This year, National Heritage Week takes place from the 15th to the 23rd of August.
For #HeritageWeek2026, the theme “Heritage at Risk” encourages us to reflect on endangered nature, disappearing traditions, and the stories that shape our communities.
Check out some of what’s on offer in Mayo below, and discover more at: National Heritage Week | The Heritage Council
Heritage Week at Wild Nephin National Park
Join Wild Nephin National Park this Heritage Week to explore this years theme: Heritage at Risk – our natural and built heritage throughout the park!
Activities taking place every day from Saturday 15th August through Sunday 23rd August.
- Sat 15th & Sun 16th – 2-3pm Wildflower Meadow Guided Walk
- Monday 17th – 11am Walk & Talk
- Irish Moiled Cattle – A Heritage Breed, North Mayo Heritage Centre, Enniscoe, Crossmolina
- Tuesday 18th – 11am – 12pm & 1pm-2pm Explore Pond Dipping
- Wednesday 19th – 1pm – 2:30pm Guided Wildflower Walk
- Thursday 20th – 1pm- 2:30pm Native Tree Workshop
- Saturday 22nd – 11am-1pm and 2pm – 3pm Claggan Mountain Coastal Trail Pop Up!
- Sunday 23rd- 10:30am Guided Walk Letterkeen/Srahrevagh Cottages – To book a place on this walk please email: [email protected]
All events are Free and will take place at Ballycroy Visitor Centre, Ballycroy Village, F28 RX77 unless otherwise stated.
For more information please email [email protected]
Keep an eye on their website www.wildnephinnationalpark.ie and social media for further updates.
Heritage Week in Ballinrobe
Historical Ballinrobe has organised a great lineup of events in Ballinrobe for Heritage Week.
See poster and follow them on Facebook for details.
Céide Fields FREE Family Heritage Day
Saturday 15th August
FREE admission for all – no booking required!
Kell’s Kitchen will also be open from 10:30am – 5pm.
Echoes of Aughagower Heritage Day
Don’t miss this fabulous event celebrating heritage and community in Aughagower!
Sunday 16th August
Aughagower Tidy Towns and Heritage Village group will be launching a special Heritage Project in Community centre (F28 HC81) at 3pm with special guest RTE news presenter Ray Kennedy, followed by Heritage event in Village from 4pm.
Free event. All welcome.
National Heritage Week with One Westport
Is SEAGRASS an important tool to climate action?
Could seagrass be one of our greatest allies in tackling climate change?
Here is your chance to learn more!
This year’s Heritage Week’s theme is heritage at risk so this is your opportunity to learn, hear and see more about seagrass.
Think of seagrass as a rain forest but in the ocean!
Seagrass is a bigger sequester of carbon than bogs so we should try and do more to protect and grow more!
It is planned to have 1. a presentation 2. a discussion on seagrass and 3. a site trip by boat, weather permitting
The presentation would be ideal for teachers who now have to devise programmes for STEM.
- Sunday 16th August @ 12.30 p.m.
- Mayo Sailing Club Rosmoney F28 CF95
- Booking Requirements: Free admission, but booking necessary for boat trip.
- Accessibility The presentation and discussion is easily accessible but there would be limited access to the boat. It is a small boat (RIB) to give people an opportunity to see the seagrass. Practical/sensible clothes and waterproof footwear are necessary.
- Places (8) limited for boat trip -to book a place email: [email protected]
Heritage Week Event: Traditional Craft Celebration – National Museum of Ireland, Turlough Park
Traditional Craft Celebration – Demonstrations
Step into the living traditions of Irish craft at the National Museum of Ireland – Turlough Park. As part of National Heritage Week, this special event brings together three exceptional craftspeople whose work connects past, present, and future. Through live demonstrations, visitors are invited to explore the skills, stories, and materials that form the foundation of rural Irish life. These crafts speak to sustainability, community, and identity, while also highlighting traditions that must be protected and passed on.
13:00 – 16:00 | Sunday | 16 August 2026, Adults and Children
Free. No booking required.
More information: HERITAGE WEEK: Traditional Craft Celebration | Country Life | National Museum of Ireland
Heritage Week in Ballyhaunis
Join organisers with Ballyhaunis Abbey Trust at the Friary for some Heritage week events to celebrate exciting projects underway at the Friary grounds!
Ballyhaunis Abbey Trust and Mayo County Council have secured Heritage Council and TVRS funding to provide a Masterplan for the Friary Site and a feasibility report for the Scouts Den site. As part of this work, they are hosting some special events during Heritage week!
RSVP: email [email protected] to book.
