Cavan County Museum, Ireland

Visiting County Cavan Museum

Cavan County Museum in Ireland has so much to offer and is dedicated to telling the history of County Cavan. There is a variety of galleries and exhibitions that tell the history of this County. Through collecting, conserving and displaying the heritage material for the public to see.

On the surface, you may look at it as a local average museum that’s been resting in the centre of Cavan for many years. At its core, Cavan County Museum is a great example of an excellent local museum. With well-designed exhibitions tracing the history and heritage of Cavan from pre-Christian times right up to the mid-20th century.

History of Cavan Museum

Housed in a 19th-century former convent in Ballyjamesduff, the Cavan County Museum opened in June 1996. In the peaceful realm that used to be occupied by the Poor Clare order. The museum traces the history of Cavan from the Stone Age through modern times. Using a variety of exhibits and houses the material culture of County Cavan and surrounding districts. Exhibition galleries feature unique Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Medieval artefacts.

The aim of the County Cavan Museum is to collect, conserve and ultimately display the material heritage and culture of County Cavan, for the benefit of the public.

Exhibits on Display

There is a range of permanent exhibits at the museum, housed in different rooms. For example, the Archaeology Room contains a range of items such as 7,000-year-old Neolithic flint flakes. As well as various Iron Age tool heads and food containers. Particularly interesting exhibits include the Lavy Sheela-na-gig and a wonderful exhibition of costumes in the Pighouse Collection. Originally collected by a local enthusiast, a one named Mrs Phyllis Faris.

Additionally, The Killycluggin Stone, the Ralaghan figure and the three-faced Corleck Head are three of its star exhibits. They are some of the most recognisable examples of Celtic spirituality in the country. Really worth checking out if you’re into things like that.

There are also good sections on traditional farming in the area. Along with GAA Gallery which will primarily be of interest to followers of Cavan GAA. It’s a treasure house of sporting history and includes a large collection of medals, cups, jerseys, and programmes. A small but well-assembled exhibit about the famine years in Cavan includes, poignantly, a pair of shoes recovered from a famine grave.

The museum often receives items of local interest on loan from the National Museum in Dublin. An example of an item that has previously been on loan at the museum is the Breac Maedoc. Which is an 11th-century Reliquary (a container that originally held bones or other relics) of Saint Madoch.

World War 1 Trench Experience

Additionally, the Cavan County Museum is also home to the World War I Trench Experience. And the largest outdoor replica trench open to the public in Ireland and the UK. The trench, built to the specifications and manuals of the Irish Guards. It was used by the Royal Irish Fusiliers at the Battle of the Somme 1916 and is over 350m long. It also includes frontline, communication, and support trenches. Over 6000 sandbags were used in its construction.

more so, while the Folklife Gallery enables visitors to imagine life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Newly-opened galleries deal with topics as diverse as the Great Famine, Percy French and Lord Farnham.

Opening Times

The museum is open all year round from 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday-Saturday and during June-September also on Sundays from 2 pm to 6 pm. There is a craft shop, a cafe and an excellent children’s playground, which will make a visit here a winner even for those too young to really appreciate the treasures inside.

Have you ever been to this museum? Or would you like to plan a visit in the future? We would love to know 🙂

Also, don’t forget to check out some of our other blogs that might interest you such as The Mac- Metropolitan Arts Centre, Carrickfergus Museum, Enniskillen Castle Museum, Down County Museum, Dublinia Viking Museum,Headhunters Barber Shop and Railway Museum, Trinity College Dublin,Titanic Museum.