User Contributed Dictionary
Noun
clones- Plural of clone
Extensive Definition
- This page refers to the Irish town. For other uses, see Clones (disambiguation), or Clone
Clones (Irish:
Cluain Eois) – – is a small town in western County
Monaghan, in the border area of the Republic
of Ireland. The area is part of the Border, Midlands
and Western region, earmarked for economic development by the
Irish government due to its currently below average economic
situation. The town was particularly badly hit economically by the
partition
of Ireland in 1921 because of its
location on the border with County
Fermanagh in Northern
Ireland which deprived it of access to a large part of its
economic hinterland, now situated on the other side of the border.
The town had a population of 2,889 (including the rural area) at
the 2006
census. The town's name in Irish, Cluain Eois, means 'Eos's
meadow'.
History
Clones 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.In February 1922, just after the
partition
of Ireland, Clones was the scene of a confrontation between the
Ulster Special Constabulary and the Irish
Republican Army. The Special Constabulary were a temporary,
armed police force raised in Northern Ireland to put down IRA
guerrillas there. Since the end of the
Irish War of Independence in July 1921, the IRA were
acting as the de facto army of the Provisional Government of the
Irish Free
State. A unit of Special Constabulary was travelling by train
to Belfast, but was stopped by an IRA unit at Clones, in Southern
Ireland, while they were changing trains. The IRA men demanded
that they surrender and a gun battle broke out. An IRA officer was
killed, as were four Special Constables. Nine other USC men were
injured and the rest surrendered. The incident, known as the
'Clones Affray' at the time, threatened to cause the collapse of
the Anglo-Irish
Treaty and prompted the British government to suspend the
withdrawal of British troops from the Free State.
Transport
The town was a major Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Railway junction during the 19th and early 20th 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 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). Clones railway station was opened on 26 June 1858, closed for passenger traffic on 14 October 1957, and finally closed altogether on 1 January 1960.People
- Author Patrick McCabe is from the country; his novel The Butcher Boy is set in a thinly-disguised version of Clones. Parts of Neil Jordan's 1997 film adaptation of the book were filmed in the town. McCabe is honorary patron of the Clones Film Festival, which takes place annually on the October bank holiday weekend.
- Writer and playwright Eugene McCabe also comes from the town and is known for his television dramas (including Victims) and novels such as Death and Nightingales.
- Clones was the birthplace of poet Thomas Bracken, who wrote "God Defend New Zealand", one of the national anthems of New Zealand
- General Joseph Finegan, who commanded the Confederate Army to victory at the 1864 Battle of Olustee in Florida during the U.S. Civil War, was born at Clones on November 17, 1814.
- It is also the home town of noted boxers Barry McGuigan and Kevin McBride.
Sport
Clones is now mainly known in Ireland as being the location of the GAA stadium, St. Tiernach's Park. 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.See also
References
External links
clones in German: Clones
clones in French: Clones
clones in Irish: Cluain Eois
clones in Dutch: Clones
clones in Scots: Clones
clones in Slovak: Clones
clones in Swedish: Clones