A-Z Placefinder
Towns of Cavan
Swanlinbar —County Cavan
A story is told that Swanlinbar takes its strange name from three 18th century businessmen; Swann, Linn and Barr. (They were no doubt interested in the extensive iron deposits here.) The mineral water springs were more important, and in the late 18th and early 19th centuries Swanlinbar was one of Ireland's foremost spas. The spas were reopened in recent years, though not on their original site.
Swanlinbar is in a really beautiful spot, dominated by steep mountains. Ben Aughlin, just to the northwest of Swanlinbar, owes its unusual shape to actions of ice during the last Ice Age over 12,000 years ago.
