Driver Clocked at 118km/h Beside Magheracloone School as Councillors Seek Traffic Calming
A speed survey at Priest's Cross, Upper Magheracloone, found 58% of vehicles from the Carrickmacross direction speeding in a 60km/h zone beside Scoil Bhríde, with one at 118km/h. Councillors backed a motion for traffic calming.
By the Monaghan Brief staff·Edited by Seamus McKenna·Published · 2 min read
Save for later
Main Street, Carrickmacross, looking north. Archive location photograph; not a photo of the events in this story. Eric Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0. Resized and colour-graded; cropped in layout.
A speed survey beside Scoil Bhríde at Priest's Cross, Upper Magheracloone, found that 58% of vehicles coming from the Carrickmacross direction were speeding in the 60km/h zone. One was recorded at 118km/h and another at 114km/h heading towards Carrickmacross. Councillors on the Carrickmacross-Castleblayney Municipal District unanimously backed a call for traffic calming.
The figures came up at the MD's first meeting since the summer, the Anglo-Celt reported. Cllr P.J. O'Hanlon (FF) brought the motion. There was a collision at the spot in July, and the Anglo-Celt headlined its report "A miracle no one was killed".
School's concerns
Principal Sharon Martin wrote to the council about an incident during the school's Summer Provision programme. She said children with additional needs had become distressed.
What councillors said
Cllr Peter Conlon (FG) seconded the motion. He called the nearby junction at Mullaghrafferty a "time bomb" and asked that the survey be passed to gardaí.
Cllr Colm Carthy (SF) compared it to speeding on the Oriel Road, and Cllr Paul Gibbons (SF) also spoke.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Noel Keelan agreed the school should be a priority.
Money is the obstacle
MD coordinator Damien Thornton said signs and road markings were added after the July collision, and that the speed limit will be reviewed before funding is sought. He warned that traffic-calming schemes can cost more than €100,000, against the MD's allocation of about €30,000. Speed concerns in Castleblayney face the same funding problem.
Elsewhere in Magheracloone, Monaghan County Council ran a separate scheme in 2025 for a controlled pedestrian crossing on the L-4901 at Drumgossat/Knocknacran East, with a footpath, public lighting and belisha beacons. Plans went on public display from 17 April 2025.
Sources
This article is an original summary based on the following reporting. We encourage readers to visit the original sources for full coverage.
Carrickmacross-Castleblayney councillors meet on Tuesday 20 October to decide whether to make a private lane at Gorteens, Donaghmoyne, a public road, after Chief Executive Robert Burns warned upgrade works would cost more than €200,000.
The Irish Red Cross and Monaghan Social Prescribing have opened a free-to-join community café at Carrickmacross Family Resource Centre, running on the second and fourth Saturday of each month.
A motorist was detected at 99km/h in a 50km/h zone on the R183 at Doohamlet on Saturday. It made An Garda Síochána's list of notable speeds for the October bank holiday weekend.
