Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1911-06-17
Hills and Plains Are Irrigated
by Rivers, Streams and
Lakes.
Town of ClOgher Traces History
Back to Time OF
Ptolemy.
TROUBLE CAME WITH ELIZABETH

The County Monaghan lies in the
north of Ireland, with Armagh and
Meath on the east, Tyrone on the
north, Cavan and Meath on the
south and Fermanagh on the West.
The county takes its name from the
town Monaghan. The Gaelic form of
the name is Muinechan, diminutive
word, signifying little shrubbery.
From Bullyhae Lake to Favor Royal
1t is thirty-eight and a half miles
long; from Redhill to Midtown it is
twenty-five miles broad. The popu-
lation is slightly in excess of
100000.
A portion of the northwestern
boundary is mountainous. That cor
ner of the county northeast of Cas-
tleblaney is covered by a continue
ton of the Fews Mountains from
Armagh. Nearly all the rest of the
county is billy and may be de-
scribed as a champaign country,
broken up by continuous sue
cession of low hills, in some few
places subsiding into an almost un-
interrupted plain. There are no
hills of remarkable height in Mon
Afghan.
There are many rivers, streams
and lakes draining and irrigating the
county. The western part of the
county is drained into the River
Erne. The headwaters of the Anna
lee river, which belongs to Cavan,
come from Monaghan. Other streams
are the Bunnoe, the County Water,
the Blackwater, the Mountain
Water, the Clarebane and the Lagan
river. Lakes are very numerous in
Monaghan.
Monaghan, the assize town, has a
population of 5000 and is a place of
considerable trade. Clones, near
the western boundary, is a town OF
ecclesiastical origin and of great
antiquity, containing some very
ancient church ruins and a round
tower, and very large and con-
spicuous mound or fort. Near the
southern boundary is Carrickma-
cross, with brewery and large dis
tillery, both noted throughout Ire
land and Great Britain. Near the
eastern boundary is Castleblayney, a
| neat and thriving little town. Mon
Afghan has deposits of lead and coal,
but lack of enterprise has caused
work in the mines either to be alto
gether discontinued or sadly
neglected.
In ancient times and down to the
time of Queen Elizabeth Monaghan
belonged to the powerful family of
Mcmahon. At a plce called Agha-
Lederg, in the barony of Farney, a
great battle was fought, A. d. 331.
which resulted in the destruction of
the palace of Emania. The three
Callas, brothers, sons of Oily Davlen,
having slain their uncle. Fiacha
Sravtinne, King of Ireland, were
banished by the son of the dead man,
who became King himself. The
Callas did not relish the idea of
Punishment and did not remain long
on foreign soil. They returned to
Ireland, forced themselves on their
cousin and settled down in Monag-
han. Their kingly cousin desired to
be rid of them and supplied them
with a small army to go out and
make conquests for themselves. They
marched to Ulster and encountered
the King of Ulster at Agha-Lederg;
the battle lasted for seven days and
resulted in the death of the Ulster
King and the defeat of his army. One
of the three brothers. Cola Mem,
was slain in the battle. The sur
viving brothers destroyed the palace
of Emania, which thenceforward
ceased to be the residence OF kings
Of Ulster. They seized on a large
part of Ulster, extending east as far
as the Glenree river. which was from
that time forth called the kingdom
Of Oriel.
During the reign of Elizabeth the
head of the Mcmahon family, which
ruled Monaghan. was treacherously
captured and legally murdered. The
land was converted into shire
ground. The County Monaghan is
the residential seat of the Bishop OF
Clogher, and its Cathedral is 'one OF
the most imposing OF modern
ecclesiastical structures in Ireland.
Cloger is Identical with the reign OF
Ptolemy, and was erected into a
bishopric by st. Macartin in 493.