Cavan County Museum is home to the largest outdoor replica trench in Ireland and the UK, which has quickly become a popular attraction for visitors. Open to the public since August 2014, the trench offers an immersive educational experience with sound and visual effects to transport visitors back to life in the trenches during World War 1.

Built to the specifications and manuals of the Irish Guards, and used by the Royal Irish Fusiliers at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, the trench stretches over 350m and includes frontline, communication, and support trenches. The construction of the trench required over 6,000 sandbags and is located at the back of the museum as part of a wider WW1 exhibition.

In the past two years, certain trenches have become unsafe to enter due to small sections collapsing. Two of the affected sections have been permanently closed until rehabilitation work can be done to ensure long-term safety.

O’Connor Sutton Cronin has been appointed by Cavan County Council to provide a design solution that will allow continuous use of the WW1 trenches in the future.

Works Include:
> Assess the existing condition of the trench layout.
> Design a system to enable the attraction to be open on a permanent long-term basis.
> Complete a set of tender documents and procure a contractor to implement the Design.
> Supervise Construction of same works & handover.