Sites and Monuments Record · Ireland
Historic town
Keadew (cavan Rural & Urban),kinnypottle,lurganboy (upper Loughtee By.),townparks (cavan Urban District),tullymongan Lower,tullymongan Upper,abbey Land,drumavanagh, County Cavan, Ireland
The record
- Townland
- Keadew (cavan Rural & Urban),kinnypottle,lurganboy (upper Loughtee By.),townparks (cavan Urban District),tullymongan Lower,tullymongan Upper,abbey Land,drumavanagh
- County
- Cavan
- Country
- Ireland
- First-edition OS map
- Cavan
- Latest-edition OS map
- Cavan
- Coordinates
- 53.99036, -7.36049
- SMR number
- CV020-055----
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.
David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford LibrariesDavid Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries
Shown on 4 historical map sheets, the earliest the 1636 "Vltoniae Orientalis Pars" (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries).
This record in the National Monuments Service's Historic Environment Viewer ↗
The National Monuments Service's description
Situated on the E bank of the S-N Cavan River, overlooked by higher hills around it. Its name, Cabhan in Gaelic, means a hollow place. Uniquely among Irish towns it was founded by the ruling Gaelic family of Ó Raghallaigh, or O’Reilly c. 1300 when a castle and Franciscan friary were built in close proximity. The annals (AFM, ALC) refer to the burning of the town in 1427, 1429 and 1468 by raiders from the Pale. The Irish towns of Cavan, Longford and Granard were considered such a commercial threat to the Pale towns that trade with them was forbidden by the Irish Parliament in 1479-80. The McBrady family, based in the town during the sixteenth century, also had branches in Navan and Drogheda.
The anglicisation of the O’Reilly lordship as the sixteenth century advanced facilitated the development of the town, and in 1598 a government force was established there. The garrison was re-enforced in 1601, although it was abandoned after the end of the war in 1603 (Davies 1948b 84, 101). Cavan was incorporated as the county town in 1610 to serve as the administrative centre of the Plantation. It retained a large Irish contingent in its government up to 1641 when it fell to the supporters of the rising and Sir Phelim O’Neill. In 1690 the town was defended by Jacobites against an assault by Wolseley, and the town was pillaged and burned. A plan of the town made by Netherclift c. 1593 shows the Main Street with Bridge Street extending across the river as the only thoroughfares.
Although it might never have been defended by walls (CV020-055001-) amongst its medieval features are the Friary (CV020-055002-), the site of the market cross (CV020-055003-), and the site of O’Reilly’s Castle (CV020-055004-). Among later medieval features are the sites of two other castles (CV020-055005-; CV020-055006-), a bridge (CV020-055008-) and a watermill (CV020-055011-). One, if not two, schools (CV020-055007-; CV020-055012-) and two inns (CV020-055013-; CV020-055014-) were established within the town in the early seventeenth century and the charter of incorporation of 1610 empowered the governing Corporation to build a ‘common hall or toltshill’ (CV020-055010-), but it is not known if it was ever built. (Bradley and Dunne 1989, 34-48)
See the attached plan by Netherclift c. 1593 North is at the left
Compiled by: Michael Moore
Date of revision: 11 April 2018
Nearby in the register
- Cross - Market crossunder 1 mi
- Schoolunder 1 mi
- Religious house - Franciscan friarsunder 1 mi
- Bridgeunder 1 mi
Other entries of the same register within about three miles of this one, by straight line.