County Monaghan

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County Monaghan is a beautiful county located in the province of Ulster. Named after the town of Monaghan, it is one of the twenty-six counties in the republic or Ireland. According to the census of 2006, population of the county is 55,816 and it is the smallest county among Ulster.s 9 counties in terms of population and second smallest with respect to size. Monaghan is the fourth smallest both in terms of population and size, among the 26 counties of Ireland.
There is an interesting story behind the emergence of Monaghan as a county.  Apparently, in the year 1585 the son of King Henry VIII, Sir John Perrot, visited the area and met with the Irish chieftains. After their request, a commission was established to divide Ulster. into counties and the kingdom of Airgialla was apportioned to each of the chiefs, consequently Monaghan came into existence. Even today the five divisions of the counties that were left under the control of McKenna chieftans exists, namely Farney, Cremorne, Dartrey, Monaghan, and Truagh.

This County is governed by Monaghan county council having twenty members, consisting of fourwards: Carrickmacross, Castleblayney, Clones and Monaghan. It is also a part of the five seat Cavan-Monaghan constituency in Dail Eireann. The nine member town councils represent the towns of Ballybay, Carrickmacross, Castleblayney, Clones and Monaghan, dealing with local matters such as housing provision and facilities. It has been a true republican area and county by heart.

On the border with Tyrone and Fermanagh there are several mountains in the county they are Mullyash Mountain, Slieve Beagh and Coolberrin with a height of 214m. Along with these mountain ranges there are large number of lakes also in this county namely Lough Egish, Lough Fea, Muckno Lough, Lough Avaghon, Drumlona Lough, White Lough and Emy Lough. , Inner Lough in Dartrey Forest. There are several rivers that are flowing and linking to different borders. These are River Fane along the Louth border, the River Glyde along the Louth and Meath borders, the River Blackwater along the border with County Tyrone and Dromore River along the border of County Cavan- linking Cootehill to Ballybay.
By seeing these figures one can easily make out that Monaghan is rich in natural resources including number of natural of forests such as Rossmore Forest, Dartrey Forest and Dún na Rí Forest Park which since 1988 have been managed by Coillte. Most of the trees here are Conifers. There are very small pockets of native woodlands remaining because of such intensive farming and forestry practices.

Reflecting the ancient life and heritage of County Monaghan and the people living there, the Monaghan county museum is known as one of the leading provincial museums in Ireland. It is located in Hill Street, Monaghan town.
Some of the county’s known architectures made in the Georgian and Victorian periods, ranges from the grand public spaces of Church square and the Diamond in Monaghan town to the great country houses  of Lough Fea, Carrickmacross, Hilton Park, Clones and Castle Leslie, Glaslough.

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About the author

Originally from Scotland, Colin now resides near the beautiful seaside town of Portstewart on the Causeway Coastal Route. By day he works in IT and by day off he spends much of his time travelling around the Island with his young family, writing about his experiences for many sites both locally and nationally.