County Cavan is in the province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the historic Gaelic territory of East Breffny. Cavan borders six counties: Leitrim to the west, Fermanagh and Monaghan to the north, Meath to the south-east, Longford to the south-west and Westmeath to the south. Cavan shares a 70 km (43 mi) border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. Cavan is the 19th largest of the 32 counties in area and the 25th largest by population. It is also the sixth largest of Ulster's nine counties in size and the seventh largest by population.
The Irish origin of the county name is cabhán, meaning "hollow" or "little hill", a description which will seem perfectly appropriate to anyone who has visited the county. Especially towards the Northwest, the main feature of the landscape is the proliferation of drumlins, oval mounds 80 to 100 feet high, which alternate with small lakes. The horizon is never more than a few hundred yards away, making the countryside feel small-scale and intimate.
