Cootehill (; ) is a market town and townland in County Cavan, Ireland. Cootehill was formerly part of the neighbouring townland of Munnilly. Both townlands lie within the barony of Tullygarvey. The English language name of the town is a portmanteau of "Coote" and "Hill", the family names of a local 18th century landowning family. Name The town's Irish name, Muinchille, derives from the Irish language term meaning a ridge or "sleeve". The town's name in English, Cootehill, is a portmanteau attributed to the intermarriage of the landowning Coote and Hill families in the early 1700s. This involved the marriage of Thomas Coote (c. 1620–25 Nov 1671) and Frances Hill from Hillsborough, County Down, who were involved in the linen trade. The Coote family of Cootehill had some notable members, including the aforementioned Thomas Coote who was a Cromwellian Colonel and a judge of the Court of King's Bench during the 18th century. Other Cootes served as sheriffs and under-sheriffs in the 19th century. Thomas Coote's great, great nephew was Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont. History Cootehill was formally established as a market town in 1725 when Thomas Coote obtained a charter to hold markets and fairs; thereafter strong ties to the Irish linen industry were cultivated. A description from 1844 states: "The town is comparatively well-built and respectively inhabited; and is not equaled in appearance by any place between it and Dublin except Navan." The Cootehill of this era has a link to communist and labour history, in that a branch of the International Workingmen's Association (IWA) was established in Cootehill in 1872. This followed the establishment of branches in Dublin, Cork, and Belfast. Prominent people who have visited the town over the years have included President Mary McAleese, who visited in 2002 to open Damien House near Dartrey Forest. Bertie Ahern, then Taoiseach, visited the town in 2006. Arthur Griffith, founder of Sinn Féin and later President of Dáil Éireann, was elected here in 1918, and Rev. John Wesley, a founder of the evangelical and Methodist movement, visited the town in the mid-18th century. Eoghan Ruadh Ó Néill camped and trained the Ulster Army in Munnilly, in the 1640s during the Irish Confederate Wars. Heritage and culture Built heritage Many of the buildings in the area were built in the 18th and 19th centuries, with a number of Georgian buildings in the town centre. The town has