Live-in Care in Cavan
Fully managed live-in care across Cavan from Garda-vetted, experienced and insured carers — with someone in place within a few days.
Care usually starts within days, with no HSE assessment queue
Garda-vetted carers, employed and insured by us
One primary carer, with a familiar backup
4.8/5 on Google and 5/5 on Bark
What happens next
We call you back
Someone from our care team rings you to talk through what’s needed and answer your questions.
A short conversation
Which days and hours would help, what has got harder at home, and anything we should know about your loved one.
We match a carer
Garda-vetted, employed and insured by us. Care usually starts within days, sometimes sooner.
Two ways to arrange live-in care
Flex
A carer lives in the home and provides your agreed active care hours through the day, plus the reassurance of a carer resting in the home overnight.
Constant
A small team of carers provides cover around the clock, so someone is awake and on hand day and night. It suits higher-dependency needs.
What do our live-in carers help with?
Everyday support that keeps life at home going.
Medication
Housekeeping
Overnight Help
Personal care
Meal Prep
Companionship
How live-in care works in Cavan
North and west Cavan skew older. In 2022, 23.0% of Swanlinbar's residents were 65 or over, as were 18.9% in Blacklion and Arvagh and 17.8% in Belturbet. Across Cavan the figure was 15.3%. Beyond those towns, homes sit along mountain roads below Cuilcagh and lanes running down to the lakes. If your loved one lives out there, a carer calling twice a day spends much of it on the road, and the hours between visits are long.
With live-in care, one carer moves into the home. Help is there from first thing to last thing, with someone in the house overnight too. Your loved one has a primary carer and a familiar backup who covers time off, so the person at the kitchen table is someone they know. For a person living with dementia, a face they recognise each morning helps the day start calmly. The carer also gets to know their habits and can tell the family early when something seems off.
Alongside a live-in carer, the family can turn to the Alzheimer Society's Dementia Adviser for Cavan, a free and confidential service, for advice on other help in the county. UIH carers are trained healthcare assistants, Garda-vetted, employed and insured by UIH. They help with medication through prompts and reminders and do not give injections, dress wounds or administer insulin. Your care manager goes through anything clinical with you first.
Live-in care across Cavan
UIH arranges live-in care right across County Cavan, and it is often the practical answer in the thinly settled north-west. That includes Glangevlin and Dowra in the mountains, Blacklion by the Fermanagh border, Swanlinbar and Bawnboy, and the lake country around Killeshandra. A live-in carer suits a house in Cavan town just as well when your loved one needs someone there day and night. Your care manager will go through what the carer needs in the home before the start date.
Towns and areas we cover
Cavan town
Belturbet
Kingscourt
Bailieborough
Virginia
Cootehill
Ballyjamesduff
HSE health region
HSE Dublin and North East (west Cavan: HSE West and North West)
Main hospital
Cavan General Hospital, Cavan town
Also nearby
Monaghan Hospital, Monaghan town · Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda
GP out of hours
NEDOC (Caredoc in west Cavan)
Growing older at home in Cavan
Cavan is an Ulster county in the Republic, known as the Lakeland County. Most of the county is a jumble of drumlins with lakes in the hollows, and the roads bend around the water. Lough Sheelin lies in the south where Cavan meets Meath and Westmeath, and Lough Oughter is one of many lakes across the north and west. The north-west climbs into the Cuilcagh range, home to the Shannon Pot, and that corner is mountainous and thinly settled.
Census 2022 counted 81,704 people in the county, up 7.3% on 2016. Of these, 12,501 were aged 65 or over, or 15.3% of the population against 15.1% for the State, and 1,415 were 85 or older. Cavan town is by far the largest settlement at 11,741, followed by Virginia, Bailieborough, Kingscourt and Ballyjamesduff, and then a long scatter of smaller towns and villages. The age mix shifts sharply across the county. In Killeshandra, 28.2% of residents were 65 or over. In Ballyjamesduff the figure was 8.7%.
Outside the towns, homes are far apart, and that shapes care at home. Short calls through the day are easier to plan in Cavan town or Cootehill. Out the lanes near Glangevlin, the drive between houses can make short visits impractical, and longer blocks of care or a live-in carer usually suit better there.
Sources: HSE, rcsihospitals.ie, NEDOC, CSO, Cavan County Council, Transport for Ireland, TFI Local Link, Citizens Information, Alzheimer Society of Ireland, Family Carers Ireland. Checked 23 October 2026.
Local support in Cavan alongside private care
These public and voluntary services in the county can run beside private care at home.
- TFI Local Link Cavan Monaghan runs door-to-door routes to all the major towns in the county. Book by phone the day before on 047 51840, giving your Eircode. Free Travel Passes are accepted.
- Cavan Citizens Information Centre is at Elm House, Elm Bank, in Cavan town (0818 07 5200).
- Cavan Age Friendly Programme, run by Cavan County Council, publishes an Information Guide to Services for Older People in County Cavan (2024 edition). Email agefriendly@cavancoco.ie or call 049 437 8300.
