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seasonal · Wednesday 19 August 2026 · Various 
Tales from the Trenches - Heritage Week at Cavan County Museum
At Cavan County Museum · Virginia Road, Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan
At Cavan County Museum · Virginia Road, Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan
On a Wednesday in August, Cavan County Museum turns its most extraordinary exhibit into a stage. Tales from the Trenches is a family storytelling walk that takes visitors into the museum’s replica WWI trench system to hear the real stories of Cavan men who went to war - some of whom never came home. It suits families with older children, history enthusiasts, and anyone who wants to do more during National Heritage Week than read an information panel. The storytelling format makes the history personal in a way a standard exhibition simply cannot.
The museum holds what is claimed to be the largest outdoor replica trench open to the public in Ireland and the UK. Built to the specifications of the Irish Guards - the manuals used by the Royal Irish Fusiliers at the Battle of the Somme in 1916 - the trench runs over 350 metres and includes frontline, communication and support trenches. More than 6,000 sandbags went into its construction. Sound and visual effects are woven through the experience.
During Tales from the Trenches, a storyteller leads the group through this space, using first-person accounts and local records to put names and faces to the men who left Co. Cavan for the Western Front. The event is part of National Heritage Week 2026, which runs 15-23 August under the theme “Heritage at Risk”. Spaces are limited, and the museum recommends booking in advance.
Ballyjamesduff sits on the R194 (Virginia Road), roughly 20 kilometres south of Cavan Town via the N3. From Dublin, the journey is around an hour and twenty minutes along the N3/M3 corridor. There is no direct public bus service from Dublin to Ballyjamesduff, so a car is the practical option for most visitors. The museum has on-site parking.
The town is a quiet, unhurried stop, and the museum itself warrants more than a single visit - the permanent collections cover early Christian Cavan through to the Gaelic revival. There is more to see in Ballyjamesduff and across Co. Cavan.
Heading to Cavan County Museum in Ballyjamesduff? Cavan has plenty more to see. Read the Ballyjamesduff area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.