Bailieborough Voyage Tips and guide

Bailieborough is a town in the east of County Cavan in northwest Ireland, with a population of 3000 in 2022. It's within an hour's drive of Dublin and is mostly a commuter town.

The area was called Killycolley or Coill an Chollaigh, "the wood of the boar", until the early 17th century when William Bailie of Ayrshire was awarded the lands by James I of England. He settled it with loyal Scots and built a fine mansion, but reckoned the village huddled at its foot was unsightly. So he swept away Killycolley and re-sited the town 2 km further south, no doubt long mulling over a suitable name before coming up with "Bailieborough". The land changed hands several times and in the 19th century Sir William Young built the Victorian town you see today.

Bailieborough Town Council posts online visitor information.

53°55′12″N 6°55′12″W

Map of Bailieborough

By road from Dublin follow M3 / N3 via Kells and Virginia, 55 km, just under an hour.

Local Link Bus 178 runs three times a day from Kells, taking 30 min via Mullagh to Bailieborough, and continuing to Cootehill. Kells has buses from Dublin city and airport.

Local Link Bus 172 runs five times a day from Virginia to Bailieborough, taking 20 min and continuing to Cootehill.

Bus Éireann 107 runs four times a day from Navan to Kingscourt, taking 40 min. Navan has buses from Dublin city.

You need your own wheels to get anywhere; a bike would do.

Bailieborough Cabs are on +353 429 666000.

• St Anne's is the bright RC church on Virginia Rd.
• 53.94-6.9811 Castle Lough is a pleasant place for woodland walks and fishing. It was the estate of Bailieborough Castle, a country mansion that burnt down in 1918 and was entirely demolished in the late 1930s.
• 53.905-6.8052 Kingscourt is the anglicised version of Dún an Rí. Its main feature is the Church of the Immaculate Conception. 3 km northeast is Cabra Castle, now a hotel, see Sleep.
• 53.919-6.7933 Dún na Rí Forest Park is mixed forest with walking trails and sculpture, dog-friendly. Car €5, coins only.

• Bailieborough Leisure Centre on Chapel Rd has a gym and pool.
• Bailieborough Demesne is a hiking area northwest of town on R165.
• Golf: the nearest course is in Virginia.

• Tesco in Bailieborough is open M-Sa 8AM-10PM, Su 10AM-8PM.

• Funky Monkey is a coffee shop on Barrack St, open M-F 7AM-3:30PM, Sa 8AM-5PM, Su 10AM-4PM.
• Foosie cafe on Market Square is open M, Tu, Th-Sa 8:30AM-4:30PM.
• Peking on Main St is open daily 4-11:30PM.
• Setlist Cafe on Main St is open Tu-Sa 9AM-4PM.
• Kingscourt Main St has Church Street Cafe, New Annapurna and Taste of India plus takeaways. See below for Cabra Castle.

• The Square Bar (Nixty's), Market Square, Bailieborough, ☏ +353 42 966 6054. M-Th 2-11:30PM, F Sa 12:30PM-midnight, Su 12:30-11PM. Pub and restaurant, sometimes has live music. (updated May 2026)
• Lemon Tree on Barrack St is round the corner from Nixty's. No food.
• Terra 2 km south of Bailieborough manufacture Irish liqueurs, their main brand being Molly's Irish Cream. No tours.
• Kingscourt pubs are The Block Malone's, Clarke's Corner Bar, Willows, Murtagh's, Court Inn and Gartlans.

• Bailie Hotel, Main St, Bailieborough A82 T6C6, ☏ +353 42 966 5693. Decent mid-range hotel with 15 rooms en suite, free parking. B&B double €140. (updated May 2026)
• 53.8923-7.01381 Rock Equestrian Farm, Carnalynch A82 N5D8 (3 km southwest of town), ☏ +353 42 966 5970. Friendly comfy accommodation on farm. B&B double €100.  (updated May 2026)
• 53.913828-6.774582 Cabra Castle, Carrickmacross Rd, Kingscourt A82 EC64, ☏ +353 42 966 7030. You want to be in the new one, built in the early 19th century in pseudo-Norman style. That's what the Pratt family reckoned, when the previous owners bankrupted themselves, so they bought it and vacated their Cabra House. This was an outbuilding of Old Cabra Castle, smashed up by Cromwell, and Cabra House in turn fell derelict. The new (200 years old) place has been on-and-off a hotel since the 1960s. Its present incarnation since the 1990s gets great reviews for comfort and service. B&B double €200.  (updated May 2026)
• Plantation Lodge 2 km east of Kingscourt is the pleasant B&B you choose if you can't afford Cabra Castle.
• 53.8938-6.80313 Hollow Stream B&B, Dublin Rd, Kingscourt A82 WR88, ☏ +353 42 966 8346. Comfy welcoming B&B, all rooms en suite.  (updated May 2026)

As of May 2026, Bailieborough and its approach roads have 4G from Eir and Vodafone, and 5G from Three.

• The coast from Dundalk to Drogheda is lined with sandy beaches. The whole county decamps there on fine weekends.
• Kells has the medieval abbey which formerly housed the Book of Kells - it's now in TCD Library in Dublin.
• Cavan Town is in the midst of the "drumlin belt", and Lough Oughter is studded with islets.