Carrickmacross (Carraig Mhachaire Rois)

A market town world-famous for its delicate handmade lace.

Carrickmacross has produced its distinctive appliqué-and-guipure lace since the 1820s, a craft still taught in the town's lace gallery. Examples have adorned royal wedding gowns, including that of the Princess of Wales.

At a glance

• Home of Carrickmacross lace since the 1820s
• Lace featured on royal wedding gowns
• Craft still taught locally

In County Monaghan

Carrickmacross is in County Monaghan, Muineachán in Irish, which means “land of the little hills”.

More in Monaghan

• Inniskeen (Inis Caoin): The County Monaghan birthplace of the poet Patrick Kavanagh, one of Ireland's great voices.
• Sliabh Beagh (Sliabh Beagh): A wild upland of blanket bog and heather where three counties meet.

Other places of this kind

• The Cliffs of Moher (Aillte an Mhothair): Sea cliffs located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region.
• Newgrange (Sí an Bhrú): A prehistoric monument in County Meath, older than Stonehenge and the Pyramids.
• The Giant's Causeway (Clochán an Aifir): Around 40,000 interlocking basalt columns on the Antrim coast, a UNESCO site wrapped in the legend of Finn McCool.
• Glendalough (Gleann Dá Loch): A beautiful glacial valley of two lakes, home to one of Ireland's most important early monastic settlements.
• The Rock of Cashel (Carraig Phádraig): A dramatic outcrop crowned with medieval buildings, once the seat of the kings of Munster.
• Clonmacnoise (Cluain Mhic Nóis): A great early monastery on the banks of the Shannon, once a renowned centre of learning.

The Irish name

The Irish form of Carrickmacross is Carraig Mhachaire Rois. You can hear it spoken, and take apart names like it, in the Placename Explorer. The authoritative record for any Irish place-name is logainm.ie.