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Lough Oughter, County Cavan
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Province of Ulster

County Cavan

An Cabhán

“un ka-VAWN” · the hollow, from cabhán, a hollow or a hollow place

Known as The Breffni County. For Bréifne, the kingdom that covered Cavan and Leitrim under the O'Rourkes and O'Reillys. The county is younger than the kingdom it is named for.

Did you know? The mighty Shannon begins as a quiet pool on the slopes of Cuilcagh — the Shannon Pot, where the goddess Sionann was said to have drowned seeking forbidden wisdom.
A fact like this for every county and every age →

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Cavan by the numbers
Ulster province 81,704 people · 2022 census 1,932 km² · 19th of 32 by size County town Cavan -28% in the Famine · 243,158 people in 1841, 174,000 in 1851 (approx.) 8 baronies · 1,985 townlands 1930s folklore · the Schools' Collection ↗ 25 surnames 7 towns on the site 479 daily Irish speakers Highest point Cuilcagh, 665 m 5 senior All-Irelands 30 notable people born here 770 historic buildings recorded Everything on the site about Cavan ↓
Carlow Cavan Cork Donegal Dublin Clare Galway Kerry Kildare Kilkenny Laois Leitrim Limerick Longford Louth Mayo Meath Monaghan Offaly Roscommon Sligo Tipperary Waterford Westmeath Wexford Wicklow Antrim Armagh Down Fermanagh Londonderry Tyrone

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The history of Cavan

From about the 13th century Cavan was East Bréifne, or Breifne O'Reilly, after the family that ruled it — which is why it is still called the Breffni County. Bréifne had been one kingdom under the O'Rourkes until it was split in about 1256, the O'Rourkes keeping the west (now Leitrim) and the O'Reillys the east. Drumlins, lakes and heavy wet clay made it hard country to invade, though Norman mottes and castles such as Clogh Oughter and Castlerahan still stand.

Cavan was made a county in the reign of Elizabeth I and moved from Connacht to Ulster in 1584. The Plantation of Ulster from 1610 founded Bailieborough, Cootehill, Killeshandra and Virginia, and later settlers brought flax and linen. Parts of the county were hard hit in the Great Famine, and in Mountnugent parish a landlord's eviction of more than 200 people is remembered in the ballad "By Lough Sheelin Side". In June 1916 Cavan's unionists learned that the county would not be part of any exclusion of Ulster from Home Rule.

Drawn from the History section of the Wikipedia article on County Cavan ↗, rewritten here and adding nothing it does not say; licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The chronology above is this site's own; where the two differ, the article is the one to check.

The land — from Wikipedia

Cavan borders six counties: Leitrim to the west, Fermanagh to the north, Monaghan to the north-east, Meath to the south-east, Longford to the south-west and Westmeath to the south. Cavan shares a border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. Cavan is the 19th largest of the 32 counties in area and the 25th largest by population.

The county is part of the Northern and Western Region, a NUTS II area, and in that region, is part of the Border strategic planning area, a NUTS III entity.

The county is characterised by drumlin countryside dotted with many lakes and hills. The north-western area of the county is sparsely populated and mountainous. The Cuilcagh mountain range contain the highest point, Cuilcagh, at .

Read the full article ↗ · Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Clans & surnames of Cavan
Adams Mac Ádhaimh Ulster Scots / Gaelic · “son of Adam” Brady Mac Brádaigh Gaelic sept · “son of Brádach, 'spirited'” Carolan Ó Cearbhalláin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Cearbhallán, 'little Cearbhall'” Clarke Ó Cléirigh Gaelic learned family · “descendant of the cleric — possibly Europe's oldest surname (916 AD)” Comiskey Mac Cumascaigh Gaelic sept · “son of Cumascach, 'the confuser' or 'mixer'” Dolan Ó Dubhláin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Dobhailen” Drennan Ó Draighneáin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Draighneán, ‘blackthorn’” Early Ó Maolmhochóirghe Gaelic learned family · “descendant of Maolmhocheirghe, ‘chief of early rising’” Farley Ó Faircheallaigh Gaelic sept · “descendant of Faircheallach” Finnegan Ó Fionnagáin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Fionnagán, 'little fair one'” Fitzsimons Mac Síomóin Norman · “son of Simon” Gibney Ó Gibne Gaelic sept · “descendant of Gibne, ‘hound’” Gilsenan Mac Giolla Seanáin Gaelic sept · “son of the servant of St Senan” Kiernan Mac Tighearnáin Gaelic sept · “son of Tighearnán, 'little lord'” Masterson Mac an Mháighistir Gaelic sept & English settlers · “son of the master, from máighistir (Latin magister)” McCabe Mac Cába Scots-gallowglass · “son of Cába” McGovern Mág Shamhradháin Gaelic sept · “son of Samhradhán, 'summer's child'” Nugent Nuinseann Norman · “from Nogent in France” O'Donoghue Ó Donnchadha Gaelic dynasty · “descendant of Donnchadh” O'Reilly Ó Raghallaigh Gaelic sept · “descendant of Raghallach” O'Rourke Ó Ruairc Gaelic dynasty · “descendant of Ruarc (a Norse name)” Sheridan Ó Sirideáin Gaelic sept · “descendant of Sirideán, 'the seeker'” Smith Mac Gabhann Gaelic sept · “son of the smith” Tormey Ó Tormaigh Gaelic-Norse · “descendant of Thormodr — a common Norse personal name” Tully Mac an Tuile / Ó Maoltuile Gaelic learned family · “son of the flood — 'of God's will'”

Tap a name for its full page — story, homeland map and neighbours. Or see all surnames from County Cavan, with the other counties each name is tied to.

