William Carleton
William Carleton (1794 - 1869), the Irish novelist, spent some time in the
North Monaghan area and received his classical education in a house,
which was situated beside St. Mary’s Church, Glennan. In his writings he
refers to the beauty around the Blue Bridge and wrote about ‘The Fair of
Emyvale’. When the committee began to gather money for a Leisure
Centre in Emyvale they organised a festival to raise public awareness.
They called the festival - ‘The Fair of Emyvale’. Included in this was a
competition for ‘Fairest Maiden’ and the first ever Fairest Maiden was
Ursula McQuaid, now Slowey. In 1997, Monaghan County Council, at the
request of Emyvale Development Association, erected plaques at the two
sites to mark Carleton’s association with the area. Members of the
Carleton Summer School hold tours to the area each year.
The pictures below were taken in 2016 when the EDA had the original
plaque reframed and re-erected on the parapet of the Blue Bridge. It was
unveiled by Michael Fisher, Chairman of the Carleton Society.
Ms. Melissa Carleton,
Victoria, Australia. She is
the great-great-great
granddaughter of the
novelist and she is
pictured here beside the
Plaque at the Blue Bridge
during a visit in September
1999.
Michael
Fisher unveils
the new
Plaque.
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