Overview
The River Shannon – the longest river in Ireland or Britain – is traditionally said to rise in a dark, still pool on the edge of Glangevlin, and the Cuilcagh uplands around the village held the last glacier in Ireland after the Ice Age. That is a lot of superlatives for a place with a pub, a hall and a scatter of houses at the junction of the R200 and R207, in the far north-west corner of County Cavan.
Glangevlin (Irish: Gleann Ghaibhle, ‘glen of the fork’) is hemmed in by the Cuilcagh Mountains and borders both Leitrim and Fermanagh. Irish was still spoken here as an everyday language into the 1930s, one of the last corners of Cavan where that was true, and the parish was active in the War of Independence and the work of Cumann na mBan. If you do one thing here, walk in to the Shannon Pot.
The Shannon Pot
The Shannon Pot is a karst pool about 16 metres across, traditionally the source of the Shannon. It is signed off the R206 Blacklion–Glangevlin road with the brown tourist signs, and there is parking, a picnic area and interpretation boards. Fed by an aquifer, its level rises and falls; divers have followed the passages down to about 9.5 metres, where the water vanishes into a fissure barely two metres wide. Manage your expectations, though – this is a quiet, dark pool rather than a gushing spring, and the water it releases is gathered from a much wider network of sinkholes across the plateau. In the old story, the goddess Sionna chased the Salmon of Knowledge and was swept into the pool, and her name stayed on the river.
History and legend
People have lived in this valley since prehistory. The Giant’s Grave, a Neolithic court tomb of large standing stones, lies near the village, and ringforts and cashels are scattered across the hillsides. The name itself carries a legend: the magical cow Glas Gaibhleann, said to belong to the smith Gaibhne and to supply the whole of Breifne with milk, bolted from her pen and tore the mountainside open to make the pass now called the Gap of Glan. Glangevlin also turns up in medieval writing, including the Acallam na Senórach and the Book of Magauran (c. 1340).
Local tradition remembers a medieval clash between the O’Rourkes and O’Reillys in these hills, and tells that the blind harper Turlough O’Carolan, caught in a snowstorm and sheltering in a cabin nearby, composed a lament that became one of his best-known airs.
Walking and trails
The West Cavan Camino
The West Cavan Camino opened in February 2025, put together by the Glangevlin Development Committee with backing from Cavan County Local Community Development. It is a free, way-marked walking route that starts from St Patrick’s Hall in the village and links the Shannon Pot with old teaching schoolhouses, riverside paths and long views towards the Donegal hills. For route details, contact westcavancamino@gmail.com or +353 89 220 2832.
Cuilcagh Boardwalk and Tullydermot Falls
For a shorter walk, the 1km Cuilcagh boardwalk carries a raised timber path across fragile blanket bog without damaging it. Nearby, just off the R200 between Swanlinbar and Glangevlin, Tullydermot Falls drops over the upper Claddagh River, with a viewpoint and information boards put in by Cavan County Council.
Sites and curiosities
The landscape rewards a slow pace:
- Maguire’s Chair: a large standing stone on the R200, about 6.4km from the village, traditionally the inauguration seat of the Maguire chiefs. The view from it takes in Brackley and Templeport lakes and the Slieve Russell plateau.
- The Big Bridge: a broad single-arch stone bridge over the Abhainn Mhór in Garvolt townland, said locally to be among the largest of its kind. A ‘turkey’s claw’ survey mark survives on the parapet, and lore credits an Enniskillen contractor who finished it with a single stone left over.
- Sweat houses (tighte alluis): stone-lined pits dug into the hillsides and used for therapeutic sweating; well-preserved examples survive at Cuppenagh, Legglass and Legnagrow.
- Spa wells: sulphur-rich wells across the valley, their water long used for drinking and for treating ailments.
- Kellegher’s Little Rock: a cairn on the Cuilcagh slopes marking where a local trader drowned in a mountain stream; passers-by add a stone as they go.
Practical information
- Getting there: Glangevlin is on the R200 (Cavan–Leitrim) and R207 (Cavan–Fermanagh). The nearest larger towns are Cavan (about 45km) and Sligo (about 70km).
- Parking: free car parking at the village centre, the Big Bridge viewpoint and the Camino trailhead.
- Facilities: the trails and outdoor sites are free to walk. There are basic toilets at St Patrick’s Hall and at Maguire’s pub, a Camino stamp point. The Shannon Pot has parking and boards but no staffed centre.
- Safety: the ground is rough and paths can be steep or muddy, and mobile reception is patchy across the Cuilcagh plateau, so carry a map or offline GPS tracks. Waterproof footwear and layers matter even in summer.
- Further reading: local histories and event listings are on the community site, Glangevlin.com; for the wider karst, see the Marble Arch Caves geopark.
Start the Shannon Pot walk early, when the pool is at its stillest and darkest, and check the notice board at St Patrick’s Hall for Camino updates before you set off.