The N12 road is one of the shortest

national primary road A national primary road ( ga, Bóthar príomha náisiúnta) is a road classification in Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of ro ...

s in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, running from outside

Monaghan Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It also provides the name of its Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish and Monaghan (barony), barony. The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7 ...

(where it leaves the N2) to the border with

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, at ''Ardgonnell Bridge'' outside Middletown. The N12 is part of an overall route running from

Cavan Town Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Ballys ...

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Route details

The route, entirely contained within

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County Cou ...

, commences at the junction with the N2 on the outskirts of Monaghan town, in the townland of Coolshannagh. From here the route passes through the townlands of Tullyhirm and Cavanreagh, with the R185 leaving the route to the north. Just before the border, the N12 passes through

Tyholland Tyholland (), also known as Tehallan, is a small parish in County Monaghan, Ireland. It is the smallest parish in County Monaghan and borders County Armagh, Northern Ireland. For a period it was united with Donagh parish and later still with M ...

, and in the townland of Killyneill just after this and before the border, the R213 leaves the route to the south. The overall

-Belfast route, of which the N12 is but a link, passes through

Butlersbridge Butlersbridge (), also Butler's Bridge, is a village in County Cavan in Ireland, north of Cavan town just off the N3 national primary road. It was previously a through-point on the N3, but was bypassed in 1999. The bridge in the village cro ...

, Wattlebridge,

Clones Clone or Clones or Cloning or Cloned or The Clone may refer to: Places * Clones, County Fermanagh * Clones, County Monaghan, a town in Ireland Biology * Clone (B-cell), a lymphocyte clone, the massive presence of which may indicate a pathologi ...

Smithborough Smithborough or Smithboro () is a village in County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is within the townlands of Mullaghduff and Mullaghbrack. It is roughly midway between Monaghan Town and Clones, County Monaghan, Clones on the N54 roa ...

and Monaghan Town as the N54 / A3. After the N12, it passes through or around Middletown,

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

Lurgan Lurgan () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, near the southern shore of Lough Neagh. Lurgan is about south-west of Belfast and is linked to the city by both the M1 motorway and the Belfast–Dublin railway line. It had a population ...

and

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

as the A3, and A1 (from Lisburn to Belfast). Similar routes in the

, which constitute part of a route that also passes through Northern Ireland, include the N2, N3 and routes N13–N16. The east-west route corridor of which the N12 is a part also includes the N54 to the west of Monaghan.

Architecture and history

A small aqueduct runs parallel to Ardgonnell Bridge, where the N12 meets the A3. The aqueduct formerly carried the now defunct

Ulster Canal The Ulster Canal is a canal running through part of County Armagh, County Tyrone and County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland and County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland. The Ulster Canal was built between 1825 and 1842 and was 74 km (46&nb ...

across the Corr River from

. The N12 was formerly part of the T15 trunk road, which was a route from

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

to the border (and eventually Belfast). On Thursday, 7 December 2017, Ardgonnell Bridge on the route was visited by the

Exiting the European Union Select Committee The Committee on the Future Relationship with the European Union, commonly known as the Brexit Select Committee and formerly the Exiting the European Union Select Committee, was a select committee of the British House of Commons that examines matt ...

('the

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

Committee') of the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

. Ardgonnell Bridge spans the Corr River between County Monaghan and County Armagh. The select committee was visiting where the N12 meets the A3 as part of a wider visit to inspect parts of ' the Border' between the

and

Future plans

There are no immediate programmes to upgrade the N12. However, Monaghan County Council include a proposed realignment of the route in their development plan.Development Plan Policies
�
Monaghan County Council

References

Roads Act 1993 (Classification of National Roads) Order 2006
–

Department of Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

{{Roads in Ireland 12 Roads in County Monaghan

Route details

Architecture and history

Future plans

See also

References