Things to do in Monaghan
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Monaghan
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall, with long evenings, lakes and golf at their best, and the flagship festival in September.
Peak family and festival season, with country music in July, Muckno Mania, and the warmest water for watersports.
Autumn fishing festivals, bog colours on Sliabh Beagh, empty trails and the softest hotel prices.
The quiet spring reopening, with Easter family programming and kinder prices.
The honest low, with short days and limited hours at small sights, best for food, music and hotel pool trips.
What's on
- Harvest Time Blues Festival First weekend of September each year
One of Ireland's leading live music festivals takes over Monaghan town, with headline venues and a free pub Blues Trail.
- Monaghan Town Country Music Festival July
A multi day country music festival centred on the Diamond, drawing Ireland's country music crowd.
- Muckno Mania Festival July
Castleblayney's family and music festival, using Lough Muckno Park as its stage.
Best things to do in Monaghan
Monaghan County Museum
The county story told well in a new building, from lace and linen to life beside a changing border.
Patrick Kavanagh Centre
Kavanagh's life and poems in the church where he was baptised, with his grave in the churchyard outside.
St Macartan's Cathedral
A Gothic Revival hilltop cathedral whose spire, stained glass and scale anchor every view of the town.
The Market House Monaghan
A 1792 market house turned intimate arts venue for exhibitions, small concerts and storytelling nights.
The Garage Theatre
The town's proper night out, a 289 seat theatre for drama, comedy, live music and family shows.
Carrickmacross Lace Gallery
A living lace craft since the 1820s, with historic pieces, demonstrations and work to buy from local makers.
Clones Round Tower
An early monastic cluster of round tower, tomb shrine and high cross, free to wander in old Clones.
St Peter's Tin Church
A Swiss Gothic church of corrugated iron and timber beside a stream, rescued and reopened by its village.
Where to stay in Monaghan
Monaghan town
default base, dining and day loops
The widest choice of beds, the best restaurants on foot, the museum and theatre, and the N2 for loops in every direction.
Glaslough
luxury and special occasions
One village and one great estate, the county's only luxury tier, 20 minutes from Monaghan town.
Carrickmacross
the south county and food
The Courthouse for dinner, the lace gallery, and Kavanagh country 15 minutes away.
Clones
the west, canal and Fermanagh touring
The hinge town for the Ulster Canal, the western loughs and Sliabh Beagh.
Castleblayney
the lake and golf, with a beds caveat
Beside Lough Muckno and Concra Wood, but its main hotel is listed permanently closed, so most visitors sleep in Monaghan town or Carrickmacross.
Best restaurants in Monaghan
Snaffles
The county's splurge table, polished modern Irish dining in the Lodge at Castle Leslie Estate.
The Courthouse Restaurant
A great-value pick cooking unfashionable cuts brilliantly in a rustic room by the courthouse.
The Batch Loaf
Monaghan town's benchmark bistro, famous for its batch loaf starter, risottos and devoted service.
Andy's Bar & Restaurant
In house dry aged steaks, famous garlic mushrooms and over a hundred gins in a family run gastropub.
Eastern Balti House
The town's curry institution, generous and consistent, and the locals' pick for Indian food in the county.
Neighbourhood
The town's flexible all rounder for mixed groups, with a broad modern menu and generous portions.
Watters Old Coach Inn
Hearty pub cooking, a famous welcome and live music nights that turn dinner into an evening.
Ambledown Cottage
Gourmet pizzas in a tiny antique filled cottage by the estate gates, with a garden terrace and BYOB.
Outdoor things to do in Monaghan
Rossmore Forest Park
Free forest walking past castle ruins and carved Drumlin Giants, with lakes, a playground and a coffee dock.
Lough Muckno Leisure Park
Nine hundred acres of wooded shore on the county's largest lake, with island trails and a big playground.
Castleblayney Outdoor Adventure Centre
Kayaking, paddleboarding and wakeboarding sessions on Lough Muckno, seasonal and booked through the operator.
Concra Wood Golf & Country Club
A championship course draped around Lough Muckno, with eleven holes bringing the water into play.
Rossmore Golf Club
A drumlin rollercoaster of a parkland course beside Rossmore Forest Park, founded in 1916.
Clones Golf Club
The county's value round, an all weather parkland course from 1913 with a welcoming clubhouse.
Monaghan Greenway
A flat 4.5 km canal towpath walk or cycle from the town, past bridges, a canal house and two locks.
Castle Leslie Equestrian Centre
World class riding on a 1,000 acre estate, plus pike fishing, clay shooting, archery and falconry by booking.
Best hotels in Monaghan
Hillgrove Hotel & Spa
The town's biggest full service hotel, with a pool, spa and lively bar, strong for families and events.
Four Seasons Hotel & Leisure Club
A calmer leisure hotel with a pool and thermal suite, friendly staff and well liked food.
Westenra Arms Hotel
A family run hotel right on the Diamond, the best value central bed in Monaghan town.
Ashleigh House
A well reviewed town guesthouse for a family run breakfast and local advice over a leisure centre.
Castle Leslie Estate
Castle, Lodge and Mews rooms inside 1,000 acres of parkland and lakes, the county's only luxury stay.
Shirley Arms Hotel
A four star boutique hotel on Main Street, the smart southern base for Courthouse dinners and Kavanagh country.
Creighton Hotel
A refurbished family run hotel in Clones, the western base for the canal, the loughs and Sliabh Beagh.
Is Monaghan expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €60 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €110 a person |
| Splurge | €250 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Patrick Kavanagh Centre: a few days ahead
- The Garage Theatre: a few days ahead
- Castle Leslie Estate: weeks ahead
- Castleblayney Outdoor Adventure Centre: a few days ahead
- Concra Wood Golf & Country Club: a few days ahead
- Rossmore Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Castle Leslie Equestrian Centre: weeks ahead
- Drumlin Trails Bike Hire: a few days ahead
- Book dinners when you book the hotel, especially The Batch Loaf, Andy's, The Courthouse, Snaffles and Ambledown.
- Book Castle Leslie activities and afternoon tea through the estate and confirm day visitor terms.
- Check Lough Muckno watersports operators and season before planning a paddle day.
- Book rooms early for Harvest Time Blues in early September and the July country music festival.
Is Monaghan safe?
- Emergency number is 112 in the Republic, and 112 also works in Northern Ireland.
- Rural lanes are unlit with blind drumlin crests, so walk facing traffic with a torch at night.
- The lakes are cold and mostly unsupervised outside organised watersports.
- On Sliabh Beagh, stay on waymarked routes in poor visibility.
Monaghan travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not come for a city break, as the product is the county loop of lakes, forests, golf and dinners.
- Do not build a day around one small sight, as the lace gallery, tin church and round tower each take under an hour.
- Castle Leslie has no walk up house tour, so book afternoon tea or an activity to see inside.
- Older guides still list the Nuremore Hotel and its golf, but its online presence is long out of date.
Getting around Monaghan: public transport and more
- You need a car, as Monaghan has no passenger railway and every sight beyond the town is a 20 to 45 minute drive.
- Buses link Monaghan town with Dublin in about two hours and Belfast in about one hour forty minutes.
- The N2 serves Monaghan town, Carrickmacross and Castleblayney, and the N54 serves Clones.
- Western and northern loops cross into Northern Ireland, so watch sterling and mph speed limits.
- Parking is free at Rossmore and Lough Muckno and straightforward in all five town centres.
Who Monaghan suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Monaghan your trip
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