History of Cavan

the town centre. In the 15th century, the local ruler, Bearded OwenO'Reilly, set up a market which attracted merchants from Dublin and Drogheda. The term life of Reilly was credited to the O'Reilly clans due to their great wealth and power, having issued their own currency during the 17th century. King James I granted the town a charter in 1610. Later, during the 17th century, local administrative influence and power passed to the Maxwell family, descendants of The Rt. Rev. Dr. Robert Maxwell, Church of Ireland Bishop of Kilmore (1643-72), a family who later gained the peerage Baron Farnham.

Development in Cavan during the early 19th century saw the building of a new wide street that still bears the name Farnham Street. Away from the markets area of the town, Farnham