Monaghan, County, lies in the north of the Republic of Ireland. It is one of three counties—with Cavan and Donegal—in the historic province of Ulster that are not part of Northern Ireland. Most of the land in County Monaghan is farmed. Scattered villages and small towns lie in a pastoral (rural) landscape. The county covers 498 square miles (1,291 square kilometers). The town of Monaghan is the largest urban center. The next largest towns are Carrickmacross and Castleblayney.
Service industries, including professional services, retail and wholesale distribution, and transportation, employ most of County Monaghan’s workers. Manufacturing businesses employ many people in southern parts of the county. Food processing is the largest sector of the manufacturing industry. It includes the processing of meat, milk, and mushrooms. Some engineering industries in the county supply agricultural equipment. The manufacture of furniture and wood products is also important. Farmers in the county grow barley and potatoes, and they raise beef and dairy cattle. The county is one of the most important areas for poultry production in the Republic of Ireland.
The lowest land in the county is on a band of limestone that extends from the town of Clones to the town of Monaghan. To the northwest, the land rises to about 1,000 feet (300 meters) above sea level in the Slieve Beagh plateau. To the southeast, the rise is gentler, and much of the county is lowland. Small rounded hills, combined with lakes or bogs, are distinctive features of County Monaghan’s landscape.
Settlers arrived in what is now County Monaghan in prehistoric times. Later, the area formed part of the ancient kingdom of Ulster, and then of Oriel. The territory was originally under the rule of the O’Carroll family. Later, the McMahons rose to power, and the McKennas took control in the north.
In the early 1600’s, the British army defeated the Irish chieftains. The British soon granted land in the area to English and Scottish settlers. The colonization by the British of formerly Irish land was known as plantation. The main towns of the county began as plantation towns—newly planned urban centers—at that time. Other towns in the county were developed by landlords in the 1700’s. County Monaghan was one of the counties most affected by the Great Irish Famine of the 1840’s. As a result of the famine, several million people died or emigrated from Ireland.