- The Alzheimer Society of Ireland offers a free Dementia Adviser, day care on Cathedral Road in Cavan town and the Forget-me-not Social Club at Castlemanor Community Centre. Helpline 1800 341 341.
- HSE Home Support at Kilmore Business Centre, Cavan, is the local contact for the public Home Support Service (049 435 2421).
- Meals on Wheels from Cavan County Local Development delivers weekly to people aged 65 or over and to anyone housebound through illness or disability.
Phone numbers, timetables and opening times can change, so check with each service before relying on them.
Setting up care after a hospital discharge in Cavan
Returning from Cavan General Hospital to a house in the hills above Blacklion can feel a long way from help, especially after a long admission. Once the placement starts, the live-in carer is there from the first evening, helping with washing, meals and medication prompts while your loved one finds their feet. If they moved to the Lisdarn Transitional Unit before going home, ring us once a discharge date is in view. Care usually starts within days, sometimes sooner.
Why families choose United Irish Healthcare
We employ, vet and insure every carer, and we arrange cover ourselves when your carer takes leave. Care usually starts within days, sometimes sooner, and your loved one has one primary carer with a familiar backup.
Why Cavan families choose us
Cavan has the lowest population density in the RCSI Hospital Group's area, and near the Shannon Pot a live-in carer lets your loved one's day run to their own routine.
By Lough Sheelin or around Lough Oughter, your loved one is looked after by a primary live-in carer, with breaks covered by a second carer they already know.
What families say
United Irish Healthcare have been beyond any of my expectations. UIH had us sorted in a matter of hours. I cannot thank Daniel, Olivia and Jean enough — highly recommend.
Doireann Kate Gough
We use UIH for night care for our Mam. The staff have been fantastic — it is very personal and she is comfortable with her carers.
Orla Daly
For the last 8 months Mum has had two very kind carers fulfilling her wish to stay in her own home. The peace of mind is well worth it.
Verified Google review
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a setup or placement fee?
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Yes. A one-time placement fee covers the work of assigning your carer and setting up the placement. Your care manager includes it in your quote, and a replacement carer never costs extra.
Can I decide which days and hours the carer works?
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Yes, you can specify the days and hours in accordance with your package. The number of days is flexible; a 24/7 package means a carer is available every day of the week.
Will I have the same carer consistently?
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Yes. You will have a designated primary carer, available except when on leave, on holiday, or unwell — when a reliable secondary carer familiar to the family and client steps in.
Does the carer have to live in the home full time?
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No. Our carers have their own homes and may return to them when they are off duty.
Questions about live-in care in Cavan
Can a live-in carer help someone with dementia keep going to day care in Cavan town?
Yes. The Alzheimer Society runs day care at the Sullivan Day Care Centre in Cavan town on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. A place needs a referral form and a dementia diagnosis confirmed by a GP or consultant. A live-in carer can have your loved one up, washed and ready on those days, and keep the same routine at home for the rest of the week.
What happens on the live-in carer's days off?
Every live-in placement pairs a primary carer with a familiar backup. When the main carer takes their break, the backup comes in, so your loved one in Belturbet, Bawnboy or anywhere else in Cavan sees someone they already know. Your care manager arranges the changeover with you.
Do you arrange care in west Cavan, around Blacklion, Dowra and Glangevlin?
Yes. UIH arranges private home care in all 26 counties, and that includes the mountain country of west Cavan. The HSE says a small part of west Cavan comes under Sligo and Leitrim for health services, without naming the townlands, so your loved one's GP is the best person to confirm which public services apply. Distance on those roads is part of the plan, and the care team will talk through visit lengths or a live-in carer with you on 0818 700 100.
Who do we ring for a doctor at night or at the weekend in Cavan?
For most of the county, ring NEDOC, the GP out-of-hours service for Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan, on 1800 777 911. It operates from 6pm to 8am Monday to Friday and 24 hours at weekends and on bank holidays. There is no walk-in service. If the doctor needs to see your loved one, NEDOC gives an appointment at one of its treatment centres. The Cavan centre is beside the Emergency Department at Cavan General Hospital, and the others are in Castleblayney, Navan and Drogheda. CareDoc lists west Cavan among its areas, so if your loved one lives out that way, ask their GP practice which service it uses. Numbers and hours can change, so confirm them with the practice.
How can my loved one get into Cavan town without a car?
TFI Local Link Cavan Monaghan has door-to-door services that you book the day before, and a Free Travel Pass is accepted. Routes include Cootehill via Kill to Cavan, Droghill via Killeshandra to Cavan and Crosserlough via Ballyjamesduff to Cavan. The regular C2 service also comes in from Kilnaleck via Ballinagh. Phone Local Link on 047 51840 to see what passes your loved one's door, and check timetables before travelling, as routes and numbers can change.
Up to 40%
home-carer tax relief at your marginal rate
Relief is claimed on Form HK1 at your marginal rate. Always check your position with Revenue.
Other care we arrange in Cavan
Live-in Care in nearby counties
Live-in Care in Monaghan · Live-in Care in Meath · Live-in Care in Westmeath · Live-in Care in Longford · Live-in Care in Leitrim
