Scotstown

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Ordnance Map of the village of Scotstown, County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland

Scotstown (In Irish the village is known traditionally as An Both, but also more recently and more bizarrely as Baile an Scotaigh) is a village in the north of County Monaghan, in the Republic of Ireland. Scotstown is located in the Parish of Tydavnet, along the River Blackwater, Northern Ireland. It is centered in the townland of Bough, but extends into Carrowhatta, Teraverty, Drumdesco and Stracrunnion.

A couple of theories exist around the origin of the English name, either deriving from the fact that a lot of Scottish were located here during the Ulster Plantation, or possibly named after a local landowner, George Scott in the 1660s.

With regard to the Irish Gaelic names, the traditional name of An Both comes from the townland of Bough, where the village is centered. This is the name appearing on signs as you enter the village. On Ordnance Survey maps and road signs, the village also carries the name Baile an Scotaigh, which literally means town of the scots. This is a comparatively rare occurrence of the Irish Gaelic form being a translation of the English form (and in this case, possibly, an erroneous one), as opposed to the Irish form being the original. Locals, to the extent they use the Irish Gaelic form at all, favor the name An Both.

A Catholic church was built in the neighbouring townland of Drumcesco in 1785 (rebuilt in the 1820s), referred to locally as Urbleshanny Chapel, but officially St Mary's chapel. It is one of the three catholic churches in the Parish of Tydavnet. The village national school is also called Urbleshanny and is located in Carrowhatta. Urbleshanny National School is thought to be the earliest Catholic school in the Diocese of Clogher, having been set up in 1791, just after the penal laws were repealed.

By the 1830s, Scotstown was known to have a thriving fair, which centered on the village green. It is on record in 1938 as having a blacksmith. Scotstown also had a Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) barracks, with probably 4 officers stationed here.

Scotstown today has two furniture factories, providing the most significant employment source directly within the village. Scotstown also has a Gaelic Athletic Association club.