County Monaghan

The poet Patrick Kavanagh described the "stony grey soils" of his native Monaghan and made this small, hilly county literary legend. A trip to County Monaghan takes you into a landscape of drumlins and lakes on the border with Northern Ireland, a region that mass tourism has left untouched.

Landscape and Towns

Monaghan juts into Northern Ireland like a peninsula and historically belongs to the province of Ulster. The land is covered with small hills left behind by the Ice Age, with countless lakes nestled between them. Monaghan, the county seat, is a market town with Market Square, the Rossmore Memorial, and the neo-Gothic St Macartan's Cathedral. Carrickmacross is known for its fine lace, which has been made by hand since the 19th century. Castleblayney sits on Lough Muckno, the largest lake in the county.

Sights in County Monaghan

In Inniskeen, the Patrick Kavanagh Centre honors the poet, who was born and buried there. The Monaghan County Museum displays the Clogher Cross and finds from the region. On Lough Muckno, Hope Castle Park offers hiking trails and water sports. Rossmore Forest Park, south of the town of Monaghan, has forest paths, the ruins of a manor house, and avenues of yew trees. In Glaslough you'll find Castle Leslie, a castle hotel with a large country estate, a riding school, and a lake.

Getting There and Best Time to Visit

Monaghan has no train station; buses connect the towns with Dublin and Belfast, and the N2 leads to the capital. The best time to visit is between May and September. The area is also known for mushroom farming and poultry from local producers. Monaghan is also a stronghold of Gaelic football, and on match days the town's pubs are packed. The lakes around Castleblayney, Carrickmacross, and Ballybay are popular with anglers, who catch pike and bream here. In Clones, a small border town with a high cross and a round tower, the writer Patrick McCabe found the setting for his novel "The Butcher Boy," which Neil Jordan later adapted for the screen. If you're looking for lace, you can watch the lacemakers at work at the Carrickmacross Lace Gallery.