Magheracloone
Machaire Cluana | |
|---|---|
Rural community | |
  Magheracloone Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 53°54′17″N 6°44′06″W / 53.9046°N 6.7349°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Ulster |
| County | County Monaghan |
| Area | |
| • Total | 52.415 km2 (20.238 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 60 m (200 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
| Irish Grid Reference | N825994 |
Magheracloone is a parish in south County Monaghan. Its name comes from the Irish Machaire Cluana which means 'plain of meadow'.[1] A generally hilly parish; its name is derived from its most important place in ancient times; a flat area of land in the townland of Camaghy, on which the sports ground and ancient church of St. Molua were located. The parish covers 12,952 statute acres in area, making it the largest parish in South Monaghan. The parish borders three neighbouring counties; Cavan, Louth and Meath. Magheracloone is the only parish in Monaghan to border Meath; it is located approximately 90 km from both Belfast and Dublin.
During the 1840s, the population was approximately 9,000. During the 19th Century, the population declined sharply, largely due to The Great Famine. The current population is approximately 2,500.
Magheracloone contains the only gypsum mine in Ireland. Extraction from underneath the land has caused sinkholes on occasion, most notably in 1973 and in 2018.
- ^ "Machaire Cluana/Magheracloone". Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 6 May 2024.