Museum of Country Life

In Castlebar, visit the Museum of Country Life. An open-plan building houses collections of domestic goods, once used as part of daily life from 1850 to 1950. Exhibits and a movie explain how Irish people made a living from the soil before the machine age.

The National Museum of Ireland - Country life is the latest addition to the National Museum of Ireland and is the first branch of the National Museum to be situated outside Dublin. The museum opened to the public in September 2001. The exhibitions portray the lives of ordinary people who lived in rural Ireland in the period 1850 – 1950. Emphasis is placed on the continuity of lifestyles, which were established for several hundred years and which lasted well into the 20th century.

The National Museum of Ireland - Country Life is home to the Irish Folklife Division. This Division is responsible for the care of the National Folklife Collection which comprises of over 50,000 objects. These collections reflect Irish traditional life, largely of a rural nature and include objects dealing with agriculture, fishing and hunting, clothing, architecture, vernacular furniture, trades and crafts, transport, sports and leisure and religion.