Tender for Cavan museum trench revamp

Cavan County Council is seeking to appoint a suitably qualified firm to undertake rehabilitation works at its WWI Trench Exhibition at the Cavan County Museum.

Officially opened in August 2014, including sound and visual effects to enhance the experience, the World War 1 trench replica is the largest of its kind open to the public in Western Europe.

Built to the specifications and manuals of the Irish Guards and used by the Royal Irish Fusiliers at the Battle of the Somme 1916, the Cavan attraction is over 350m long and includes frontline communication and support trenches.

Over 6,000 sand bags were used in its construction, however, a portion of the exhibition had been closed to public since the pandemic hit over concerns about damage caused to certain portions within the site caused by exposure to the elements.

Last November Cavan County Council issued a tender for a 24-month contract looking to procure services - engineering, consultative engineering and construction services, civil engineering, structural engineering - to fix the WW1 Trench Exhibition.

The latest public contract advertised is for construction works including preparation, excavating and earthmoving works, and trench digging.

A spokesperson for the local authority previously stated that the planned rehabilitation of the exhibition is so to ensure it “continues to be an accessible visitor attraction at the museum into the future”.

It is likely the work will be phased so the exhibition can still remain open as much as possible while work is being carried out.