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heritage · Saturday 15 August 2026 · 2:30pm 
Exhibition Launch - The Courageous Men of Cavan
At Cavan County Museum · Virginia Road, Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan, A82 YP70
At Cavan County Museum · Virginia Road, Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan, A82 YP70
This exhibition launch at Cavan County Museum marks the culmination of five years of community effort - a project that put eight hundred handmade hearts at the centre of a county’s remembrance. Each heart was made by someone in Cavan: a schoolchild, a community group member, a family. One for every Cavan man who fought and died in the First World War. The result is not a conventional military display but something more personal, a collective act of making that connects the present to the losses of over a century ago. The launch takes place on 15 August 2026, the opening day of National Heritage Week, and admission is free.
The 800 hearts - one per fallen Cavan man from the Great War - will go on display together for the first time, having been created across the county over five years. The project places creativity and community wellness at its centre: schools, community groups and families contributed to the making, and the exhibition aims to foster a sense of connection and gratitude across generations.
The launch itself takes place at 2:30pm on Saturday 15 August. The exhibition is expected to run at the museum well beyond Heritage Week, so visitors who cannot attend the opening can see it on a later visit.
The museum is already one of the stronger regional heritage venues in Ulster. The permanent collection includes a WW1 Trench Experience - described as the largest outdoor replica trench open to the public in Ireland and the UK - so the Courageous Men exhibition slots into a site that already treats the First World War with real depth. Together they make for a full afternoon.
Cavan County Museum sits on Virginia Road in Ballyjamesduff, south Co. Cavan. The town is roughly 90 minutes from Dublin via the M3/N3 (Kells and Virginia are the exit points to watch for). From Cavan town it is about 20 minutes south on the R195. Free car parking is available on site.
Bus Éireann routes link Cavan town and Virginia to Ballyjamesduff, though frequency is limited - check timetables in advance if travelling without a car.
Ballyjamesduff is a quiet market town with a compact centre and the museum as its main draw, but the surrounding drumlin countryside repays a slow drive. 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.