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festivals · Saturday 15 August 2026 · Various 
National Heritage Week Cavan 2026
At Various venues across Co. Cavan · Various, Co. Cavan
At Various venues across Co. Cavan · Various, Co. Cavan
Every August, National Heritage Week runs for nine days across Ireland, and Cavan puts together one of the more varied county programmes - free events that range from lakeside céilís to library map sessions and museum storytelling. The 2026 theme is Heritage at Risk, which gives local organisers a hook to draw out stories that might otherwise stay buried in archives and local memory. If you have any connection to Cavan, or simply enjoy finding out how a place ticked in the past, this is a genuinely good week to visit.
Cavan County Council’s Heritage Office and the County Library have confirmed several distinct events for the nine days, each aimed at a different audience.
The Céilí at Cavan Adventure Centre is the most atmospheric option - an evening of traditional music, sean-nós singing, poetry and storytelling gathered around turf fires, with a BBQ of local produce included. The setting is the Adventure Centre’s lakeside grounds, with the drumlin-dotted landscape behind Cavan’s shimmering lakes as the backdrop. It has run in previous years and built a reputation as a genuinely warm community night rather than a polished performance.
At Cavan County Library, “Mapping Cavan’s Past” is a guided session with the Local Studies Librarian exploring historic map collections - the streets and byroads of the county as they looked generations ago. It suits anyone with a family connection to the area or an interest in local geography and change.
The Cavan County Museum hosts two events linked to the First World War. “Tales from the Trenches” is a family storytelling walk through the museum, retelling the stories of Cavan men who served. Alongside it, the exhibition “The Courageous Men of Cavan” launches a community arts project where 800 paper hearts - one for each Cavan man who died in the war - were made by people across the county.
A separate talk on Cavan’s turf-cutting past is led by the Local Studies Librarian and covers a tradition that shaped rural childhoods here for generations.
Cavan town sits roughly two hours from Dublin by road, via the N3/M3 through Navan and Virginia. From the north, it is well connected via the A3 from Enniskillen. Bus Éireann operates regular services from Dublin’s Busáras to Cavan town (route 30), with the journey taking around two hours and fifteen minutes. Car parking in and around Cavan town is straightforward, with surface car parks near the library and museum.
For events at Cavan Adventure Centre, which sits outside the town near the Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark, you will need your own transport. Check the individual event listing for the exact address before travelling.
The county’s lakes and drumlins make it one of the quieter corners of the north midlands - good walking country with a long, unhurried tradition of local music. There is more to see in Cavan and across Co. Cavan.
Heading to Various venues across Co. Cavan in Cavan? Cavan has plenty more to see. Read the Cavan area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.