The town was founded in the early seventeenth century as a plantation village to accommodate mainly Presbyterian Scots who settled in this part of County Cavan.

[citation needed] Usually, these planters gave their new settlements English or Scottish names—the neighbouring towns are Kingscourt, Cootehill, and Bailieborough—but Shercock retained its Irish name.

[citation needed] For example, the townland of Lecks, on the Kingscourt road on the outskirts of Shercock, has been so named for a thousand years because of the flat-slabbed rocky landscape (leac is the Irish word for a flagstone).

Nowadays the town has some light industry and a small number of tourists based mainly on water sports and angling.

[8] The Shercock Drama Festival takes place annually in March, with amateur dramatics groups from around the country participating in the event.

In 2017, the club won the Tommy Gilroy Cup[9][10] and, in the same year, received funding for the improvement of their dressing room and gym facilities.

[11] Shercock Athletics Club provides coaching in middle distance running, cross country and track and field disciplines (sprints, jumps and throws).