County Monaghan was once part of the old kingdom of Ulster, but since the partition in 1922 it has been part of the Republic. It is a county of pleasant though unspectacular scenery, characterised by round drumlin hills, relics of the last ice age. The county is also known for the exquisite hand-made lace it exports all over the world, with examples in Buckingham Palace and the White House. The ‘little hills’ from which Monaghan takes its name, form a landscape of glacial drumlins, the low ‘basket of eggs’ topography caused by the passage of great ice sheets. Amid these countless ridges of boulder clay lie dozens of lakes, making this a popular county with anglers.

The small county town has a neat shopping street, a good local museum and the nearby Market House, which is a surprisingly elegant Georgian affair from 1792. Grander in scale is the enormous Gothic-revival Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Macartan, standing high on the east side of town. Notable people from Monaghan include poet and novelist Patrick Kavanagh (1904-1967), boxer Barry McGuigan, and comedy actor Ardal O’Hanlan, best known as Father Dougal in Father Ted.