MONAGHAN

Irish Muineachn (Place of Thickets) one of the three counties of Ireland forming part of the historic province of Ulster. It projects northward into Northern Ireland, and has an area of 498 sq mi (1,291 sq km). Most of the northern boundary winds through cultivated lowlands except on Slieve (mountain) Beagh, a desolate upland rising to 1,221 ft (372 m). For many miles the boundary with Northern Ireland runs along the River Blackwater. Three main regions may be distinguished: the Slieve Beagh plateau in the north; the lowland Monaghan corridor from the Erne Valley to the Lough (lake) Neagh Basin, an important route; and, to the south, the Silurian hill country rising to more than 1,000 ft. The whole landscape is dominated by drumlins, long oval mounds that give the lowland corridor a highly complicated drainage pattern. There are numerous small lakes and peat flats, the relics of former lakes and ponds. Similar drumlins and waters are found in the Silurian hill country. Monaghan was part of an ancient kingdom of Oriel, formed in AD 330, which also included Louth and Armagh. The Anglo-Norman advance in the 13th century broke up Oriel, but Monaghan remained dominated by the MacMahons and lay outside the main area of Anglo-Norman influence. In 1589 a large area came under the English crown; in 1591 the county was divided into estates between seven MacMahons and a McKenna. Monaghan was not therefore included in the later plantation of Ulster. The county council meets at Monaghan town, and there is a county manager. Carrickmacross, Castleblayney, Clones, and Monaghan are urban districts. Farms are small in Monaghan, averaging 30 ac (12 ha), and cultivation is intensive: more than one-eighth of the county's area is unimproved land. By tradition it is a flax-growing county, though little has been grown since World War II. Grass, which is grown for seed, is sorted at Castleblayney. Little wheat is grown, but about one-sixth of the land is used for crops and hay. On many farms, potatoes and oats are sold; and another main resource is cattle rearing and dairying. Slightly over one-quarter of the population lives in towns and villages, which are mainly market centres. Boots and shoes are made in Castleblayney and Carrickmacross; in Clones are a clothing works and a spade and shovel factory; and Monaghan has milling, bacon curing, furniture making, and linen weaving. The main economic strength of these towns lies in their retail trade and monthly fairs. Pop. (1981) 51,192.