About the town » Virginia, An Cabhan, Ulster, Ireland

Virginia population 2,282 is the fifth largest town in County Cavan, Ireland. It was founded at Aghanure (Irish: Achadh an Iúir, meaning "field of the yew") during the Plantation of Ulster and was named Virginia after Queen Elizabeth I of England. Situated close to Lough Ramor, Virginia is on the N3 route approximately 85 km northwest of Dublin, where once it was a strategic staging and rest point for the coaches plying between Enniskillen and Dublin. In more recent times, Virginia is connected to the capital by an hourly bus service from Cavan town Bus Éireann. Regarded these days as a commuter town with its proximity to larger trading towns east and west, the local industry consists mainly of farming and milk processing at the local Glanbia factory, (formerly Virginia Milk Products) which produces skim milk powder and cream for the world renowned brand Baileys Irish Cream liqueur. Other local manufacturers include the Fleetwood brand of paint products. Virginia won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition in 1964 and 1965. It is also home to the popular annual Virginia Agricultural Show for over seventy years and more recently Ireland's only Pumpkin Festival.