A visit to Virginia, Co. Cavan

A slideshow of photos taken during a visit to Virginia in County Cavan on Monday 31st July 2017.
Virginia is a town in the south of County Cavan. It was founded in the early 17th century, 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. In the 2016 Census; Virginia had a population of 2,648 making it the 4th most populated town in County Cavan.
Virginia is situated close to Lough Ramor, which is believed to be one of the largest lakes in County Cavan stretching approx. 7 km in length by 1 km at the narrowest point and feeds into the Blackwater and Boyne river systems. Virginia is on the N3 Dublin-Cavan-Enniskillen-Donegal 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 Dublin by an hourly bus service from Cavan town Bus Éireann.
Virginia has a Catholic Church and Church of Ireland. The Church of Mary Immaculate was built in 1989 and replaced the older church which is now a theatre. Virginia Church of Ireland was built in 1821.
Virginia College, Cavan, formerly Virginia Vocational School, is the only secondary school in Virginia. Situated beside Lough Ramor, it is a mixed school educating approximately 740 pupils. With three new extensions over the years (most recent in 2012), the school houses three ICT suites and a language ICT lab. The Virginia school celebrated its 50th anniversary in September 2012, this was later followed by a visit to the school by the current Irish President Michael D. Higgins.
St Mary's National School, located next to the Catholic Church has seen an increasing number of pupils attending in recent years and has now reached over 400 pupils. The primary school received an extension in 2014.