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Region

Connacht

Galway, the Aran Islands and the land of the Irish language.

2 museums
All museums ↓
📷 瑞丽江的河水 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Connacht is the west: Galway, Connemara, Mayo and Sligo, where Irish is still spoken in many villages.

Museums in Connacht

Look inside, then pay your admission straight to the museum.

The story of Connacht

Galway is a city of music, colourful shopfronts and festivals. Connemara is a land of lakes and mountains, and the Aran Islands keep stone forts and the Irish language. In Mayo, the Céide Fields are the oldest known field system in the world, and the National Museum's Country Life branch is near Castlebar. Sligo is the county of the poet W. B. Yeats.

  • c. 3700 BCthe Céide Fields are farmed
  • 1484Galway receives its royal charter

Connacht through time

The big moments, and where to see them today.

  1. 1593Grace O'Malley sails to London to meet Queen Elizabeth I.See it: Westport House

What to do in Connacht

  1. 01

    National Museum of Ireland – Country Life

    How people lived in rural Ireland.

    Turlough, Castlebar2 hours
  2. 02

    Galway City Museum →

    Galway's story by the Spanish Arch.

    Galway1 hour
Getting there

Getting to Connacht

From the airport to the city centre by public transport, then the trains and local lines to the museums.

Arriving by plane

DUB
Dublin AirportDublin · Kildare · Wicklow

Getting around Connacht

Lines and timetables change. Check the operator’s website before you travel.

On the map

Hidden story

A ring from a captive

The Claddagh ring was made by a fisherman far from home.

Read the storyClose

The legend says Richard Joyce, a fisherman from the Claddagh in Galway, was captured and sold as a slave in North Africa. There he learned to be a goldsmith and made a ring with two hands holding a crowned heart. When he was freed, he came home and gave it to the girl who had waited for him.