Arvagh

Arvagh (Irish: Ármhach, meaning "division or place of slaughter")[2] or Arva, is a village in County Cavan, Ireland, on the shores of Garty Lough and overlooked by Bruse Mountain.[3] It is located on the junction of the R198 and R203 regional roads.

Arvagh

Ármhach
Village
Market House, Arvagh
Arvagh
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°55′N 7°35′W
CountryIreland
ProvinceUlster
CountyCounty Cavan
Population
 (2016)[1]
411
Arva on fair day (1940s)

It is situated in the centre of the drumlin belt on the border of Counties Longford and Leitrim. Its location is about 3 km southeast of the tripoint where the three provinces of Ulster, Leinster and Connacht meet.[4]

As of 2016, the village had a population of 411.[1]

History

The Arvagh area was settled by Scottish planters in the early 17th century. A story is told that one of them, John Brown, sold the land here for a horse. The Earls of Gosford, the descendants of the man who bought it, developed the village in the early 19th century, building a Market House which is still standing.[5] In 1841, at which time the 1841 Census recorded a population of 69,[3] there were four pubs in the village and the monthly fairs were of considerable local trade importance.[3]

Ármhach (meaning "Battlefield" or "Place of Slaughter") was brought about because Arvagh is on the borders of 3 counties and provinces, Leitrim, Longford and Cavan (Connaght, Leinster and Ulster). The royal families of these counties would battle in Arvagh and as a result many died, Hence "Place of Slaughter".

Facilities

Arvagh has a hotel, the Breffni Arms Hotel, with a restaurant, bar, nightclub and there are several pubs in the village, many of which have music at the weekends.[4][6]

Places of interest

Arvagh Market House is a nine-bay, two-storey building built before 1837 by the Earl of Gosford. It may have been designed by W D Butler. The outer six bays have been greatly altered and appear now as two three-bay houses.[7]

Nearby Bruse Mountain is a small hill topped with three stone cairns, dating from the Neolithic period.[4]

Events

The Annual Breffni Challenge 20 km run takes place from Cavan and finishes in Arvagh every August, with all proceeds going to St. Luke's Hospital in Dublin.[4][8]

Each year the Arvagh Agricultural Show takes place in the village.[4][9] The "3 Province Festival" also takes place here over 10 days from the last weekend in July until the first weekend in August. The festival includes music, theatre, comedy, art, competitions and other events.[10]

Transport

Bus

Whartons Travel operate bus route 975 on behalf of the National Transport Authority. It serves the village six times a day (not Sundays) providing services to Longford via Drumlish and Cavan.[11][12] Bus Éireann route 465, (Carrigallen-Killashandra-Cavan) serves the village on Tuesday.

Rail

Arva Road railway station on the erstwhile Killashandra branch was the nearest station to Arvagh. Nowadays bus route 975 provides a link to Longford railway station.

Angling

The Arvagh area has numerous angling sites such as Garty Lough, Hollybank Lake, Gulladoo Lake, Guiniken Lake and Rockfield Lake.[13] The Arvagh International Fishing Festival takes place in Arvagh every September.[4]

People
  • William H. Bleakley (1888–1929), born in Arvagh, went to America in 1905. He was a pioneer of aviation and was the first to perform the aerobatic feat of looping the loop.[5] He attempted to set an altitude record in 1928 and crashed and died in 1929.[14]

See also

References
  1. "Sapmap Area: Settlements Arva". Census 2016. Central Statistics Office. 2016.
  2. "Ármhach/Arvagh". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Dublin City University. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  3. O'Neill, Kevin (2003). Family and Farm in Pre-Famine Ireland. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 29–30. ISBN 0-299-09844-3.
  4. "Arva". Cavan Tourism. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  5. "Arvagh - County Cavan". Discover Ireland. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  6. http://www.breffniarms.com
  7. "Arvagh Market House". Irish Antiquities. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  8. Breffni Challenge Website
  9. http://www.arvashow.com
  10. https://web.archive.org/web/20180826011644/http://www.3province.com/
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 18 December 2017. Retrieved 7 August 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 February 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Angling Ireland – Arva". Inland Fisheries Ireland. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  14. "William H Bleakley". Early Aviators. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  15. "Siva Kaneswaran". Retrieved 18 July 2013.
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