Museums and Exhibitions in Co. Galway
5 places
1.Glengowla Mines
Ireland's only show mine with sheepdog demos
Connemara's only show mine — a family-run 19th-century silver and lead mine paired with a working sheep farm, where you go underground, pan for gold, and watch sheepdogs in action.
- Highlights
- Ireland's only show mine
- Rare octahedral fluorite and quartz crystals
- Working seismograph on the National Seismic Network
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
2.Irish Workhouse Centre
All seven original workhouse buildings intact
Ireland's most complete authentic workhouse — all seven original buildings intact on an 8-acre site in Portumna. A powerful guided tour reveals the harsh reality of life for the destitute poor from the 1840s to the 1920s.
- Highlights
- All seven original workhouse buildings intact — unique in Ireland
- Enter through the actual waiting room used by those seeking admission
- Bog oak famine sculptures by Kieran Tuohy
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
3.Ionad Cultúrtha an Phiarsaigh, Conamara
a 1916 Rising leader's cottage, preserved since 1915
A modern visitor centre in the heart of the Connemara Gaeltacht telling the story of Patrick Pearse, writer and 1916 Rising leader, and the landscape, language and culture that inspired him — with his summer cottage a short bog-side stroll away.
- Highlights
- Pearse's summer cottage preserved as he left it in 1915
- Interactive exhibition on Connemara language, landscape and culture
- Scenic looped walk across the bog
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Wheelchair access
4.Galway City Museum
free museum behind the Spanish Arch with three floors of Irish history
A free, modern museum on the banks of the River Corrib, right behind the iconic Spanish Arch, telling Galway's story from prehistoric stone forts to the 1916 Rising through engaging displays and a rooftop view.
- Highlights
- Free admission, no booking needed
- Three floors of engaging exhibitions
- Full-sized Galway Hooker boat on display
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access
5.Roundstone Music & Crafts / Malachy Kearns
Ireland's master bodhrán maker's workshop
The studio and shop of Malachy Kearns — Ireland's master bodhrán maker — tucked inside a converted Franciscan monastery in the heart of Roundstone, Connemara. He has handcrafted every bodhrán used by Riverdance for 25 years, and visitors can watch him at work, try a drum, and meet the man himself.
- Highlights
- Hand-crafted goatskin bodhráns made on site since 1978
- Maker of all Riverdance bodhráns for 25 years
- Set inside a converted Franciscan monastery
- Facilities
- Good for kids · Restrooms · Wheelchair access