the 2022 census.[1]
The county has existed since 1585 when theMac Mathghamhna rulers ofAirgíalla agreed to join theKingdom of Ireland. Following the 20th-centuryIrish War of Independence and the signing of theAnglo-Irish Treaty, Monaghan was one of three Ulster counties to join theIrish Free State rather thanNorthern Ireland.
County Monaghan is the fifth-smallest of the Republic's 26 counties by area, and the fourth smallest by population.[4] It is the smallest of Ulster's nine counties in terms of population.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1600 | 2,988 | — |
| 1610 | 4,663 | +56.1% |
| 1653 | 5,801 | +24.4% |
| 1659 | 9,734 | +67.8% |
| 1821 | 174,697 | +1694.7% |
| 1831 | 195,536 | +11.9% |
| 1841 | 200,442 | +2.5% |
| 1851 | 141,823 | −29.2% |
| 1861 | 126,482 | −10.8% |
| 1871 | 114,969 | −9.1% |
| 1881 | 102,748 | −10.6% |
| 1891 | 86,206 | −16.1% |
| 1901 | 74,611 | −13.5% |
| 1911 | 71,455 | −4.2% |
| 1926 | 65,131 | −8.9% |
| 1936 | 61,289 | −5.9% |
| 1946 | 57,215 | −6.6% |
| 1951 | 55,345 | −3.3% |
| 1956 | 52,064 | −5.9% |
| 1961 | 47,088 | −9.6% |
| 1966 | 45,732 | −2.9% |
| 1971 | 46,242 | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 50,376 | +8.9% |
| 1981 | 51,192 | +1.6% |
| 1986 | 52,379 | +2.3% |
| 1991 | 51,293 | −2.1% |
| 1996 | 51,313 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 52,593 | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 55,997 | +6.5% |
| 2011 | 60,483 | +8.0% |
| 2016 | 61,386 | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 65,288 | +6.4% |
| [1][5][6] | ||
As of the2022 census:
Notable mountains includeSlieve 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 (inDartrey Forest),Muckno Lough andWhite Lough. Notable rivers include theRiver Fane (along the Louth border), theRiver Glyde (along the Louth and Meath borders), theUlster Blackwater (along the Tyrone border), and the Dromore River (along the Cavan border, linkingCootehill toBallybay).
Monaghan has a number of forests, including Rossmore Forest andDartrey Forest. Managed byCoillte since 1988, the majority of trees areconifers. Because of a long history ofintensive farming and recent intensive forestry practices, only small pockets of native woodland remain.
TheFinn Bridge is a border crossing point over the River Finn to County Fermanagh. It is close toScotshouse.
Lead used to be mined in County Monaghan. Mines includedAnnaglogh Lead Mines andLisdrumgormley Lead Mines.
Monaghan has a number of ancient burial sites (court cairns,dolmens andwedge tombs) spread across the county.[12]
In 1585, the EnglishLord Deputy of Ireland,Sir John Perrot, visited the area and met the Irishchieftains. They requested thatUlster be divided into counties and land in the kingdom ofAirgíalla be apportioned to the local chiefs. A commission was established to accomplish this and County Monaghan came into being. The county was subdivided into fivebaronies:Farney, Cremorne,Dartrey, andMonaghan controlled byMacMahon and Truagh byMcKenna.
After the defeat of the rebellion ofThe 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 theIrish Rebellion of 1641, the McMahons and their allies joined the general rebellion ofIrish Catholics. Following their defeat, some colonisation of the county took place by Scottish and English families.
County Monaghan is traversed by the derelictUlster Canal.[13] However,Waterways Ireland are embarking on a scheme to reopen the canal fromLough Erne intoClones.
TheUlster Railway linkedMonaghan withArmagh andBelfast in 1858 and with theDundalk and Enniskillen Railway atClones in 1863.[13]: Map 8 It became part of theGreat Northern Railway (GNR) in 1876.[13]: xiii Thepartition of Ireland in 1922 turned the boundary withCounty Armagh into an international frontier, after which trains were routinely delayed by customs inspections. In 1957, theGovernment of Northern Ireland made the GNR Board close the line betweenPortadown andArmagh, 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.[13]: Map 39 CIÉ took over the remaining section of line between Clones, Monaghan andGlaslough 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.[13]: Map 39
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At the2024 local election, County Monaghan was divided into threelocal electoral areas, each of formed a municipal district:Ballybay–Clones,Carrickmacross–Castleblayney, andMonaghan.[14]
| Party | Seats | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sinn Féin | 8 | +2 |
| Fine Gael | 6 | +1 |
| Fianna Fáil | 3 | -1 |
| Independent | 1 | -2 |
The towns of Ballybay, Carrickmacross, Castleblayney, Clones and Monaghan were formerly represented by nine-membertown councils which dealt with local matters such as the provision of utilities and housing.[15] These were abolished in 2014 under theLocal Government Reform Act 2014.
For elections toDáil Éireann, the county is part of the constituency ofCavan–Monaghan which elects fiveTDs.[16] In the2024 general election, there was a voter turnout of 64%.[17]
For elections to theEuropean Parliament, the county is part of theMidlands–North-West constituency.[18]
County Monaghan is the birthplace of the poet and writerPatrick Kavanagh, who based much of his work in the county. Kavanagh is one of the most significant figures in 20th-centuryIrish poetry. The poems "Stony Grey Soil" and "Shancoduff" refer to the county.
County Monaghan has produced several successful artists. Chief among these is George Collie (1904–75), who was born inCarrickmacross and trained at theDublin Metropolitan School of Art. He was a prolific exhibitor at theRoyal Hibernian Academy throughout his lifetime and is represented by works in the collection of theNational Gallery of Ireland and theUlster Museum.
County Monaghan was also the home county of the Irish writerSir Shane Leslie (1885–1971), 3rdBaronet ofGlaslough, who lived atCastle Leslie in the north-east corner of the county. A Catholic convert, Irish nationalist and first cousin ofSir Winston Churchill,Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 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 novelistF. 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 theGeorgian andVictorian 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 inCarrickmacross; the Gothic-Revival St Patrick's Church of Ireland Church, Monaghan Town, and St Macartan's Catholic Cathedral, Monaghan Town, byJames Joseph McCarthy (1817–1882).
Agriculture is a significant part of the County Monaghan economy, employing about 12% of the population in 2011 (compared with 5% nationally).[19] The county is the main source ofegg supplies in theRepublic of Ireland.[20]
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County Monaghan istwinned with the following places:
Geel,Flanders, Belgium
Prince Edward Island, Canada[34]Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada[34]Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Places adjacent to County Monaghan | |
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Places inCounty Monaghan | ||
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| Towns | | |
| Villages andtownlands | ||
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The counties are listed perprovince | ||
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