Cootehill is a prominent market town and townland in County Cavan, Ireland. It was formerly part of the neighbouring townland of Munnilly,. Cootehill lies within the barony of Tullygarvey.HistoryCootehill 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. Cootehill gets its English name from the 17th century marriage of Thomas Coote, a Cromwellian Colonel, to Frances Hill from Hillsborough. The Coote family of Cootehill have some notable members, including the aforementioned Thomas Coote who was a judge of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland) in the 18th century; other Cootes have served as sheriffs and under-sheriffs in the 19th century. Thomas Coote's grandson Charles was Earl of Bellomont.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 surprising link to communist and labour history, as well. A branch of the International Workingmen's Association (IWA) was established in Cootehill in 1872, along with branches in Dublin, Cork, and Belfast.