Find out about your home county in our "What's your Irish County?" series here!
Irish Name: Mhuineacháin, meaning "place of the shrubs"
Nickname: The Farney County
Area: 500 square miles
Population: 61,386 (as of 2016)
County Town: Monaghan
GAA Colors: Blue and white
Clones in County Monaghan. (Ireland's Content Pool)
Common Surnames in County Monaghan
McKenna, McMahon, McCabe, Smith, Kelly, Treanor, Duffy, Woods, Hamilton, Connolly, Monaghan.
Famous People with County Monaghan roots
Charles Gavin Duffy, Lady Mary Bailey, John MacKenna, Patrick Kavanagh, Thomas Bracken, Michael McLaverty, Joseph Finegan.
If you like this story why not check out our other county pages here.
A Brief History of County Monaghan
County Monaghan is one of the three counties, along with Cavan and Donegal, that is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Republic of Ireland. Monaghan is the sixth smallest of the 32 counties of Ireland.
County Monaghan is famed for its ancient Irish craft of lace-making, more commonly known as Carrickmacross Lace. There is a museum in Carrickmacross where some fine examples of the craft can be viewed.
Carrickmacross Lace Gallery in County Monaghan. (Ireland's Content Pool)
Monaghan is dotted with small mountains, lakes and forests. The intensive forestry practices of Ireland's National Forestry Service mean that only small pockets of native woodland remain.
Monaghan is the birthplace of the famous Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh. Much of Kavanagh’s work was based on his life growing up in the county, in the village of Iniskeen.
The most dominant old Irish clans of Monaghan were the MacMahons and McKennas. These names remain popular in the county today. During the Great Famine of the 1840s, Monaghan lost almost one-third of its population and the county’s population has never fully recovered from that time.
Key Attractions in County Monaghan
Some places to see in Monaghan include the Patrick Kavanagh Literary Center in Iniskeen and the Saint Louis Convent Heritage Center in the historic town of Monaghan.
The Patrick Kavanagh Center in Inniskeen, County Monaghan. (Ireland's Content Pool)
There are also lots of stunning walking trails, fishing locations, and great golfing to be found in County Monaghan.
View of Lough Muckno from Concra Wood in County Monaghan. (Ireland's Content Pool)
* Originally published in May 2022. Updated in May 2024.
Comments