Cavan County Museum set to celebrate its 30th anniversary
Cavan County Museum set to celebrate its 30th anniversary
A number of permanent and changing exhibits, including the recently reopened World War 1 Trench Experience, continue to attract crowds, young and old, to the Cavan County Museum.
The museum itself is housed within a beautiful Georgian building, which was originally constructed as a convent for the Order of Poor Clare Nuns. Designed in 1881 by Cavan architect William Hague Jr, the building still retains many of its original features.
Over the following century the nuns provided educational services to the local area, however, societal changes saw a decline in young women entering the convent and the remaining nuns moved out of the convent in the 1990s. In 1992, Cavan County Council purchased the building and, in 1996, opened the facility.
The museum aims to collect, conserve, and display the material, cultural and historical heritage of Cavan and its environs. Its diverse array of exhibitions seeks to communicate Cavan’s story within Ireland’s broader historical context.
Internally the museum is arranged throughout three floors and features a range of unique artefacts from Cavan’s earliest inhabitants up to the 21st century, and helps celebrate the county’s unique heritage and culture.
The Archaeology and Medieval Galleries feature many fine pieces from Cavan’s ancient past. The Killycluggin Stone, a decorated stone dating to the Iron Age and one of few such examples of this type of decorative art in Ireland, stone heads including a replica of the Corleck Head, one of the most famous and identifiable examples of Celtic Pagan art, and a 25-foot-long Log boat are just some of the features of these galleries.
Ever popular is the GAA Gallery. This gallery charts the success of Cavan's camogie, football and hurling teams and includes special exhibitions on the great All Ireland Final of 1947, as well as many of Cavan’s other victories throughout the years. Following a complete refurbishment, the award-winning World War 1 Trench Experience re-opened in July and is already attracting many visitors.
Other galleries include the Famine, Folklife, Transport, Percy French, the Lords Farnham, World War 1, the Pig-House Collection, the Women of Influence, Lough Oughter Castle and the War of Independence. The popular The Museum of Broken Things, a museum inside a museum, which charts artist’s Jane McCormack’s lifetime collection of items meaningful to her.
The museum plans to continue with its range of exhibitions, events and programmes into 2026 when it will be celebrating its 30th anniversary.