County Cavan and the Lakes

Cavan is obviously the ancestral home of the O‘Raghallaighs or O’Reillys, so trips up to the Brefni county with my dad to meet our cousins were a regular part of growing up. Our extended family were mostly in the eastern part of the county between Shercock and Cootehill. Our journey often took us up through Virginia on Lough Ramor where we’d stop for lunch at Sharkey’s hotel, or if we were feeling a bit posh, the Park hotel out by the lakeside. They say there’s a lake in Cavan for each day of the year, but then there are boatloads of tall tales told where fishing is involved! 365 or not, the lakes of the county are something special and they vary from small anglers’ havens to larger lakes like Ramor or Lough Sheelin that require a little more time to explore.