County Monaghan ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 64,832 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. Following the 20th-century Irish War of Independence and the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, Monaghan was one of three Ulster counties to join the Irish Free State rather than Northern Ireland.
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 () Monaghan () Truagh ()
Civil parishes and townlands
Towns and villages
Ballinode
Ballybay
Carrickmacross
Castleblayney
Clones
Clontibret
Doohamlet
Drum
Emyvale
Inniskeen
Glaslough
Killanny
Knockatallon
Magheracloone
Monaghan
Newbliss
Oram
Rockcorry
Scotshouse
Scotstown
Smithborough
Threemilehouse
Tydavnet
Tyholland
Truagh
Largest Towns in County Monaghan (2016 Census) Monaghan = 7,678 Carrickmacross = 5,032 Castleblayney = 3,607 Clones = 1,680 Ballybay = 1,241
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. Due to a long history of intensive farming 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.
Geology
Lead used to be mined in County Monaghan. Mines included Annaglogh Lead Mines and Lisdrumgormley Lead Mines.
History
In 1585, the English Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir John Perrot, visited the area and met the Irish chieftains. They requested that Ulster 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 Monaghan 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 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 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 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, 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.