Towns, saints and legends of Cavan

Towns. Bailieborough Coill an Chollaigh (2,974, 2022), Kingscourt Dún an Rí (2,955, 2022), Ballyjamesduff Baile Shéamais Dhuibh (2,917, 2022), Belturbet Béal Tairbirt (1,610, 2022), Cavan An Cabhán, Cootehill Muinchille, Virginia Achadh an Iúir. What every town name means →

Saints. St Killian (8 July).

Legends set here. Shannon Pot — Sionann’s well. On the atlas →

First names that belong here. Cillian, Sionann.

Irish in Cavan today

At the 2022 census, 26,591 people in Cavan said they could speak Irish. 479 speak it every day outside school, and 1,415 weekly.

1 primary school here teaches entirely through Irish (2025/26, 181 pupils).

CSO, Census 2022, table SAP2022T3T2CTY. Every county compared →

The top of Cavan

Cuilcagh (Binn Chuilceach), 665 metres, in the Breifne Mountains, on the county boundary and shared with a neighbouring county.

Rivers and loughs: River Shannon, River Erne, River Inny, River Blackwater, River Annalee, River Dee, River Glyde, Lough Sheelin.

MountainViews, via Wikipedia. Every county's highest point → · Rivers and loughs →

Cavan in the All-Ireland

Hurling: no senior title.
Football: 5 senior titles (1933, 1935, 1947, 1948, 1952); 6 finals lost.

Every county's All-Ireland titles →

Born in Cavan

From Wikidata: people whose recorded birthplace is in the county, who have a Wikipedia article and are no longer living, with dates shown only where the article confirms them, ordered by how many languages Wikipedia covers them in. Traditional birthplaces of early saints are as Wikidata records them. Dates are left off where the sources disagree.

People in Cavan, census by census

Cavan had 243,158 people in 1841 and has 81,704 now (-66%). Its peak was 243,158 in 1841; its low point 52,618 in 1971, -78% of 1841. It has never regained the population it had before the Famine.

1821183118411851186118711881189119011911192619361946195119561961196619711979198119861991199620022006201120162022
195,076227,933243,158174,071153,906140,735129,476111,91797,54191,17382,45276,67070,35566,37761,74056,59454,02252,61853,72053,85553,96552,79652,94456,54664,00373,18376,17681,704

Census returns as tabulated in the county's Wikipedia article. All 32 counties, 1821 to today →

Hidden Cavan — the places the buses miss
  • Magh Slécht
    ‘The plain of prostrations’, where the idol Crom Cruach stood ringed by twelve others. Patrick is said to have felled it with his crozier from the next hill, and the twelve to have been swallowed by the earth. A decorated La Tène stone found at Killycluggin is the candidate for the idol itself.
On the ground in Cavan

Every pin is placed by its documented coordinates. All the monuments of Ireland →

Everything on the site about County Cavan

The county

History

Monuments and heritage

Coast and country

People and culture

Quick answers
What is the Irish name for County Cavan?

An Cabhán. Cavan is one of the 9 counties of Ulster (Cúige Uladh).

Who ruled County Cavan in the Middle Ages?

Around 1014 it was held by Bréifne (O'Rourke); by 1450, East Bréifne (O'Reilly). The full era-by-era chronology is on this page.

What surnames come from County Cavan?

Names historically associated with Cavan include Adams, Brady, Carolan, Clarke, Comiskey, Dolan, Drennan, Early, among others.

What does An Cabhán mean?

An Cabhán, said “un ka-VAWN”, means the hollow — from cabhán, a hollow or a hollow place. Named for the town. The county is built on the old kingdom of Bréifne.

What is the population of County Cavan?

81,704 at the 2022 census, against 243,158 in 1841, before the Famine.

What is the county town of Cavan?

Cavan. County Cavan covers about 1,932 km², which makes it the 19th largest of the 32 counties.

Who are famous people from County Cavan?

Among the best-known people born in Cavan are Saint Kilian, T. P. McKenna, Francis Sheehy-Skeffington, Henry Brooke, Marcus Daly, Máedóc of Ferns. The full list, with their birthplaces, is on this page.

What did the Famine do to County Cavan?

The census counted 243,158 people in Cavan in 1841 and 174,000 in 1851 (the 1851 figure is approximate): a change of -28% in ten years, through death and emigration.

Sources for this page

A clean copy for school projects or the family file; collapsed sections print in full.

The chronology of who held the county is this site's own reading of the standard histories onto today's county borders, and says so where the fit is rough. Quoted passages are marked and licensed. Spotted an error? Say so — corrections are credited.

Trace your ancestors in Cavan

Free, from the holding institutions. How to begin: the six-step guide → · Spotted an error on this page? Suggest a correction.