Welcome to County Monaghan!
County Monaghan is one of Ireland's best keep secrets! Unspoiled landscape, wildlife, beautiful scenery, and lots to do for both local and visitor alike.
If your ideal holiday is fishing, walking, cycling, horse riding or playing golf then you will have too much to choose from. If you are interested in history, poetry, lace making, music and art there are many hours of entertainment in store. In addition the night life and local hospitality is second to none.
We hope you enjoy your visit to County Monaghan and look forward to seeing you again.
County Monaghan’s undulating countryside is a relaxing haven of lakes, gentle hills, farmhouses and market towns. Scenic and peaceful, Monaghan is the perfect destination for the keen angler, hiker and golfer. The celebrated Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh, who drew much of his inspiration from the Monaghan countryside, was a native of the village of Inniskeen.
A county of great cultural and artistic wealth, Monaghan boasts several Bronze Age megalithic sites and pre-historic remains such as the Tullyrain Ring Fort near Shantonagh in the south of the county. Carrickmacross is renowned for its traditional crafts, especially lace-making. The Lough Muckno Leisure Park in Castleblayney offers attractive lakeside and woodland trails as well as tennis, canoeing, sailing, water-skiing and horse-riding.
County Monaghan is a county in the Republic of Ireland. It is one of three counties situated in the province of Ulster without being part of Northern Ireland. The name comes from the Irish, derived from Muine Cheain meaning the Land of the little hills. This name refers to the density of drumlins in the area, those small hills formed from glacial action (during a previous ice age).
The county borders County Tyrone (Northern Ireland) to the north, County Armagh (NI) to the east, County Louth (Republic of Ireland) to the southeast, County Meath (ROI) to the south, County Cavan (ROI) 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.
Monaghan is the principal town. Other major towns include Carrickmacross, Castleblayney, and Clones.
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.
There are several mountains in the county: Mullyash Mountain, Slieve Beagh (on the Irish 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 and White 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 Dun a Ri Forest. 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. (see link to Monaghan tourism map below).
