County Cavan
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County Cavan (Irish: Contae an Chabháin) is one of the twenty-six counties of the Republic of Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. It is located in the province of Ulster. The county is often referred to as the Breffni County. It was named after the town of Cavan (Irish: an Cabhán). It is one of three counties situated in the province of Ulster that is not part of Northern Ireland. The county is bordered by County Monaghan, County Leitrim, County Longford, County Meath, County Westmeath and County Fermanagh. The population of the county is 63,961 according to the 2006 census. Cavan is the 19th largest of Ireland's 32 counties in area and 26th largest in terms of population. It is the sixth largest of Ulster’s 9 counties in size and seventh largest in terms of population.
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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.
Local government
Cavan is divided into Four County Electoral Areas: Bailieborough, Ballyjamesduff, Belturbet and Cavan. There are three Town Councils: Cavan Town, Belturbet and Cootehill. The politcs of the county can be considered conservative. The centre-right parties Fine Gael and Fianna Fail are the largest parties with 13 and 8 councillors respectively with the democratic socialist Sinn Fein representing the left-wing with four councillors.
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 Lough Ramor, Sheelin, Sillan, and Brackley. In total, there are 365 lakes in County Cavan.
It has been claimed by locals, that County Cavan boasts 365 lakes and rivers, "One for each day of the year". Unfortunately, this figure is a vast exaggeration, unless you count oversized puddles and baths, which some locals do. Even with the inclusion of these, the figure falls short of the magic 365.
Places of interest
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% |
The county has a population of 63,961 (2006 preliminary census data), 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.
Economy
Agriculture is the chief industry; mushrooms and oats are major crops; dairying and pig- and beef-farming are also important.
Towns and villages
Baronies
- Castlerahan (Caisleán Raithin)
- Clankee (Clann Chaoich)
- Clanmahon (Clann Mhathúna)
- Loughtee Lower (Lucht Tí Íochtarach)
- Loughtee Upper (Lucht Tí Uachtarach)
- Tullygarvey (Teallach Ghairbhíth)
- Tullyhunco (Teallach Dhúnchadha)
- Tullyhaw (Teallach Eathach)
See also
References
- ^ Corry, Eoghan (2005). The GAA Book of Lists. Hodder Headline Ireland. pp. 186–191.
- ^ "Cavan County Council website". http://www.cavancoco.ie.
- ^ for post 1821 figures, 1653 and 1659 figures from Civil Survey Census of those years, Paper of Mr Hardinge to Royal Irish Academy March 14, 1865, For a discussion on he accuracy of pre-famine census returns see JJ Lee “On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses Irish Population, Economy and Society edited by JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson (1981) p54, in and also New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850 by Joel Mokyr and Cormac O Grada in The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Nov., 1984), pp. 473-488.
- ^ "Census 2006 Preliminary report" (pdf). Stationery Office, Dublin, Ireland. http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/2006PreliminaryReport.pdf.
External links
- Cavan County Council
- Cavan Heritage website
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Coordinates: 53°55′N 7°15′W / 53.917°N 7.25°W
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