| Cavan an Cabhán
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| — Town — | |
| Cathedral of Saints Patrick & Felim, Cavan | |
| Motto: Fortitudine et Prudentia "courage and prudence" |
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Cavan
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Ulster |
| County | County Cavan |
| Elevation | 113 m (371 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Urban | 3,607 |
| • Rural | 7,160 |
| Irish Grid Reference | H419041 |
| Website | www.cavancoco.ie |
Cavan ( /ˈkævən/; Irish: an Cabhán, meaning "the hollow") is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in the north central part of the island of Ireland, near the border with Northern Ireland. The town is on the main road - the N3 road - linking Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Ballyshannon and Donegal Town (to the north).
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The O'Reilly clan (still a very common surname in the area) established a castle in the town in the late 13th century. A Franciscan monastery was also established at around the same time. In the 15th century the local ruler, Bearded Owen O'Reilly set up a market which attracted merchants from Dublin and Drogheda. King James I granted the town a charter in 1610. Later during the seventeenth century local administrative influence and power transended to the Maxwell family, decsendants of the Bishop of Kilmore from the 1640's, who later became titled Lords Farnham. Development in Cavan during the early 19th century saw the building of a new wide street that still bears the name Farnham Street. Away from the markets area of the town, Farnham Street was lined with comfortable town houses, public buildings (such as the courthouse which dates from 1825, and churches. The term life of Reilly was credited to the O'Reilly clans due to their great wealth and power, having issued their own currency during the 17th century. From the mid 19th century, Cavan became an important rail junction for the Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) and those of the Great Northern Railway (GNR). The Town Hall was built in 1909. In 1938, work began on the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Saints Patrick and Felim. Five kilometres (3 mi) west of Cavan Town is the Church of Ireland Kilmore Cathedral, which contains a Romanesque doorway dating from the 12th century reputed originally to have come from Trinity abbey, located a short distance away upon an island in Lough Oughter . Farnham House, to the northwest of Cavan, is one of the largest houses in the county. It is believed to have been built for the Maxwell family - who held the title of Baron Farnham - in 1810, and designed by Francis Johnston, a County Armagh-born, but Dublin-based, architect. It was recently sold by Diana, Lady Farnham (widow of Barry Owen Somerset Maxwell, 12th Lord Farnham) to a local entrepreneur, and the house and estate has now been converted to a luxury hotel and leisure complex under the Radisson SAS international hotel group. On 23 February 1943, a fire at St Joseph's Orphanage in the town claimed the lives of 35 children and an elderly woman. A Public Enquiry found no culpability on the part of the nuns who ran the orphanage, but the circumstances surrounding the high death toll in the fire remain controversial to this day.
There are about 30,000 people living within a 16 km radius of the town, so infrastructure is very important. Although a more accurate perspective taken from the 2011 national census puts the urban population at 3,607 persons, an 8.3% population decrease on earlier census results. With the rural Cavan population at 7,160 persons an increase of 47.2% since the 2006 census was undertaken. The town is located on the junction of two national routes, the N3 to Dublin and N55 to Athlone. The National Development Plan provides for a major upgrading of the route with a M3 motorway from Kells to Dublin (completed and officially opened on 4 June 2010) and type 2 dual carriageway from Whitegate on the Meath border to Cavan, which will also eventually bypass Virginia. The N3 and N55 eastern bypass around Cavan town was fully completed in March 2006, eliminating the need for heavy traffic to enter the congested town.
Cavan once had two separate railway stations, linking the Great Northern Railway(GNR) and Midland Great Western Railway then an end junction of the Belfast-Cavan route linking Clones with a branch line to Crossdoney and Killeshandra. With the Cavan-Dublin route, via the Inny Junction and Mullingar lines. A branch of the Cavan-Leitrim Railway was also indirectly linked to Cavan town via Belturbet (the C&L terminus) and Ballyhaise on the GNR line. When the Stormont Government closed the section of the Belfast line from Portadown to Glaslough in 1957, it was found to be uneconomical to keep running the rump section from Monaghan to Cavan. All these lines (including the Cavan-Leitrim Railway) were closed by 1960. The (GNR) Virginia Road Station, from 1863 to 1958 serviced the Drogheda and Navan extension route to Kells and Oldcastle. Cooperation between the Cavan and Westmeath county council's are striving to integrate this into the national and regional development plan. Cavan railway station opened on 8 July 1856, closed for passenger services on 14 October 1957, and finally closed altogether on 1 January 1960.[1]
Cavan's bus station is owned by Bus Éireann and located on Farnham Street. It is a single-storey accessible building with a ticket office, waiting room, public 'phone, restaurant and toilets. The station is served by the Donegal - Enniskillen - Dublin Airport - Dublin Busáras Expressway route 30 which generally operates every two hours in each direction. Expressway route 65 operates less frequently to Athlone and Belfast. The station is the terminus of several local routes the most popular of which is the 109 to Dublin, which operates hourly each way. Other local routes are the 111 to Ballinagh, Granard, Castlepollard and Athboy, the 162 to Monaghan via Cloverhill and Clones, the 166 to Dundalk, the 175 to Monaghan via Cootehill and the Tuesdays-only 465 to Carrigallen.
In accordance with the National Development Plan, development in County Cavan is on course to meet a programme deadline of 2020 for embracing road and telecommunication infrastructures. These will permit a better integration with the neighbouring Dublin and Midlands Gateways, also, the Monaghan, Sligo, and Ulster hubs, and thus allowing the promotion of business and tourism within the region.
Vocational Education in County Cavan is coordinated by the Cavan Vocational Educational Committee,[2] while voluntary secondary schools are coordinated by the Department of Education and Science. The town has four second level schools: Saint Patrick's College,[3] Loreto College,[4] Breifne College, and the Royal School.[5] The town is served by a third level college, Cavan Institute (formerly Cavan College of Further Studies), which has been located in Cavan since 1985 and is the largest provider of FETAC courses in the northeast region.
The guiding principal as stated by Cavan County Council: "The unique and diverse heritage of County Cavan is conserved, sustained and, above all, cherished and celebrated by the people of the County". The example of Cavan's uniqueness can be best defined by its location in the heart of Irelands lakeland's, a region so diverse that its potential has yet to be determined in a viable Biodiversity Action Plan. The Wildlife and Wetlands environment of County Cavan's loughs is nationally and internationally recognised and offers substantial and unique opportunities for Sustainable tourism development. Lough Oughter and Killykeen located just a few kilometres from Cavan town already has the core infrastructure for further durable and Ecotourism development.
Cavan has been twinned with the following places:
In 2011, Cavan hosted Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann for the second year in succession. It will also be the venue for the event in 2012.[6] From 16–22 August 2010, Cavan hosted the Fleadh which is the premier annual Irish traditional music, song and dance festival and series of competitions, which is run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ). Fleadh 2010 was the 50th annual Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, and the first to be carbon neutral. That year it returned to Cavan for the first time since 1954.[7] Up to 250,000 visitors attend the annual Fleadhann, and about 10,000 musicians compete. It is also estimated that the annual All-Ireland Fleadh generates €20-€25 million for the local economy of its host town.[8]
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