Inniskeen

Peaceful Island

Inniskeen

Inniskeen, officially Inishkeen (Irish: Inis Caoin, meaning “peaceful island”), is a small village and parish in County Monaghan, Ireland, close to the County Louth and County Armagh borders. It is located about 17 km from Dundalk and 12 km from Carrickmacross and 5 km from Crossmaglen (here are directions how to get there).

This territory had been inhabited from the late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age. Rock art carvings (Petroglyphs) have been discovered in adjoining townlands (including Drumirril) dating to 3000 BC. Cup and ring markls with concentric circles are the main inscriptions.

Old Church

A monastery was founded here in the 6th century by Saint Daigh MacCarell which was burned in 789, plundered by the Vikings in 948, and burned a second time in 1166. The bottom third of the round tower remains. In this drumlin country many of the hill tops have hill forts and associated souterrains which date from the late Iron Age or early Christian era. The country was part of McMahon Clann territory who displaced Carrolls in the 9th century as the dominant force in the area.

Patrick Kavanagh

The arrival of the Normans saw the construction of a Motte-and-bailey in the 13th century, The motte is still standing. The arrival of the Augustinian order of monks saw the construction of a new monastery of that order as a branch of the Abbey at Louth. One section of its wall remains adjoining the graveyard in the field adjoinhing the Motte.

The Patrick Kavanagh Centre is set up to commemorate the poet Patrick Kavanagh.The Centre houses exhibitions outlining Kavanagh’s lifestory and local history. It is located in the former RC St. Mary’s church in whose adjoining graveyard Kavanagh and his wife are buried.

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Monaghan

Land of the Little Hills

Dublin Street

Monaghan (Irish: Muineachán) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. Its population at the 2011 census was 7,452 including suburbs and environs. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Letterkenny (click here for directions).

The Irish name Muineachán preferred interpretation is “land of the little hills”, a reference to the numerous drumlins in the area.

Patena lake

The coat of arms of Monaghan town features a red hand on a shield on a tower. It has been speculated that the red hand here is the hand of the O’Neill family since the Battle of Clontibret between the forces of Hugh O’Neill and the English Crown was fought in northern Monaghan in May 1595. The territory of Monaghan had earlier been wrested from the control of the MacMahon sept in 1591, when the leader of the MacMahons was hanged by authority of the Dublin government; this was one of the events that led to the Nine Years War and the Tudor conquest of Ireland.

The partition of Ireland in 1922 turned the boundary with County Armagh into an international frontier.

St Patrick’s Cathedral

On 17 May 1974 an Ulster loyalist car bomb exploded in the Friday evening rush hour killing seven people. This was one of the few incidents in the Republic during The Troubles of Northern Ireland; three other bombs exploded on the same day in Dublin in what became known as the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. A monument in memory of the victims was unveiled by the eighth President of Ireland Mary McAleese on 17 May 2004, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the atrocity.

Monaghan continues to host one of Ireland’s most prestigious and established blues festivals in the country; the Harvest Time Blues Festival. It is hosted every September across Monaghan Town. (Source: Wikipedia)

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Long Winter is Over. Smile :)

Clontibert, County Monaghan

It has been a while since our last post, but now long and tiresome winter is over and our blog will have a  kick start. From now on at least a post a day. Promise 🙂
Remember: This blog is all about Ireland!

If…

County Louth

– you’re a resident of Ireland. Cool. Go and find a name of your home county from sidebar or at the end of this post. Help us with an inside information. What to do, where to go, what is worthwhile to see in your home place. Leave comments, suggestions, write to us. We would love to have a feedback.

Can’t find a name of your county? Don’t panic. Its still there. We just haven’t had time to come and explore it. But we will and it’s coming soon. Your input is highly appreciated, so let us know what  to see  and do in your home county.

– you’re interested about traveling to Ireland. Thumb through our site and you’ll get an idea of places which are worth of exploring.

– you just randomly stumbled on our page. Enjoy! Ireland is Beautiful 🙂

Ireland Facts

Winter Morning

The most northerly point is Inishtrahull Island, situated in the Atlantic Ocean 7 km north of Inishowen Peninsula, county Donegal.

Sun Rays

The most easterly point is Big Bow Meel Island, which is a rock situated 900 metres off the Ards Peninsula, county Down

Last Rose

The most southerly point is Fastnet Rock, which lies in the Atlantic Ocean 11.3 km south of mainland county Cork.

Straw

The most westerly point is Tearaght Island, which lies in the Atlantic Ocean 12.5 km west of Dingle Peninsula, county Kerry.

Wired Cow

The geographical centre of Ireland is to be found in eastern county Roscommon, at a point 3km (2 miles) south of Athlone town.

Ornament

The sea cliffs at Croaghaun, Achill Island off western Ireland fall 668 metres (2,192 feet) into the Atlantic Ocean. Slieve League in county Donegal has a drop of 601 metres (1,972 feet) into the same ocean. Both cliffs are almost twice the height of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Forest Road

The largest city in Ireland is Dublin, which at 1,045,769 inhabitants, is home to almost 1 in 5 Irish people, and almost 1 in 4 in the Irish Republic. The next 9 largest settlements are Belfast , Cork, Limerick, Derry, Newtownabbe, Dún Laoghaire, Bangor, Galway and Lisburn .

Rose Hip

In terms of area, the largest county in Ireland is county Cork at 7,457 km². The next largest is county Galway, at 6,148 km². The largest county in Northern Ireland is county Tyrone, at 3,155 km².

Mossy Stone

The smallest county in Ireland is county Louth, which is just 820 km² in area – 9 times smaller than county Cork. The next smallest is county Carlow, which is 896 km². The smallest county in Northern Ireland is county Armagh, at 1,254 km².

The Ring of Gullion

Cashel Lakes

Lots of Fun

If you like beautiful views, you will definitely like Ring of Gullion. We have been there at least once a year and have always enjoyed it. Here are some photos taken on 2009. Newer photos are coming soon since this place is worthwhile to visit again and again. Especially with kids because of the great new playground (which has a lot of features for adults as well) in Slieve Gullion Forest Park. And you can’t skip taking photos cause the sights are amazing. HERE are directions how to get to Ring of Gullion from your location.

Stone Fence

What Wikipedia has to say about Ring of Gullion:

The Ring of Gullion (Irish: Fáinne Cnoc Shliabh gCuillinn, meaning “hill ring of Slieve Gullion”) is a geological formation and area, officially designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, located in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The area centres on Slieve Gullion, the highest peak in County Armagh, measures roughly 42 by 18 kilometres (26 by 11 mi) and comprises some 150 km² defined topographically by the hills of an ancient ring dyke. Parts of the area have also been officially listed as Areas of Special Scientific Interest.

Area includes a number of lakes and parks, including the following:

Killevy Old Churches

• Slieve Gullion Forest Park
• Camloch or Camlough Lake (from the Irish for Crooked Lake)
• Cashel Lakes
• The Dorsey From the Irish Doirse, which means ‘Doors’ or ‘gates’, this Iron Age earthwork is located on the western edge of the Ring of Gullion.
• Kilnasaggart Stone From the Irish Cill na Sagart for Church of the Priests, this 2.8 metre pillar stone is held to be possibility the oldest datable stone monument in Ireland.
• Killevy Churches From the Irish Cill Shléibhe for Mountain Church, this site held one of early Christian Ireland’s most important early monastic sites
• Moyry Castle

Ring of Gullion Photo Gallery