Skip to content
Voykit
Set your trip — dates, party, bagsPlanner

Draft data. Times, fares and step counts are desk estimates awaiting field checks. Unknown times stay unknown. How we verify

Back to Clones

In the print dialog pick “Save as PDF” to keep it on your phone. A5 makes a pocket booklet; A4 suits a desk printer.

Voykit pocket guide · Ireland

Clones

Cluain Eois

Half a day on foot for the abbey cross and round tower, then move on: Clones is a stop, not a base — one night only if you want the pubs.

Clones is a small border town in north County Monaghan, population about 1,900, close to a border with Northern Ireland that twists in and out of the town. The Diamond square holds the remains of an abbey: a carved 10th-century high cross, a truncated 9th-century round tower and a sarcophagus said to hold St Tiernach. The town itself is walkable in an hour or two; the wider county needs a car. Most travellers pass through on the way between Dublin, Cavan and Enniskillen, or come for a GAA match at St Tiernach's Park.

DublinAbbeyleixAdareArklowArranmoreAshbourneAthenryAthloneAthyBagenalstownBalbrigganBallinaBallymoteBallyshannonClones100 kmdots: other places in this guide
Sketch, not to navigate by: shapes follow this guide’s areas and places, not official boundaries. North is up.
Country
Ireland
Local name
Cluain Eois
Best months
May–Sep
Avoid
Nov–Feb (wet, dark, few events)
Stay
1 night

Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.

Essentials

Currency
EUR
Money
Currency is the euro (EUR). Cards and contactless work almost everywhere, including pubs and taxis.
Daily spend
Budget €50–80 excl. bed · Mid €80–130 excl. bed · High €130+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
SIM and data
Vodafone, Three and Eir run the networks; prepaid SIMs (also 48, Tesco Mobile, GoMo) sell in phone shops and newsagents, no registration fuss.
Emergency
Police, ambulance, fire 112 · Police, ambulance, fire (alternative) 999
Plugs
Types G · 230 V · 50 Hz · Type G three-pin, like the UK; European and US plugs need an adapter.
Tipping
Restaurant with table service: 10–15% if service is not included.; Pub: Not expected when ordering at the bar.; Taxi: Round up.; Tour guide or driver: €5–10 per person for a day tour.; Hotel porter: €1–2 per bag.
Water
Tap water is safe; occasional local 'boil water' notices are posted by Uisce Éireann.
Toilets
Free in shopping centres, museums, pubs (as a customer) and many petrol stations; some public toilets charge 50c.

What things cost

ItemPrice
Coffee€3–4.50
Pub lunch or main course€12–20
Pint of stout€5–6.50
Pizza in a bar€12–18
Taxi across town€6–10
eSIM or data SIM, about a week€10–20

Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.

Get in

By air

DUB · Dublin Airport
Bus via Cavan or Monaghan; about 2.5–3 h by road. Check current bus times.
BFS · Belfast International
Cross-border route via Armagh and Monaghan; check connections.
BHD · George Best Belfast City
Goldliner 271 runs from Belfast Grand Central via Armagh to Clones, about 2 h 10 min, once a day Mon–Sat.

Typical fares

Bus Belfast → Clones (Goldliner 271)
about 2 h 10 min, once a day Mon–Sat
Bus Enniskillen → Clones (Ulsterbus 95)
about 1 h, five Mon–Fri, three Sat
Bus Cavan → Clones (Bus Éireann 175A)
once a day

Get around

The centre is flat and small: walk it. Buses stop at Jubilee Road and the Diamond. For the county, the canal, the golf club and the border lanes you need a car — there is no local rail.

See and do

Known for

  • The Diamond and the abbey high cross
  • Round tower and St Tiernach's sarcophagus
  • St Tiernach's Park, Monaghan GAA
  • Clones Film Festival in October
  • The Drummully border polyp

Day trips

WhereHowTime
Monaghan townBus Éireann 175A or 65, or Local Link 176; about 30–40 min by roadAbout 45 min
Cavan townBus Éireann 175A or 65, or Local Link 176; about 40 min by roadAbout 1 h
Enniskillen, Northern IrelandUlsterbus 95 via Lisnaskea and Newtownbutler, about 1 hAbout 1 h 15 min
CarrickmacrossDrive or bus via Monaghan; about 45 min by roadAbout 1 h

Sleep

Town centre (Fermanagh St and the Diamond)
Walk to the abbey site, pubs and buses. One hotel and a bar with rooms; book ahead for match weekends.
Outskirts and Scotshouse
Country houses and manor grounds; you need a car for everything.

Phrase card

EnglishSay or show
HelloDia dhuitJEE-a gwit
Thank youGo raibh maith agatguh rev mah agut
PleaseLe do thoilleh duh hull
CheersSláinteSLAWN-cha
Where is the toilet?Cá bhfuil an leithreas?kaw will un LEH-russ
How much is it?Cé mhéad é?kay vade ay

Etiquette, safety and scams

Etiquette

  • Greeting: Handshake, first names quickly; avoid: Over-formality; it reads as coldness
  • Conversation: Banter, weather and sport; self-deprecating humour; avoid: Opening with Northern Ireland, religion or the Famine
  • Pubs: Buy your round; chat at the bar; avoid: Leaving a round without buying one
  • Identity: Say Ireland, or the Republic when you need to distinguish; avoid: 'Southern Ireland' and calling it British
  • Driving: Lift a finger from the wheel to thank drivers who pull in for you; avoid: Stopping on narrow bends for photos

Scams and watch-outs

  • The border is unpatrolled but real: short drives and lanes cross into Northern Ireland and back. Carry valid ID and check your car insurance covers both sides.
  • The Drummully area is a pene-exclave of the Republic reachable only through Northern Ireland or across the river — check your route before driving it.
  • Rural roads are narrow, often single-track with hedges; drive slowly and expect tractors.
  • Village pubs may close early midweek out of season; check hours locally.
  • Mobile data can latch onto a UK network near the border — check which network you are on to avoid roaming charges.

Very low street crime; the real risks are rural roads, dark lanes and the unmarked border. Carry ID, check your car insurance covers both sides, and watch for UK networks on your phone.

One and two days

No timed day plan for Clones yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.

  • The Diamond and the abbey high cross
  • Round tower and St Tiernach's sarcophagus
  • St Tiernach's Park, Monaghan GAA
  • Clones Film Festival in October
  • The Drummully border polyp

Sources

Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.

Pocket card

Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.

ClonesCluain Eois

Chuig an seoladh seo, le do thoil

To this address, please

My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)

  • Police, ambulance, fire112
  • Police, ambulance, fire (alternative)999

No embassy in Clones. US citizens: embassy in Dublin; UK citizens: embassy in Dublin; most other countries: embassies in Dublin.

English is spoken everywhere; Irish is a school and signage language here, not a daily one.

Voykit · checked 2026-09

Printed from Voykit (/clones). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.