Emyvale

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Emyvale (Irish: Scairbh na gCaorach, meaning crossing of the sheep) is a village located in the North of County Monaghan, Ireland. It is situated upon the Main Dublin/Derry Road (N2) about 10 km north of Monaghan Town and 8 km south of Aughnacloy and is the home of a thriving village community of about 500.

[edit] History

In 1959, a Bronze Age tomb was discovered here placing the village at over 3000 years old. Unfortunately for historians, the urn and other artifacts found were inadvertently destroyed when the tomb was being excavated.

The name 'Scairbh na gCaorach' (the Irish language name for Emyvale) means 'crossing of the sheep', referring to a low (and easily traversable) point in the Mountain Water river on which Emyvale is situate. The name is thought to have come from the Ui Meith tribe, the village's first inhabitants. Scairbh na gCaorach was abbreviated to "Scarna" in the early part of the 19th Century (indeed a local hostelry bears this name), although this fell out of common usage, and village is now referred to by its English language name; Emyvale.

In the 8th century, the McKenna Clan arrived, and by the 12th century they had established an independent túath or kingdom in North Monaghan, which would last for the next 450 years.