54°00N 7°21W, pop (2000e) 5300. Agricultural market town and capital of Cavan county, Ulster, NC Ireland; NW of Dublin; bishopric; crystal; international song contest (Apr).
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. 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. 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. Three miles west of Cavan town is Kilmore Cathedral. Farnham House to the northwest of Cavan town is one of the largest houses in Co.
Industry/Commerce
The town has a very successful track record in local industry. 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.
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.
Cavan used to have two railway stations (GNR and CIÉ) on the end-on junction of the Belfast/Cavan and the Cavan/Dublin via Inny Junction lines. Leitrim Railway (3' gauge) was also indirectly linked to Cavan town via Belturbet (the C&L terminus) and Ballyhaise on the GNR line.
Education
Education in Cavan town is co-ordinated by the Cavan Vocational Educational Committee. The town is served by a third level college - Cavan Institute (formally Cavan College of Further Studies) which has been in Cavan since 1985 and is the largest provider of FETAC courses in the North East region.
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