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Cavan

Cavan (An Cabhán in Irish, meaning "the hollow") is the main town and administrative centre of County Cavan in the Republic of Ireland. The town lies in the north midlands of Ireland, close to the border with Northern Ireland. The N3 road connects the town to Dublin. more...

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Statistics

The county has a population of 63,961 (2006 preliminary census data), and covers an area of 730 km². The average density of population is 29.9 persons per km². Cavan is divided into Four County Electoral Areas: Bailieborough, Ballyjamesduff, Belturbet and Cavan. There are three Town Councils: Cavan Town, Belturbet and Cootehill.

History

The O'Reilly family (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 of England granted the town a charter in 1610. In the early 19th century the Lords Farnham, a local landlord family, built a new, wide street, that still bears their name. This was lined with comfortable town houses, public buildings (such as the Court house which dates from 1825) and churches.

In the late 19th century Cavan became an important rail junction between the midland and western lines and those of the Northern Railways. The Town Hall was built in 1909. In 1938 work began on the Cathedral of Saints Patrick and Felim. Three miles west of Cavan town is Kilmore Cathedral. The church contains a Romanesque doorway dating from the 12th century. Farnham House to the northwest of Cavan town is one of the largest houses in Co. Cavan. It is believed to have been built in 1810 and designed by Francis Johnston a Dublin architect. It was recently sold by the Farnham family to a local entrepreneur and the house and estate is now home to a luxury hotel and leisure complex.

Industry/Commerce

The town has a very successful track record in local industry. Local industry includes the Kingspan building insulation group, multi-billionaire Sean Quinn's Quinn Group, Lakeland Dairies and Liffey Meats. The town has also been successful in attracting plenty of Foreign Direct Investment with Wellman International, Abbott Laboratories and Pauwels Trafo all with operations in the town.

The town was recently made a development hub under the National Spatial Strategy in 2004. This should further encourage investment in the area over the coming years.

The local newspapers are the Anglo-Celt and Cavan Echo

Infrastructure

There are about 30,000 people living within a 10 mile radius of the town, so top infrastructure is very important. The town is located on the junction of two national routes, to Dublin and Belfast. The National Development Plan 2000 - 2006 provides for a major upgrading of the N3 route with a proposed dual carriageway from Kells to Dublin and high quality single carriageway from Kells to Cavan. One major problem for the town is that there is no rail service.