Lavay or Lowey, Cavan

Historical Description

LAVAY, or LOWEY, a parish, in the barony of UPPER LOUGHTEE, county of CAVAN, and province of ULSTER, 4 miles (E. by S.) from Cavan, on the road to Virginia; containing 6305 inhabitants. According to the Ordnance survey it comprises 10,679 statute acres, of which 76½ are water. The land is highly cultivated; there are some large tracts of bog, affording an abundant supply of fuel. It is a vicarage, in the diocese of Kilmore, and in the patronage of the Bishop; the rectory is impropriate in the Marquess of Westmeath. The tithes amount to £386. 5., of which £153. 15. is payable to the impropriator, and £232. 10. to the vicar. The church, a very neat edifice, was erected by aid of a gift of £900 from the late Board of First Fruits, in 1817, and has been recently repaired by a grant of £152 from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. The R. C. parish is coextensive with that of the Established Church, and contains the Upper chapel, built in 1820, and the Lower chapel, which has been recently built, at an expense of nearly £2000, on a site given by Major G. Burrowes. There are seven private schools, in which about 490 children are educated. Here are some Danish raths; and several heads of battle-axes and brazen spears were discovered on an artificial island while draining Lake Lavey in 1832, and are in the possession of J. Smith, Esq.

Church Records

Findmypast, in association with the National Library of Ireland, have the following Catholic parish records online for Lavey:

Civil Registration

For general information about Civil Registration (births, marriages and deaths) see the Civil Registration page.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Lavay or Lowey from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, 1840 by Samuel Lewis (Lavay or Lowey)

Land and Property

The Return of Owners of Land in 1873 for Cavan is available to browse.