Clones
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| Clones Cluain Eois |
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| Location | ||
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| Irish Grid Reference H |
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| Province: | Ulster | |
| County: | County Monaghan | |
| Elevation: | 71 m | |
| Population (2006) - Town: - Rural: |
321 |
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Clones (Irish:Cluain Eois) – pronounced /kləʊnɪs/ (IPA) – is a small town in western County Monaghan, in the border area of Ireland. The area is part of the Border, Midlands and Western region, earmarked for economic development by the Irish government due to its currently below average economic situation. The town was particularly badly hit economically by the partition of Ireland in 1921 because of its location on the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland deprived it of access to a large part of its economic hinterland, now situated on the other side of the border.
The town had a population of 2,889 (including rural area) at the 2006 census.
The town's name in Irish, Cluain Eois, means 'Eos's meadow'. It was the site of a monastic settlement, originally founded by Tighearnach in the 6th century, until the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. The ruins of a 12th century abbey building can still be found in the town, along with a sarcophagus reputed to have been built to house the remains of Saint Tighearnach, and a 9th century round tower and high cross.
The town was a major Midland Great Western Railway junction during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, where routes from Enniskillen, Armagh, Cavan, and Dundalk converged. This formed the focal point of the railway network in what is now the border area between the Republic and Northern Ireland. The railways were finally closed after unilateral closure of the Northern Ireland route sections by the Northern Authorities and the Ulster Transport Authority (see History of rail transport in Ireland).
Author Patrick McCabe is from the town; his novel The Butcher Boy is set in a thinly-disguised version of Clones. Parts of Neil Jordan's 1997 film adaptation of the book where filmed in the town. McCabe is honorary patron of the Clones Film Festival, which takes place annually on the October bank holiday weekend. Writer and playwright Eugene McCabe also comes from the small border town and is known for his television dramas (including Victims) and novels such as Death and Nightingales. Clones was the birthplace of poet Thomas Bracken, who wrote "God Defend New Zealand", one of the national anthems of New Zealand, and is the home town of noted boxers Barry McGuigan and Kevin McBride.
Clones is now mainly known in Ireland as being the location of a major GAA stadium, St. Tiernach's Park, with an estimated capacity of 36,000. This stadium is regularly used for inter-county matches during the Ulster provincial championship in Gaelic football, and traditionally hosts the final. The summer football season is therefore a major source of revenue for businesses in the town.
[edit] Infrastructure
Clones at the turn of the last centuary was one of the major junctions from Derry, Omagh, and Belfast to north Leinster, in particular, the major market towns of Athlone, Cavan, and Mullingar. This back-bone rail infrastructure was administered by Midland_Great_Western_Railway whinh also linked to other major centres namely, Sligo, Tullamore, via Clara, Dublin, Limerick, and other market centres of the south coast.
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