Farm Museums
Take an imaginative trip into a by-gone era and try to envisage how craftsmen plied their trade when farming life depended on horse drawn machinery and hand-made materials. An educational stroll around the museums will leave you with a sense of wonder and respect for a time of hard work and worth-while craftsmanship. This impressive collection is one of the largest in Ireland.
The Barn Museum:
The large two storey barn, at the centre of a working hill-farm, exhibits implements and tools spanning 200 years of local farming history. An extensive and informative presentation of prints and photographs dating back to the time of the Famine, are also on display. The ground floor contains a fine collection of horse-drawn implements, from ploughs and harrows to carts and traps.
Some excellent displays of farming tools as well as tools from the blacksmith’s, cartwright’s, thatcher’s and cooper’s trades are also presented.
The Bottle Museum:
The bottle museum was established in 1985 and holds a very large collection of antique 19th and early 20th century Irish bottles, jars and vessels, some of which were excavated on the farm.
The Old Farmhouse Museum:
Dating from the 16th century, the Old Farmhouse was a safe-house for Irish rebels, such as Michael Dwyer, in the 1798 rebellion. Genuine weapons, including pikes, are on display. The Farmhouse is fully restored with original furniture and utensils in the bedroom, dairy and kitchen. It was last lived in by the Seanchai (Story Teller) Tom O’Neill.