The first official recognition by Cavan County Council of the Great War took place on the 1^st July 2012 to commemorate the first day of the Battle of the Somme. 

As part of the lead up to the ceremony Cavan County Council prepared a roll of Honour which tracked down 652 Cavan men who died ( of an estimated 1000).

The Council erected in the town a WW1 memorial statue. To mark the occasion, representatives from the US ,UK, France, Canada, Austria and Germany embassies (both Military and Political) attended the event. The Irish Army band provided the entertainment which was attended by over 700 people. Relatives of the fallen laid wreaths at the statue. All political parties were represented at the event.
 

The centenary of the war falls on the 4^th August ( when Britain declared war) so to mark the occasion we will have a repeat of the above ceremony at the Cavan WW1 memorial with a walk led by the Irish Army Band from the Town Hall to the Statue.
 
·       4^th August – 21^st August Cavan Rianta Art workshops and exhibitions featuring workshops exploring the effect of war on art and specific works of war art.
 
·       Opening of Ireland’s first permanent outdoor WW1 trench at Castlesaunderson Church reproduced using information from the Cheshire Military museum and the Imperial War Museum.

The trench will be constructed as part of a cross border Peace III funded event organised between Cavan men’s sheds , Wattle Bridge Loyal Orange Lodge and the Colonel Castlesaunderson  Pipe memorial Band
 
·       4^th & 5^th August; Walking the line Play by Dermot Bulger celebrating the life of Francis Ledwidge killed in 1917 plus talks by Dermot and others in relation to WW1 poetry
 
·       6^th & 7^th August The Great War Roadshow in the Cavan Town hall and Cavan Town Library featuring talks by Myles Dungan, Turtle Bunbury, Dr. Ciaran Wallace and John O’Keefe followed by songs and poetry from the period. 

·       On the 8^th & 9^th August Cavan hosts the Taste of Cavan festival which is a celebration of Cavan food and food producers, the line up includes celebrity chefs Neven Maguire, Rachel Allen and Richard Corrigan . This festival is expected in 2014 to attract over 30,000 visitors and as part of the event we will be incorporating the following events and workshops etc.
 
·       8^th & 9^th August; WW1 Ireland ; Britain’s larder: exhibition of steam engines and the start of the intensification of Agriculture in Cavan and surrounding counties. Series of talks, workshops and debates regarding intensive agriculture versus organic; the importance of Intensive agriculture to the Cavan economy.
 
·       8^th & 9^th August; Exhibition of Militaria and Military Equipment used in WW1 including 2 cannons captured on the Somme. Re-enactments by actors.
 
·       8^th & 9^th August; Food 100 years on demonstration by the ICA of traditional food stuffs and baking
 
·       8^th & 9^th August Exhibition of General Nugent WW1 memorabilia by Cavan County Museum with the help of the Royal Irish Fusiliers regimental museum ( Armagh)
 
·        Special Peace III commissioned “ A Cavan Tommy” ; life in the trenches; Audio visual