Church Square to Close for Monaghan Street Food Festival and Christmas Lights Weekend
Church Square and Lower Mill Street will close on 21 November for the Monaghan Street Food Festival and on 22 November for the Christmas lights switch-on. Here are the diversions.
By the Monaghan Brief staff·Edited by Seamus McKenna·Published · 2 min read
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St Macartan's Cathedral, Monaghan town. Archive location photograph; not a photo of the events in this story. Whoisjohngalt · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and colour-graded; cropped in layout.
Monaghan town has a busy weekend coming in late November. The Monaghan Street Food Festival is on Saturday 21 November, and the Christmas lights will be switched on in Church Square on Sunday 22 November. Monaghan County Council will close the same two town-centre roads on both days.
Closure times
Saturday 21 November: 7am to 7.30pm, for the Monaghan Street Food Festival.
Sunday 22 November: 11am to 8pm, for the Christmas lights switch-on.
On both days, the R-867 at Church Square will close from Rossmore Monument to Church Square, along with LS5515 Lower Mill Street.
Diversions
Westbound traffic coming from Glaslough Street will be sent left at the Diamond onto Dublin Street. It then takes the third exit at the Old Cross Square roundabout onto Broad Road, and turns right onto Market Street. Eastbound traffic from Dawson Street will go straight onto Church Square, then right onto Mill Street and on to the Diamond.
The Courthouse car park can be entered from Broad Road and Castle Road. The existing exit onto Church Square stays open. Detours will be signposted, and local access and emergency vehicles will be accommodated.
When is the switch-on?
Event times differ between the two council listings. The council's events listing gives 4pm to 6pm in Church Square, while Monaghan Tourism lists 5pm to 10pm. Check the latest times before you travel.
Also: Santa at Laragh
In the Ballybay-Clones district, a separate notice closes about 795m of the LS-8103 for "Santa at Laragh Heritage 2026". The closure runs on Saturday 28 November from noon to 9pm and on Sunday 29 November from 9am to 8pm, with signposted diversions.
Sources
This article is an original summary based on the following reporting. We encourage readers to visit the original sources for full coverage.
Skillnet MMC Accelerate is hosting a visit to the FastHouse timber frame factory on the Clones Road, Monaghan, on Thursday, 5 November, from 9.30am to 1pm. Places are limited.
Monaghan County Council has given Bus Éireann permission to extend and renovate its North Road station, with a new canopy, drop-off area, pedestrian walkways and a guide dog relief area.
Monaghan County Council has approved the HSE's plans to knock a vacant house at Drumbear and Killygowan and build a purpose-built overnight respite centre for up to five children, ending a long campaign by local families.
