Drivers coming into Monaghan town on the N2 from the Emyvale side could soon meet a new entrance designed to slow them down. Monaghan County Council has put forward plans to remove the existing gateway on the national road and replace it with a new one, along with a footpath, a pedestrian crossing and public lighting, in the townlands of Derrynagrew and Kilnadreen.
The scheme, called the N2 Monaghan Town Northern Gateway, is going through the Part 8 process, which is how a council seeks planning approval for its own works. It is listed on the Government's local authority planning portal under reference PT8MN455. The notice, signed by Acting Director of Service Nial O'Connor, was published on 24 September.
What is planned
The works cover the stretch of the N2 between its junction with the L16302 and L1220 local roads and the gateway itself. According to the council notice, the plans include:
- removing the existing gateway and putting in a "Type B" gateway, with the road widened where needed to fit it, and resurfacing throughout;
- a kerbed footpath linking the L16302 junction with the existing footpath at the gateway, with a buffer between walkers and traffic;
- an uncontrolled pedestrian crossing (one without lights) at the L16302 junction;
- new public lighting between that junction and the gateway;
- replacing the safety barrier on the western side of the road to make room for the footpath, plus drainage changes on that side.
The council also plans landscaping based on what it calls the "Optical Width" concept. The notice says this is meant to reduce the speed of vehicles entering the urban area. In practice, it uses what drivers see along the road edge to make the road feel narrower, so people ease off as they arrive in town.
A road with a long history of upgrades
This is not the first time the council has worked on this part of the N2. A 2011 council planning document for the N2 Monaghan Town to Emyvale road improvements described the 8.5km stretch north of the town bypass as an unimproved single carriageway. It said the road carried heavy traffic, a large share of it lorries, and had a poor accident history. The first phase of those improvements, 1,510 metres running from Derrynagrew to Kilnadreen "immediately north of Monaghan Town", got Part 8 permission in 2010.
The new proposal is a much smaller job at the town end of that same stretch, aimed at the point where through traffic meets houses and people on foot.
Environmental screening
The council says it has screened the project and found no real likelihood of significant environmental effects, so a full Environmental Impact Assessment is not needed. It reached the same conclusion on European protected sites, so an Appropriate Assessment is not required either. Under the notice, anyone may ask An Coimisiún Pleanála for its own screening determination. On the EIA question, that has to be done within four weeks of the notice being published.
How to view the plans and have your say
The plans can be inspected, or bought for no more than the cost of copying, at the council's Planning Section, No. 1 Dublin Street, Monaghan, until 5pm on Thursday 22 October. They can also be viewed online at monaghan.ie.
Written submissions or observations on proper planning and sustainable development can be posted to the Planning Section at the same address, or made online through the Local Government Planning Portal. The deadline is 5pm on Thursday 5 November 2026. Councillors will make the final decision on the scheme after the consultation closes.
