Monaghan & Rackwallace is the Cathedral Parish of the Diocese of Clogher and it has a population of about 8000 people of which 6956 are Catholic in a 2005 Census.

The name Monaghan derives from the Irish word 'Muineacháin' meaning a thicket or scrubland. Sometimes the word Monaghan is interpreted aptly as 'between the hills' as the town area of Monaghan is located in a hollow surrounded by drumlin hills.

Monaghan is a northerly town in County Monaghan, 12kms from the border with Northern Ireland. The parish is both urban and rural. Three of the parish's churches where Sunday Masses are celebrated, the Cathedral, St. Joseph's and St. Davnet's, are in the town and the fourth, St. Michael's Church, is located 5kms south in the rural setting of Ardaghey.

Photo by Hugh Rooney

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