Overview
Shercock sits where the R162 meets the R178, hemmed in by three lakes – Lough Sillan, Steepleton’s Lake and Muddy Lake – in the middle of Cavan’s drumlin belt, that landscape of small, steep hills and water between them. It is a quiet town, and honest about it: a practical base for a few days in this corner of the county rather than somewhere you’d drive to for its own sake. Historically it sat six miles west of Carrickmacross and five from Bailieborough, and that road-junction, market-town role is still what it is.
The lakes
Lough Sillan is the reason most visitors come, for the coarse fishing above all. It is the biggest of the three and the one set up for a day on the water; Steepleton’s Lake and Muddy Lake are quieter and smaller, better for a walk than a session.
Bring an eye for otters. They work the shallows on Lough Sillan, and the jetty by the playground is as good a spot as any to catch one – early and quiet is the way, as always with otters.
Walking
The gentle drumlin ground and lake edges make for easy, level walking. Sillan Lakeshore Park has a surfaced 300m tarmac path along the water, flat enough for wheelchairs and buggies, with a playground and picnic tables at the near end. It is the most accessible walk in the town and the one to start with.
Events
The town’s fixture in the calendar is the Shercock Drama Festival, held each March at St Patrick’s Hall and running since the 1980s. It pulls amateur companies from around the country and gives the town a reliable reason to visit in the off-season, when the fishing has stopped and the days are short.
Staying nearby
Moyduff Lake has a family-run campsite with cabins, caravan pitches and space for tents, open from April to September – a straightforward lakeside base if you want to stay out by the water rather than in the town.
Nearby
- Annagh Lake – another quiet fishing lake a short drive north.
- Cavan Burren Park – a geopark of dolmens and wedge tombs further west, a full day out from Shercock.
- Cavan County Museum – in Cavan town, for the county’s archaeology if the weather turns.
When to go
Late spring through early autumn is the season for the fishing and the walks; the drama festival covers March. For the fishing, be on Lough Sillan early – the water is calmest and the fish busiest before the middle of the day, which also happens to be when the otters are about.