Cavan Museum Opens 9/11 Exhibition Honouring Hugh Smith and Ireland's Unbreakable Bond with New York
Cavan County Museum has opened a deeply personal exhibition to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, centred on the life and legacy of Hugh Smith, a Cavan-born carpenter who survived the collapse of the World Trade Center and spent years working on the recovery effort before his death in April 2025. The display, which opened on Thursday, features artefacts Smith bequeathed to the museum, including his hard hat, a cross fashioned from steel recovered at Ground Zero, and the keys to the World Trade Center itself.
Background
Hugh Smith was one of thousands of Irish-born workers who built their lives in New York City across the latter decades of the twentieth century. A skilled carpenter from County Cavan, he found work in the construction and maintenance trades that sustained so many of the Irish diaspora in the city, eventually becoming part of the team responsible for the upkeep of the World Trade Center complex. On the morning of September 11, 2001, he was at work in the towers when the attacks began, and he survived the collapse that killed nearly 3,000 people.
In the days, weeks, and months that followed, Smith remained at Ground Zero as part of the recovery effort, working alongside firefighters, police officers, and construction workers to retrieve the remains of those who had died and to begin the process of clearing the site. It was work that left a permanent mark on all who undertook it, and Smith spoke in later years about the weight of what he had witnessed and the sense of obligation he felt toward those who had not survived. He passed away in April 2025, having spent the final years of his life ensuring that his connection to that day — and to the people who died — would be preserved for future generations.
Before his death, Smith made arrangements to donate his most significant personal artefacts from September 11 to Cavan County Museum, recognising that the story they told belonged not just to him but to the broader Irish community that had shaped his life and values. The museum accepted the bequest and has now brought the collection to public display in time for the 25th anniversary.
Key Developments
The exhibition, which opened on Thursday, September 11, 2026, presents Smith's artefacts alongside contextual material about the Irish connection to the September 11 attacks and the recovery effort. His hard hat, worn during the months he spent at Ground Zero, is the centrepiece of the display — a battered, practical object that carries an enormous weight of human experience. The cross made from World Trade Center steel is a piece that Smith had fashioned as a personal memorial, and the keys to the World Trade Center represent his professional connection to the buildings before the attacks.
Museum staff have supplemented the Smith collection with broader material about the Irish victims of September 11, of whom at least 18 were Irish citizens, with seven born on the island of Ireland. The exhibition acknowledges the role of the Irish diaspora in New York's emergency services — the FDNY and NYPD both had significant Irish-heritage representation among those who died — and places Smith's story within that wider context of community and sacrifice.
RTÉ covered the opening of the exhibition as part of its 25th anniversary programming, bringing national attention to a story that might otherwise have remained a local tribute. Museum director Savina Donohoe described the collection as "a gift to the people of Cavan and to Ireland," noting that Smith had been determined to ensure the memory of what happened at Ground Zero would be kept alive in his home county.
Why It Matters
The 25th anniversary of September 11 carries particular resonance in Ireland, where the attacks had a profound impact on communities with deep ties to New York. Estimates suggest that up to one-third of the total victims had some degree of Irish heritage, reflecting the extraordinary integration of the Irish community into New York City's workforce and public services over generations. For County Cavan, which has historically sent significant numbers of emigrants to the United States, the story of Hugh Smith is both personal and representative — one man's experience that speaks to the experience of thousands.
The decision to preserve Smith's artefacts in a public museum rather than in private hands ensures that his story will be accessible to future generations who have no direct memory of the attacks. As the anniversary moves beyond living memory for younger people, exhibitions like this one become increasingly important as anchors for collective understanding. The cross made from Ground Zero steel, in particular, is an object of genuine historical significance — a physical connection to one of the defining events of the early twenty-first century, now permanently housed in the Irish midlands.
Local Impact
Cavan County Museum, based in Ballyjamesduff, draws visitors from across the county and beyond, and the 9/11 exhibition is expected to attract significant interest from the Irish-American community as well as from schools and community groups across Cavan and the surrounding counties. The museum has indicated that the exhibition will run through the end of 2026, with educational programming planned for secondary school groups. For the Cavan diaspora community in New York and across the United States, the opening of the exhibition represents a meaningful act of remembrance — confirmation that the county has not forgotten those who left and those who were lost.
What's Next
The museum will host a series of public talks and educational events in the coming weeks to accompany the exhibition, including a presentation on the broader Irish connection to September 11 and a discussion of the recovery effort at Ground Zero. The museum is also in contact with other Irish institutions that hold September 11-related material, with a view to potential future collaboration on a more comprehensive national exhibition. The 25th anniversary commemorations will continue across Ireland through the weekend, with events planned in Leitrim, Galway, and Dublin.
