Around twelve miles southwest of Monaghan, Clones (pronounced Clo-nez) is a busy, friendly market town, barely half a mile from the border. Situated on top of a hill, its streets give a good perspective over the surrounding countryside. The town - as it appears today - dates from 1601 when the English took it over and started to develop it. It's very obviously an Ulster town, with large Presbyterian and Methodist churches to rival the usual Catholic and Church of Ireland offerings. The solemn and impressive St Tiernach's Church (Church of Ireland) gives out onto the fine Diamond, and there is some evidence of eighteenth-century prosperity in the town's handful of Georgian houses. There are also traces of Clones' earlier identity, the most impressive being the weathered, deeply carved high cross which stands in the Diamond. Depicted on it are Adam and Eve, Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac, Daniel in the lion's den and, on the north side, the Adoration of the Magi, the miracle at Cana and the miracle of the loaves and fishes. Though worn, there's still a strong impression of the richness of the carving. In the sixth century St Tiernach founded a monastery at Clones. It became an Augustinian abbey in the twelfth century, and the tumbled-down traces of this can be seen in Abbey Street, along with those of a round tower. Just on the edge of town is an ancient rath (an enclosure used as a dwelling) of three concentric earthworks.

Nowadays, the town's chief claims to fame are as the setting for Patrick McCabe's The Butcher Boy , and as the home of Barry McGuigan, the former world-champion boxer - there are a couple of photos of him in The Lennard Arms Hotel , which also does B&B. Otherwise there's Creighton's Hotel in Fermanagh Street and The Round Tower Bar in Cara Street, which offers B&B and serves good bar food. Just outside Newbliss, around five miles southeast of Clones, is Glynch House, an eighteenth-century mansion offering accommodation.

Ulster Canal Stores provides information and has exhibitions on the area's history, including lace-making and the old Erne-Belfast Canal (July & Aug daily 9am-5pm; Sept-June Mon-Fri 9am-5pm). The town is a good point from which to get onto The Kingfisher Cycle Trail; you can rent bikes at Snipe Cycle Hire, Ulster Canal Stores.

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