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heritage · Thursday 20 August 2026 · Various 
Cavan's Turf Cutting Past - Heritage Week Talk
At Johnston Central Library · Farnham Street, Cavan, Co. Cavan
At Johnston Central Library · Farnham Street, Cavan, Co. Cavan
A free Heritage Week talk at Johnston Central Library in Cavan town, where Local Studies Librarian Jonathan Smyth leads a relaxed conversation about County Cavan’s long tradition of turf cutting. This is not a formal lecture - it is the kind of gathering where people listen, share, and remember together. If you have your own memories of the bog, of the sleán and the slean-bar, of turf stacked in the haggard or carried home on the back of a trailer, this is a room where those stories are worth bringing.
Jonathan Smyth has spent years working in Cavan’s Local Studies collection, one of the most important resources for county history in Ireland. He brings that depth to the conversation - covering traditional methods of hand cutting, the seasonal rhythm that the bog imposed on rural families, and the particular experience of Cavan’s bogland landscape. The event is participatory: attendees are encouraged to share their own recollections, and tea and biscuits are provided to keep things easy.
Spaces are deliberately limited to keep the atmosphere intimate. It is part of National Heritage Week 2026, which runs 15 to 23 August across Ireland - a week when hundreds of free events open up sites, archives, and expertise that are often out of public reach for the rest of the year.
Johnston Central Library sits on Farnham Street, right in the centre of Cavan town - beside the courthouse, within a few minutes’ walk of the main bus stops. The building itself is worth a moment: opened in 2006, it was designed by Shaffrey Architects and built with locally-made Kingscourt brick. It replaced an older Protestant Hall that once hosted Percy French. Bus Eireann routes connect Cavan to Dublin (about 1.5 hours), Monaghan, Enniskillen, and other towns. If you are driving, there is pay-and-display parking close by on Farnham Street and in the town centre car parks a short walk away.
Cavan town is a market town with a long history, and the library itself holds genealogy and archive collections that repay a longer visit. There is more to see in Cavan and across Co. Cavan.
Heading to Johnston Central Library 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.