pop (2000e) 52 000; area 1290 km²/498 sq mi. County in Ulster province, Ireland; bounded N by N Ireland; watered by R Finn; capital, Monaghan pop (2000e) 6300; cattle, oats, potatoes; fiddler of Orie festival (Jul).
Monaghan (Muineachán in Irish) is a town in the Republic of Ireland, the administrative capital of County Monaghan.
Town Layout
The centre of the town is made up of four interconnecting squares: Market Square (or Street), Church Square, The Diamond, and Old Cross Square.
The oldest remaining architectural feature in Monaghan town dates from the 17th century and is the Old Cross, Monaghan located in Old Cross Square, moved from the the Diamond in 1876 to allow the construction of the Rossmore Memorial, Monaghan.
History
The Battle of Clontibret between the forces of Hugh O'Neill and the English Crown was fought in northern Monaghan in May 1595.
Charles Gavan Duffy, the first premier of New South Wales in Australia, was born in Dublin Street, Monaghan Town on 12th April 1816
On 17 May 1974 seven people died in a terrorist incident in the town when a car bomb exploded during the Friday evening rush hour. three other bombs exploded on the same day in Dublin in what became known as the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings.
On the Hill of Lech or previously Mullach Leaght, the Hill of the Stone , three miles south-west of Monaghan was the inauguration stone of the Mac Mahons. It was last used in 1595, but unfortunately this petrosomatoglyph was destroyed by a farm owner in 1809
Today
Today the town is a prosperous and growing one. There is a campaign to boost tourism by reopening the Ulster Canal in a scheme which would eventually allow boats to travel from Northern Irish towns such as Newry and Coleraine by way of Monaghan to places as far south as Limerick as well as to Dublin.
Coat of arms
The coat of arms of Monaghan town features a red hand on a shield on a tower.
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