County Monaghan

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Coordinates: 54°14′37″N 7°02′22″W / 54.243563°N 7.039490°W / 54.243563; -7.039490

County Monaghan
Contae Mhuineacháin
Coat of arms of County Monaghan
Motto: Dúthracht agus Dícheall  (Irish)
"Diligence and Best Endeavour"
Location
centerMap highlighting County Monaghan
Statistics
Province: Ulster
County seat: Monaghan
Code: MN
Area: 1,294 km²

Population (2006[1])

 55,816
Website: www.monaghan.ie

County Monaghan (pronounced /ˈmɒnəhən/ – Irish: Contae Mhuineacháin) is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Ulster and is part of the Republic of Ireland. It was named after the town of Monaghan (Irish: Muineachán).

The county borders County Tyrone (NI) to the north, County Armagh (NI) to the east, County Louth to the southeast, County Meath to the south, County Cavan to the southwest and County Fermanagh (NI) to the west. There is a pene-enclave jutting into Fermanagh in the western area of the county.

Contents

[edit] History

In 1585, Sir John Perrot, the natural son of King Henry VIII, visited the area and met with the Irish chieftains. They requested that Ulster be divided into counties and land in the kingdom of Airgíalla be apportioned to each of the McMahon chiefs. A commission was established to accomplish this and County Monaghan came into being. The County was subdivided into the five baronies that exist today: Farney, Cremorne, Dartrey, Monaghan, and Truagh.

After the defeat of the rebellion of Hugh O'Neill, The O'Neill 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, and following their defeat there was some plantation of the county with Scottish and English families.

[edit] Twinning

County Monaghan is twinned with the Province of Prince Edward Island in Canada. At least 20% of the population of Prince Edward Island can trace ancestry to Co Monaghan as a result of migration from Monaghan to that part of Canada during the years 1820-1840. Co Monaghan is also twinned with the City of Miramichi in New Brunswick and also with the City of Peterborough in Ontario and with the township of Cavan-Millbrook-North Monaghan in Ontario.

It also has links with Gheel in Belgium, as a result of the martyrdom there in the 5th century of St Dymphna, a local Monaghan saint who is regarded as Patroness of those with mental illness.

Historical populations
Year Pop.  %±
1659 9,734 —
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%
[2]

The following places are twinned with Co. Monaghan:

[edit] Geography

There are several mountains in the county: Mullyash Mountain, Slieve Beagh (on the border with Tyrone and Fermanagh) and Coolberrin Hill (214 m).

There are also a large number of lakes, including Lough Egish, Lough Fea, Muckno Lough, Lough Avaghon, Inner Lough (in Dartrey Forest), Drumlona Lough, White Lough and Emy Lough.

Rivers in Monaghan include the river Fane (in the southeast of the county and along the border with Louth), river Glyde (along the Louth and Meath borders), the river Blackwater (along the border with Tyrone, Northern Ireland) and Dromore river (along the border of Cavan, linking Cootehill to Ballybay).

Monaghan also has a number of forests, including Rossmore Forest, Dartrey Forest and Dún na Rí Forest Park. Managed by Coillte since 1988, the majority of trees are conifers. Due to a long history of intensive farming practices and recent intensive forestry practices only small pockets of native woodland remain.

The Finn Bridge is a border crossing point across the River Finn between County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland close to Scotshouse.

[edit] Culture & arts

Monaghan is the birthplace of the poet and writer Patrick Kavanagh, who based much of his work in the county. Kavanagh is one of the most significant figures in mid 20th century Irish Poetry. The poems Stony Grey Soil and Shancoduff refer to the county.

[edit] Towns and villages

Monaghan is the principal town. Other major towns include Carrickmacross, Castleblayney, and Clones. Towns with legally defined boundaries are shown in italics.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ From Census 2006 Preliminary Report - Table 1
  2. ^ [http://www.cso.ie/census for post 1821 figures, 1653 and 1659 figures from Civil Survey Census of those years, Paper of Mr Hardinge to Royal Irish Academy March 14 1865, For a discussion on he accuracy of pre-famine census returns see JJ Lee “On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses Irish Population, Economy and Society edited by JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson (1981) p54, in and also New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850 by Joel Mokyr and Cormac O Grada in The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Nov., 1984), pp. 473-488.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Counties of Ireland
Connacht
Munster
Leinster
Ulster

Cavan · Donegal · Monaghan · Antrim · Armagh · Down · Fermanagh · Londonderry · Tyrone
Italics denote non-administrative counties. Parentheses () denote eponymous cities or non-traditional counties.
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