Ireland's
longest river, the Shannon has its source
on the southern slopes of Cuilcagh. Most
of the county is undulating land, with
low round hills and myriad lakes.
The
River Erne, rising in Lough Gowna and flowing
northwards through the centre of the county,
spreads itself in a maze of small sheets
of water separated by promontories and islands
of every shape and size. Many of the Cavan
lakes are very beautiful and offer first
class coarse angling.
Cavan Town,
with its beautiful cathedral, is home
to the popular Cavan Crystal brand of
hand-cut glass, and also to Killykeen
Forest park, on Lough Oughter, one of
the finest coarse fishing lakes in Ireland.
In song, Cavan
is most famous because of Percy French's
song, 'Come back Paddy Reilly to Ballyjamesduff'.
Cavan is dotted with numerous lakes,
and small picturesque villages and is
very popular with visitors.
Towns
Include
Cavan Town
Virginia Blacklion Belturbet Bailieborough
Ballyjamesduff Coothill Belturbet Arva Mullagh
Main
Cavan Tourist Attractions Include
:
Cavan
County Museum
Located in a
superb nineteenth Century building at Virginia
Road, Ballyjamesduff, the Museum houses
the material culture of Cavan and surrounding
districts. Exhibition galleries feature
unique Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age
and Medieval artefacts. Interesting
displays include the pre-Christian Killycluggin
Stone and Corleck Head, the 1,000 year
old Lough Errol Canoe, eighteenth Century
Cavan Mace and Lavey Sheela na Gigs.
The GAA Gallery was recently opened and has attracted a wealth of Sports Enthusiasts.
Lifeforce
Mill
Located at Millrock,
Cavan, a beautifully restored, fully working
flourmill powered by Ireland's oldest waterturbine,
Macadam 1846. A tour of the mill begins
with each visitor making and baking his
or her own loaf of brown bread which is
baked while the tour takes place. All
the original equipment is still used to
produce Lifeforce stoneground wholemeal
flour. After the tour you will return to
the impressive stone coffee shop to collect
your bread, hot out of the oven!
Drumline
Monastic Site
Located at Milltown,
an idyllic setting between Lakes Drumlane
and Derrybrick.
A round tower and church mark the sixth
century monastic site. The church
building dates from thirteenth or fourteenth
century and is located half a mile form
Milltown village.
The
Cavan Way
Starting from
Cavan County Council Library Services in
Cavan Town, The Cavan Way provides a pleasant
hill and valley walking connection between
the Leitrim Way at Dowra, a small village
community near the source of the River
Shannon and the Ulster Way at Blacklion
village.
Following generally the course of the young
river to its source at the mystical "Shannon
Pot", the walk follows quiet valley and river-side landscapes to the more unenclosed
uplands section between the "Pot" and Blacklion, which includes the forested
Burren area and its cemetery of ancient tombs, stone megaliths and monuments.
Fine views are obtained from these elevated upland areas.
Heritage
Sites
Saint
Killian’s Heritage Centre
Located at Mullagh.
Saint Killian was born in Mullagh, County
Cavan in 640 AD. In 686AD he became a missionary
to Wurzburg in Germany where he was martyred
in 689AD. The exhibition and audio-visual
here deal with Saint Killian including
his times, his work, martyrdom and subsequent
cult.
It brings to life a glorious era in Irish Church history and the work of Irish
missionaries in Europe in the sixth and seventh centuries, with maps, photographs,
statuettes, manuscript facsimiles and art reproductions. The exhibition also
traces the development of Gaelic script from the Ogham writing of the fourth
to seventh centuries and the Wurzburg Glosses (the earliest example of written
Irish c.750), to the illuminated script of the Book of Kells.
Interesting
Tourist Shops
Cavan
Crystal
Situated on
the N3 just minutes from Cavan town, they
offer the visitor comfy sofas to relax
in, open fires and local/nationally produced
crafts. The restaurant designed by
Irish craftsmen boasts an array of home
cooked food. The audio-visual theatre gives
visitors an insight into the craft of mouth-blown,
hand-cut crystal and a brief history of
Cavan and its environs.
Cavan,
the most southerly of the Ulster counties,
is greatly diversified in surface.
Its highest point is Cuilcagh Mountain
(2,188 feet) in the mountainous projection
of the county, which reaches northwestwards
between Counties Leitrim and Fermanagh.
