[1] The site they selected had been occupied by a 14th-century Franciscan Friary, known as St Mary's Abbey,[2][3] and the land was donated to the council by the local lord of the manor, Arthur Maxwell, 11th Baron Farnham.

It was designed by William Alphonsus Scott in the Arts and Crafts style, and built by William O'Callaghan & Son at a cost of £2,688 using sandstone from a quarry at Latt, on the northern edge of Cavan Town, with the original slates coming from near Carrick-on-Suir in County Tipperary.

The outer bays of the central section contained narrow multi-pane windows on all three floors, with a cornice above, flanked by full-height pilasters.

A major programme of refurbishment works was undertaken under the direction of a local architect, Philip Cullivan, in the 1980s.

[9] The building was subsequently converted into a local arts centre by J. J. McCauley Construction at a cost of £1.75 million, with financial support from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Cavan County Council.