Monaghan is one of three counties situated in the province of Ulster which are in the Republic of Ireland. The county stretches from County Louth, northwards to County Tyrone with Armagh to the east and Cavan to the west. The landscape is made up of many drumlins and lakes of which it's most famous son, Patrick Kavangh, poet and writer frequently mentioned in his writings.
After the defeat of the rebellion of Hugh O’Neill, the O’Neill Clan 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.
The capital town of Monaghan is a large rural town and houses the county museum and is well worth a visit. The centre of the town is made up of four inter-connecting squares: Market Square (or Street), Church Square, The Diamond, and Old Cross Square. The other main towns in County Monaghan are Castleblaney, Carrickmacross, Ballybay and Clones. These are all market towns which rely on business from outside the county as much as local business. The main Dublin-Derry road, the N2 bisects the county, so passing business is important.
Iniskeen is the village on the border with Louth that Patrick Kavanagh hailed from and there is now museum and interpretative centre built in his memory. The annual Patrick Kavanagh Weekend took place from 24 November-26 November 2007 in Iniskeen. Accommodation is varied from the B&B to the only 5-star accommodation in Glaslough, Castle Leslie, where Paul McCarthney married Heather Mills, an action he very much later regretted! There are many fine four-star hotels such as the Nuremore in Carrickmacross, complete with 18-hole golf course and the Four Seasons in Monaghan town.
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