Cootehill Heritage Walking trail, Cootehill

Terrain: Town
Time: 1 hr

1. Gothic style Church of Ireland (1819)
2. Allied Irish Bank designed by William Hague (1859)
3. Archbishop John Charles McQuaid was raised in this townhouse which later became part of the White Horse Hotel
4. Courthouse (1832)
5. Chapel Lane (former Charles St) passes some fine stone built stores and houses until reaching the former site of St. Michael’s Chapel (1826). Note the original perimeter walls and pedestrian gateway.
6. Fair Green – farm animals were sold here on fair days. St. Michael’s R.C. Hall (1905) has been a focal point of the town over the years
7. The Health Centre – once the site of the Old Darley School which dated from 1869 until demolition in 1993.
8. The Sabbath (Sawpit) contains the Presbyterian Church (1876) and the Methodist Church (1870). The most famous minister to serve in Cootehill was Rev. Thomas Stewart who was involved with the United Irishmen in the 1790’s and is buried in the Church Street graveyard.
9. Pig Market – a small square where pigs were sold in the thriving Pork Markets of the 19th century. Formerly this site was known as Meeting House Square. The building at the top was a Seceder Presbyterian Meeting House (1797). The building became a Guild Hall after a split in the Presbyterian community. The Guild Hall contained the town’s first secondary school and a cinema.
10. The famous 19th century writer Mrs Sadlier (Mary Ann Madden) was born at this site. After emigrating to New York during the Great Famine she rose to fame as one of American’s most prolific female writers.
11. Church St takes it’s name from the old church which stood here. The church dated from 1639 and was used until 1819. The graveyard contains many interesting headstones. The Coote Mausoleum marks the sites of the old church.
12. Cootehill’s Quaker community had a Meeting House in the centre of this old hillfort. Built in 1738 the Quakers were active until 1900. The burial ground is the only Quaker Burial ground in the Cavan/Monaghan area.
13. New Line heads back to Station Rd. The national school is constructed on the site of the former convent of the Sisters of Mercy, designed by William Hague and built in 1881.
14. St. Michael’s Church (1930). Designed by William Byrne it is richly decorated with Italian marble and plasterwork.
15. Gateway leading to Bellamont Forest – the beautiful Palladian Villa built by the Cootes in the 1720s. The house and grounds are private.