Monaghan

Monaghan is a border town of 8,000 people sitting among the drumlins of northeast Ireland, those small rounded hills left behind by ancient glaciers. The N2 runs straight through, connecting Dublin 131km south with Derry to the north, making it a handy stop for cross-border traffic heading to Belfast or beyond. The town serves as a hub for the surrounding dairy country and mushroom farms, with a compact centre full of independent shops and the Garage Theatre. This drumlin landscape inspired poet Patrick Kavanagh, who grew up nearby in Inniskeen. The Market House holds the county museum, telling the story of this bit of Ulster that stayed with the Free State after partition.