Cavan

Understand

This area is a post-glacial landscape of poor soils, drumlins (see below) and bogs: not much to fight over, and if you sent an army it would get stuck in something unpleasant. Until medieval times it was part of the kingdom of Bréifne, a buffer state between Ulster, Connacht and Leinster. Its Gaelic rulers the O'Rourke dynasty staunchly resisted Norman incursions but then warred among themselves, and their kingdom sundered into east and west. Once Elizabeth I of England subdued it, east Bréifne became County Cavan and part of Ulster, while west Bréifne became County Leitrim in Connacht.

Loyal English and Scots colonists were then settled in any potentially rebellious part of Ireland, which was pretty much all of it, but especially Ulster. They founded a series of "plantation" towns, such as Virginia in County Cavan, named for the late queen just in case the American colony and later US State of Virginia didn't suffice. With them came the Protestant church, improved agricultural methods (especially drainage projects) and industries such as linen, though these struggled against the poor soil and offered little protection when famine struck in the 1840s. Meanwhile railways and better roads came through, and Belfast became a metal-bashing second Glasgow, drawing people off the land hereabouts.

When Ireland achieved home rule as a prelude to independence in 1921, Ulster stood out against this, and the separate entity of Northern Ireland remained within the United Kingdom. The pr…

Get in

thumb | 300px | Windmill near Virginia

By road from Dublin follow M3 / N3, maybe 90 min to Cavan Town.

The county has no railway. Cavan Town is the focus of bus routes; the main services are: - Expressway Bus 30 / X30 every hour or two from Dublin Busáras and Airport to Virginia, Cavan, Butlersbridge, Belturbet, Enniskillen, Ballyshannon and Donegal Town. - Bus 109X every hour or two from Dublin Busáras via Glasnevin, Finglas, Blanchardstown, Navan, Kells and Carnaross to Virginia and Cavan. - Bus 65 daily from Athlone via Ballymahon and Longford to Cavan, Clones and Monaghan. - On Friday only, another Bus 65 runs from Galway via Tuam, Roscommon and Longford to Cavan. - Ulsterbus 270 twice a day from Belfast via Portadown, Armagh and Monaghan to Cavan. - Bus 166 once M-F from Dundalk via Inniskeen, Carrickmacross, Shercock and Cootehill to Cavan.

Get around

Virginia, Cavan Town and Belturbet are on the Dublin-Donegal transport corridor, with buses every hour or two, see above.