| Monaghan: Unspoilt, Verdant and Just
an Hour from Dublin By Malcolm Rogers
Malcolm Rogers journeys to the borderlands of Monaghan to check out
poetry, pike, perch and the Paul McCartney connection.
“County Monaghan boasts two famous writers. The first is John Robert
Gregg, the inventor of shorthand — it is believed he was born near Castleblayney,
although some say Dublin. At any rate he’s buried far away in Missouri,
where presumably his headstone reads “Rst in pce”.
The other great writer from the locality is of course Patrick Kavanagh,
christened The Ploughboy of the Western World by Brendan Behan because of
his rural background.
Born in the same year that the Nobel Prize came into being, sadly this
giant of Irish poetry never won the prize — although he should have. And
that’s not just my opinion — it was his opinion too.
For further evocation of Monaghan’s countryside read Kavanagh’s poems
Stoney Grey Soil or July Evening. If you journey to the tidy village of
Inniskeen, in the south of the county, you’ll find the home of this literary
genius whose best known poem — Raglan Road — echoes down the decades as
one of the greatest evocations of unrequited love.
Inniskeen itself is a suitably ancient place with the remains of a 10th
century Round Tower at its centre. The Patrick Kavanagh Rural & Literary
Resource Centre is housed in the historic St Mary’s Church, next to the
cemetery where the poet is buried. One of the most startling facts I have
ever heard about Kavanagh was from Ronnie Drew, who said that it fell to
the poet, then a journalist with the Evening Herald in Dublin, to interview
the Beatles on their visit to Dublin in the early sixties. Full circle,
really, what with Paul McCartney returning to Castle Leslie for his nuptials.
I wonder if Macca paid his respects to one of the greatest lyricists Europe
has ever produced.
A couple of miles from Inniskeen lies the town of Castleblayney (or Castleblaney
— both spellings seem acceptable in the locality), originally called Baile
na Lorgan or The Town of the Strip of Land.
Founded by Sir Edward Blayney in the reign of James I, the towns and
the lands in the surrounding area were granted to the Englishman on condition
that the grantee undertook to build a strong fortress and to colonise the
lands.
This Lord Blayney — as he now was — proceeded to do so, creating a town
with a fine Georgian courthouse, a serviceable market square, and two proud,
broad Georgian streets. His headquarters was the new demesne at the head
of Lough Muckno (the Lough of the Black Pig), Monaghan’s largest lake.
Hope Castle remains a gem of a place — in more ways than one. Standing
at one end of Castleblayney (in fact it actually is Castle Blayney when
you think about it), it was once owned by Henry Thomas Hope, owner of the
world famous Hope Diamond, the largest blue diamond in the world. The impressive
three-storey, five-bay Georgian brick house is steeped in history — even
one of Queen Victoria’s sons stayed here, doubtless saying, “We are not
a museum” or the like.
The house was once part of a Franciscan monastery but is today a wonderful
14-bedroom hotel overlooking the lough. Run by Clare man Chris Haren and
his wife Caroline, the hotel is the last word in country-pursuits-orientated
comfort.
It’s ideal if you want to fish — Lough Muckno boasts roach, pike, bream
and perch. And you don’t even have to rent a boat. “We have good banks all
the way up the lough, and in the summer you’ll see people fishing till 10
or 11pm. Even in winter we get lots of fishing parties from England.”
The discerning angler has always known about the beauties of this area.
During the Bother the only tourists you might see in this part of south
Ulster were the odd bunch of Americans who, holding their maps upside down
by mistake, imagined they might be in Kerry. Even then, however, the true
sportsmen — the anglers and the golfers — kept visiting here.
Golfing parties from all over Ireland and Britain, have long made their
way here. Now nobody, least of all Chris, would pretend that Castleblayney
is one of Ireland’s foremost courses. But it’s only i12 (about £9) for nine
beautiful holes through drumlins and beech and willow woodland. That compares
very favourably with any of the courses with ‘Royal’ in front of their name,
where you could expect to pay anything northwards of £100.
There’s also good news on the golfing horizon for Castleblayney — the
two O' Connors, Christy junior and senior — will be extending the current
course to an 18-hole parkland course.
Even if your pleasures are more just soaking up the countryside, there
are some terrific walks round these parts. The estate surrounding Hope Castle
— including Black Island which overlooks the placid waters of Lough Muckno
— provides several walks through soporifically beautiful woodland and lakeland.
And the great news is — this unspoilt verdant area is only just over
an hour from Dublin Airport. So you could leave London, Manchester or Glasgow
and have your feet under the bar of Hope Castle contemplating Lough Muckno,
and idly wondering what you might dine on in the restaurant after you’ve
finished your gin and tonic in no time at all.
And Chris Haren knows a thing or two about cooking trout, salmon and
seafood. “Where there’s smoke there’s salmon” is his motto, one imported
from San Francisco. He owned the Fiddler’s Green Restaurant in Fisherman’s
Wharf from the eighties until 1995. But he left San Francisco and lost his
heart in Castleblayney. There has to be a song in there somewhere.
To contact Hope Castle telephone 00 353 (0) 42 97 49450 or e-mail
hopecastle@hotmail.com.
At the other end of the county (and price range) lies Castle Leslie.
The modern world of course encroached on this old pile a couple of years
back — thanks to Paul McCartney’s decision to get married in Castle Leslie.
A media scrum (including myself in the middle of the back row) descended
on the town, but nonetheless the McCartneys managed to keep it traditional.
They even arranged to have a traditional Irish row, with the cousins and
second cousins complaining that they hadn’t been invited.
Whatever you feel about the McCartneys nuptials, the castle itself is
worthy of a visit.
The Leslie family have lived here for 300 years, each generation leaving
its mark with a collection of priceless bric-a-brac which wouldn’t disgrace
a small museum. The reassuringly thick walls are festooned with portraits
of previous Leslies and other members of the Anglo-Irish aristocracy — the
Raj in the Rain as they were called.
Each bedroom is extravagantly furnished according to a specific theme
— could be a period in history, or a country, or a religion even. If you
want to rock and roll, ask for the Mauve Room where Mick Jagger once cavorted
with Marianne Faithfull, or plump for the Governess Suite if you fancy a
spanking new experience. Beware, however: you’ll find no trace of a television,
telephone or clock about the place.
The consequent peace and quiet guarantees a grand night’s sleep, so you’ll
be raring to go in the morning to explore the vast estate. A seductively
beautiful landscape surrounds three lakes, and if you tire of strolling
through the native broadleaf trees you can enjoy a game of tennis, or row
a boat across the afore-mentioned lakes.
The McCartney wedding has made the hotel something of a celebrity spot,
and the antics of the owner, Sir John Leslie, a somewhat eccentric octogenarian,
have certainly added to its profile.
The estate boasts three lakes, rolling parkland and a fine covering of
mature native hardwoods. Oak, ash, sycamore and yew form part of the ancient
woods of Truagh that goes back to Celtic times. After a game of tennis in
the pleasure grounds, you can enjoy a picnic basket under the boughs of
some ancient Irish tree or row a boat across the lake.
In autumn, when the golden hues of the woodland reflect on the waters
at sunset there’s no more beautiful place to be than Glaslough.
Winter has more than the odd compensation — the Castle comes in to its
own with mulled wine served beside roaring log fires. You pray for inclement
weather to save you the bother of going out.
By the way, the place is suitable for adults only and because of the
nature of the place the Leslies accept no bookings for anyone under 18 years
of age.
UK Customers call 0870 050 3232.
|
