County Cavan Contae an Chabháin
Motto: Feardhacht is Fírinne  (Irish) "Manliness and Truth"
Location
Statistics
Province:	Ulster
County seat:	Cavan
Code:	CN
Area:	1,931 km²
Population (2006)	63,961
Website: www.cavancoco.ie

County Cavan (Irish: Contae an Chabháin) is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Ulster. It was named after the town of Cavan (Irish: an Cabhán). It is one of three counties situated in the province of Ulster without being part of Northern Ireland. The county is bordered by County Monaghan, County Leitrim, County Longford, County Meath, County Westmeath and County Fermanagh. Area: 1,931 km² (746 square miles). Population (census 2006): 63,961. The county town is Cavan. The county is often referred to as the Breffni County.

Cavan is the 19th largest of Ireland's 32 counties in area and 26th largest in terms of population^[1]. It is the sixth largest of Ulster’s 9 counties in size and seventh largest in terms of population.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 3 Demographics 4 Towns and villages in County Cavan 5 Economy 6 Politics 7 Famous places 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] History

In medieval times, Cavan was known as East Brefnie, or Brefnie O'Reilly after its ruling Gaelic family since it was a major part of the 11th century Irish Kingdom of Breifne, A high degree of defense was achieved by using the natural landscape of sharp hills and loughs. This, and poorly drained soils contributed to the obstacle against invasion.

Historically, Cavan was part of the western province of Connaught, but it officially became a part of Ulster in 1584 when Brefnie was shired and became the county of Cavan. In the south, the Lough Sheelin area was part of Leinster until the late 1300s.

Cavan was hard hit by the Great Famine in the mid-nineteenth century. In the winter of 1847, the local landlord in Mountnugent parish decided to evict over 200 people. The famous ballad "By Lough Sheelin Side" is based on this event witnessed by the local Catholic priest.

[edit] Geography

The chief rivers are the Woodford, the Shannon (rising on the south slopes of Cuilcagh mountain; 667 m/2,188 ft), and the Erne, which divides Cavan into two parts: a narrow, mostly low-lying stretch of ground, 30 km/19 mi long, between Leitrim and Fermanagh; and an eastern section of wild and bare hill country.

Much of the county is covered in bog and forest. The soil is generally poor and the climate moist and cold.

The chief lakes, noted for their scenery and coarse fishing, include the tortuously shaped Lough Oughter, and Loughs Ramor, Sheelin, Sillan, and Brackley. In total, there are 365 lakes in County Cavan.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Demographics

Historical populations
Year	Pop.	%±
1659	14,703	—
1821	195,076	1226.8%
1831	227,933	16.8%
1841	243,158	6.7%
1851	174,071	−28.4%
1861	153,906	−11.6%
1871	140,735	−8.6%
1881	129,476	−8.0%
1891	111,917	−13.6%
1901	97,541	−12.8%
1911	91,173	−6.5%
1926	82,452	−9.6%
1936	76,670	−7.0%
1946	70,355	−8.2%
1951	66,377	−5.7%
1956	61,740	−7.0%
1961	56,594	−8.3%
1966	54,022	−4.5%
1971	52,618	−2.6%
1979	53,720	2.1%
1981	53,855	0.3%
1986	53,965	0.2%
1991	52,796	−2.2%
1996	52,944	0.3%
2002	56,546	6.8%
2006	64,003	13.2%
[2]

The county has a population of 63,961 (2006 preliminary census data),^[3] and covers an area of 1,931 km².

The average density of population is 29.9 persons per km².

Cavan is predominantly a rural county, with only 16% of its population living in towns with a population of 1,500 or more.

[edit] Towns and villages in County Cavan

• Arvagh
• Bailieborough, Ballinagh, Ballyconnell, Ballyhaise, Ballyjamesduff, Bawnboy, Belturbet, Blacklion, Butlersbridge
• Cavan, Cootehill, Crossdoney
• Dowra
• Glangevlin
• Kilcogy, Killeshandra, Kilnaleck, Kingscourt
• Lough Gowna
• Mullagh, Mountnugent
• Redhills
• Shercock, Stradone, Swanlinbar
• Virginia

[edit] Economy

Agriculture is the chief industry; mushrooms and oats are major crops; dairying and pig- and beef-farming are also important.

[edit] Politics

Cavan is divided into Four County Electoral Areas: Bailieborough, Ballyjamesduff, Belturbet and Cavan. There are three Town Councils: Cavan Town, Belturbet and Cootehill.^[4]

[edit] Famous places

• Magh Slécht
• Castle Saunderson

[edit] See also

• List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Cavan)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Cavan County Council

v • d • e Counties of Ireland Connacht Galway (Galway City) · Leitrim · Mayo · Roscommon · Sligo Munster Clare · Cork (Cork City) · Kerry · Limerick (Limerick City) · Tipperary (North Tipperary • South Tipperary) · Waterford (Waterford City) Leinster Carlow · Dublin (Dublin City • Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown • Fingal • South Dublin) · Kildare · Kilkenny · Laois · Longford · Louth · Meath · Offaly · Westmeath · Wexford · Wicklow Ulster Cavan · Donegal · Monaghan · Antrim · Armagh · Down · Fermanagh · Derry · Tyrone Italics denote non-administrative counties. Parentheses () denote eponymous cities or non-traditional counties.

Coordinates: 53°55′N 7°15′W / 53.917°N 7.25°W / 53.917; -7.25