[3] Loughtee Upper takes its name from the Irish Lucht Tí, Early Modern Irish lucht tighe Még Mathghamhna (Annals of the Four Masters), "people of the household of Mac Mahon"; the land was allocated to the Mic Bhradaigh vassals of the McMahons as mensal land.

[4][5][6][7][8] Loughtee Upper is located in the middle of County Cavan, east of the River Erne and Lough Oughter.

[9] Loughtee Upper was a centre of power for the Ó Raghallaigh (O'Reillys) Gaelic Irish tribe in the Middle Ages, based first at Lough Oughter and then moving to Tullymongan near to modern Cavan.

A Mic Bradaigh (Brady) family of clerics and freeholders was also here, ruling areas called Cúl Brighde and Teallach Cerbaill, near modern Stradone.

[12] Its alluvial soil was recognised as the best in Cavan, and it was originally allocated to the Crown, then later to undertakers.