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Located in the north midlands on the borders with Northern Ireland, Cavan is known as the Lake County, containing 365 lakes and Ireland's two largest rivers the Shannon and Erne, both rise in Cavan.
With a lake for each year and waterways criss-crossing the county, Cavan is a popular destination for boating and angling. Coarse and game fishing are particularly popular in Cavan and Lough Sheelin in the couth of the county is regarded as one of Ireland's best lakes for brown trout, however some lakes have fallen victim to pollution in recent years.
In the north west of the county are the wild and barren Cuilcagh Mountains, the source of the River Shannon, which at over 300km in distance is the longest in the Britain or Ireland. Cavan's other main geological feature are its rolling drumlins, small rounded hills, which dot the county.
Cavan is also nicknamed the Pan County, because of its shape. A largely rural county, Cavan lags behind many parts of Ireland economically and apart from the county town of Cavan, is populated by small rural settlements. Cavan town is a centrally located market town and is a two-hour drive from both Dublin and Belfast.
Before the plantation of Ulster of the 16th century, the area was controlled by the O'Reilly Clan, and the name is still one of the most popular in Cavan. Other famous names of the county include Patrick Henry O'Rorke, a Union Army Hero of the Battle of Gettysburg, from Cornafean, Patrick Donahoe, publisher of The Pilot, America's oldest Catholic Newspaper.
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