Cavan

Cavan (/ˈkævən/; Irish: an Cabhán, meaning "the hollow") is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, in the Republic of Ireland, near the border with Northern Ireland. The town is on the main road – the N3 road – linking Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Ballyshannon and Donegal Town (to the north). The population of Cavan was 10,767 in 2011.

History

Cavan was founded by the King of Bréifne, Giolla Íosa Ruadh O’Reilly, sometime during his lordship between 1300 and his death in 1330. During his lordship, a Franciscan friary was established close to the O’Reilly stronghold at Tullymongan and was at the centre of the settlement close to a crossing over the river and to the town’s marketplace. The friary’s location is marked by an eighteenth-century tower in the graveyard at Abbey Street which appears to incorporate remains of the original medieval friary tower. The imprint of the medieval town can be followed in the area of Abbey Street, Bridge Street and Main Street (townlands of Tullymongan Upper and Lower).

Cavan (disambiguation)

Cavan may refer to:

Places

Political constituencies

Cavan (horse)

Cavan (foaled 1955) was an Irish Thoroughbred racehorse who won an American Classic Race in 1958. He was named for the town of Cavan in Ireland.

A half brother to 1964 St. Leger Stakes winner, Indiana, Cavan's dam, Willow Ann, was a daughter of Champion Sire, Solario. Cavan was sired by Mossborough, a son of Nearco, the patriarch of the most dominant sire line in Thoroughbred history. In addition to his status as a sire, Thoroughbred Heritage says that Nearco was "one of the greatest racehorses of the Twentieth Century".

Cavan was purchased by Boston, Massachusetts banker Joseph O'Connell at the suggestion of Irish-born trainer Tom Barry who believed that an Irish horse was better suited for longer distances and had an edge in such American races as the prestigious Belmont Stakes. Racing in the United States in 1958, Cavan won the Leonard Richards Stakes at Delaware Park Racetrack then won the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, spoiling the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Tim Tam's bid to capture the U.S. Triple Crown.