Clones
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- The word clones is also used as the plural of clone.
Clones (Irish:Cluain Eois) is a small town in western County Monaghan, in the border area of Ireland. The area is part of the BMW region (Border, Midlands and Western) earmarked for economic development by the Irish government, due to its currently below average economic situation. Economically, the town was particularly badly hit by the partition of Ireland in 1921, due to its location on the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. This deprived the town of access to much of its economic hinterland on the other side of the border.
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 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 of Ireland 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).
The author Patrick McCabe is from the town, and is noted particularly for his novel The Butcher Boy, which is set in a thinly-disguised version of the town. The film version of the book, directed by Neil Jordan in 1997, was in part filmed on location in the town. Clones is also the home town of the well-known boxer, Barry McGuigan.
Clones is now mainly known in Ireland as being the location of a major GAA stadium, St. Tiarnach'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.
The estimated population of the town at the 2002 census was 1,947.
- See also: List of towns in the Republic of Ireland
- External link: www.clones.ie - Official Website (http://www.clones.ie)