Clones Cluain Eois
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Coordinates: 54°10′59″N 7°14′01″W / 54.183°N 7.2337°WCoordinates: 54°10′59″N 7°14′01″W / 54.183°N 7.2337°W | |
Country | Ireland |
Province | Ulster |
County | County Monaghan |
Elevation | 71 m (233 ft) |
Population (2006)[1] | |
• Urban | 2,500 |
• Rural | 321 |
Irish Grid Reference | H500257 |
Website | www.clones.ie |
Historical populations | ||
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Year | Pop. | ±% |
1821 | 2,240 | — |
1831 | 2,381 | +6.3% |
1841 | 2,877 | +20.8% |
1851 | 2,319 | −19.4% |
1861 | 2,390 | +3.1% |
1871 | 2,170 | −9.2% |
1881 | 2,216 | +2.1% |
1891 | 2,032 | −8.3% |
1901 | 2,068 | +1.8% |
1911 | 2,401 | +16.1% |
1926 | 2,365 | −1.5% |
1936 | 2,235 | −5.5% |
1946 | 2,092 | −6.4% |
1951 | 2,455 | +17.4% |
1956 | 2,399 | −2.3% |
1961 | 2,107 | −12.2% |
1966 | 2,038 | −3.3% |
1971 | 2,164 | +6.2% |
1981 | 2,556 | +18.1% |
1986 | 2,542 | −0.5% |
1991 | 2,347 | −7.7% |
1996 | 2,170 | −7.5% |
2002 | 1,947 | −10.3% |
2006 | 1,767 | −9.2% |
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Clones ( /ˈkloʊnɨs/ KLOH-nis; from Irish: Cluain Eois) is a small town in western County Monaghan, Ireland. The area is part of the Border Region, earmarked for economic development by the Irish Government due to its currently below-average economic situation. The town was badly hit economically by the partition of Ireland in 1921 because of its location on the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The creation of the border deprived it of access to a large part of its economic hinterland for many years. The town had a population of 2,889 (including the rural area) at the 2006 census.
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Historically Clones was also spelt Clonis, Clonish and Clownish.[7] These are anglicised versions of the Irish Cluain Eois, meaning "Eos's meadow". However, it is also said that the ancient name was Cluan Inis, "island of retreat," it having formerly been nearly surrounded by water.[citation needed]
Clones was the site of a monastic settlement in the kingdom of Dartraige Con-innsi, originally founded by Tigernach (anglicised Tierney) in the 6th century, until the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII. St. Tigernach or Tierney's abbey, built in the early 6th century was dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. Tigernach later became Bishop of Clogher and removed that see to Clones, where he died of the plague in 550. The abbot was the Primus Abbas, or first mitred abbot of Ireland. 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.
Clones was linked by rail to Dundalk from 1855, Enniskillen from 1859, Cavan from 1862 and Armagh from 1863.[8] Clones railway station was opened on 26 June 1858[9] by the Dundalk and Enniskillen Railway. From 1876 all of these lines were part of the Great Northern Railway.
The partition of Ireland in 1922 made Clones a border post on the railway, which combined with road competition to cause the Great Northern to decline. In 1954 the governments of the Republic and Northern Ireland jointly nationalised the GNR and in 1957 Northern ireland made the GNR close its lines from Armagh and Enniskillen to Clones.[10] This made it impractical to continue services on the Cavan and Dundalk lines so the GNR withdrew passenger services on those lines as well, leaving Clones with no passenger trains and a freight service truncated at the border.[10] The GNR closed Clones station to passenger traffic on 14 October 1957.[9]
In 1958 the two states partitioned the GNR between the Ulster Transport Authority and CIÉ. CIÉ withdrew freight services from the Cavan line in 1959 and from the Dundalk line in 1960, leaving Clones with no railway at all.[10] CIÉ closed Clones freight depot on 1 January 1960.[9]
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.
Clones Film Festival was launched in 2002 and is steadily growing to be the biggest event of its type in the area. Organised by Lmb Entertainments, the festival was artistically directed by Larry and Gilly Fogg in 2001. 2010's festival was artistically directed by James Sheerin, Stephen Mc Kenna and Thomas Zechner. who have chosen programmes that are as diverse as they have been entertaining.
The festival takes place on the October Bank Holiday weekend.
The Flat Lake Festival is an annual event hosted by Kevin Allen in Hilton Park, Clones, Co. Monaghan, since its inception in 2007. Readings, comedy, music and theatre takes place within the farm estate among the barns and bales of hay, abandoned tractors and ancient oaks of Hilton Park over the period of a long weekend, just a couple of miles outside the town of Clones on the back road to Cavan town. The festival is non-stop fun night and day. In previous years it has taken place in mid-August.
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"Clones" was the first single released from the Meltdown album by the band Ash on February 25, 2004 . It was exclusive to the UK Downloads. The track came with a free artwork and a video when downloading.
Songwriter Tim Wheeler has talked about the song on various occasions, and described it as: "It's about how homogenized mankind has become. People don't really stand out. It's a rant about some person who's let you down, a person you thought was different and they turn out to be the same as everyone else."
"It's about someone you've idealised - a politician, a band, anything you've believed in that's really let you down. You thought they were unique and special but they've just turned out to be the same."
"I had to step away from myself, write about the wider world for a change. The social commentary songs, like 'Clones' are there because I'm ready now to address what I feel about politics."
The song was played constantly on the accompanying Meltdown tours, and appears on the live Meltdown special edition bonus disc, but has since been rested thus far on the 2007 Higher Education Tour. The song was used on the soundtrack for the game Star Wars: Republic Commando and the song later appeared on the accompanying Commando EP.
"Clones (We're All)" is a 1980 single by rock singer Alice Cooper taken from his 1980 album Flush the Fashion. It reached #40 in the US charts, his first top 40 single in two years. The song is about forced conformity. Cooper reports that he wanted to do the song because he was looking for a new sound. It was written by David Carron (1948-84), who had played in Arlo Guthrie's Shenandoah, and the short lived Gulliver.
The song has been covered by many artists, including The Smashing Pumpkins, the Epoxies, Penal Colony, and Bile, and sampled by Akira the Don for his track Clones (featuring Bashy).