The N2 from Dublin runs straight through Monaghan, about an hour and three quarters by car or 2 hours 15 by bus. Bus Éireann route X1 and the Translink Ulsterbus 280 service both stop in the town. From Belfast, the X1 takes about an hour and a half via Armagh.
There has been no train service since the Ulster Railway line closed in 1957 — the nearest station is Dundalk, half an hour away by road. The closest airports are Dublin (90 minutes) and Belfast International (75 minutes).