More information: 2026 Events | National Heritage Week 15th – 23rd August 2026
Windows into History Launch Exhibition – August 21, 7pm
All welcome to attend the launch of Windows Into History Exhibition, a Creative Communities Project supported by Mayo County Council in association with Creative Ireland. Members of the Genealogy and Heritage Group who meet every fortnight at the Ballyhaunis Community Hall have spent the last few months researching rural shops in places like Tulrahan, Brickens, Kiltybo, Duffy’s Cross and more. Come and revisit memories of these shops and hear oral histories of a time before department stores, retail parks and online shopping!
🎥 Film
🖼️ Photo display
📖 Memorability exhibition
Date: Friday, August 21, 2026
Time: 7pm
Venue: Ballyhaunis Community Hall.
All welcome to this free event.
For more details please email [email protected]
Tapestry Workshop – Solas Visitor Centre
Ag teacht suas i SOLAS Dé Luain an 17ú Lúnasa.
Ceardlann taipéise @4pm
@ 6pm Caint ar athchóiriú leac croise ar Inis Gé
le Sue Zajac & Kia lavelle
Coming up in SOLAS on Monday the 17th of August.
Tapestry workshop @4pm
@ 6pm Talk on the restoration of Cross slab stone on Inishkea by Sue Zajac & Kia Lavelle
‘Iorras ón gCartlann’- ‘Erris from the Archives’
‘Iorras ón gCartlann’- ‘Erris from the Archives’ is a free photo exhibition running from the 17th to the 22nd of August in Áras Inis Gluaire, Belmullet.
The exhibition features over 70 photos of people and places in Erris, from the 1930s to the 1980s, from the National Folklore Collection, as well as stories told by the people photographed.
Step back in time and experience Erris as it once looked, and the stories and memories shared by the people who lived there.
-No booking required
-Suitable for all ages
Organised by Erris and Achill Community Development Programme
Horse Logging Demonstration – North Mayo Heritage Centre
Join Woodlands of Ireland for a unique National Heritage Week 2026 event at Enniscoe House / North Mayo Heritage Centre, Co. Mayo, where experienced horse logger Alan Lynch will demonstrate the traditional practice of horse logging within an oak plantation.
Heritage Week talk at Castlebar Library – Swifts in Mayo & Around the World
Swift Conservation Ireland invite you to this Heritage Week talk at Castlebar Library in Co. Mayo – 6pm on Tuesday 18th August. They will be talking about Swifts in Mayo and around the World with some great videos and a chance to see posters that were submitted to the 8th International Swift Conference in May this year – from US, Turkey, Italy, Spain etc. All are Welcome and the event is free.
Explore the landscape and Heritage of the Partry Mountains
Join Joyce County and Western Lakes Geopark for a guided walk of the Tourmakeady Srah loop walk exploring local geology, landscape and history with Joyce Country and Western Lakes UNESCO Global Geopark geologist Dr Benjamin Thébaudeau. This moderate loop walk is 9.7km kilometres long using local roads and tracks higher up on the mountain slope. It explores the old village of Srah and offers spectacular views on Lough Mask, Lough Carra and beyond.
The walk will explore the local geology, landscape, nature and historical heritage including the Tourmakeady ambush and aftermath. Limited places available so please book in advance using the link. Free event open to all. Explore the landscape and Heritage of the Partry Mountains Tickets, Wednesday, August 19 • 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM | Eventbrite
Children can experience what it is like to be an archaeologist by learning how to excavate the remains of a Viking house.
Email [email protected] to book.
Paper Conservation Workshop
As part of #HeritageWeek 2026, The Clarke Museum of Irish History is organising a very special workshop with our incredibly talented document conservationist Benjamin van de Wetering.
Benjamin will be running a free paper conservation workshop here at the museum on Thursday 20th August 2026 from 11am (workshop will last approximately 90 minutes)
As you can imagine this is a unique opportunity to view the incredibly complex and meticulous craft of conservation by a true master of the art. In addition attendees can bring one paper based item of their own for assessment (newspaper, photographs, letters etc.)
Spaces are going to be strictly limited so if you wish to express your interest in a place on the workshop please call The Clarke Museum of Irish History on 096 73508, Tuesday to Saturday from 10am until 5pm.
Archaeology: A Journey Through Time
Castlebar Library will be welcoming Dr. Bernard Guinan on Thursday August 20 at 2pm for a talk on Archaeology. There will be a rare chance to get close up with real archaeological artefacts.
No booking required
Suitable for anybody 10 or over.
Tales of the Riverbank
Bonniconlon ICA will be holding an event during National Heritage Week on the grounds of the historic Oatlands House in Bonniconlon village this coming Thursday, the 20th of August.
All welcome but places are limited – more information available here https://fb.me/e/7p8YfXYBw
Heritage Week at Mulranny Arts Centre
The Brehon Laws – Ancient Irish Ways & Customs.
– A talk by Dr. Padraig Browne
– At the Oratory, Mulranny Arts, F28 F8N8
– Thursday, 20th August at 8pm
– Free Event.
The customary laws of Ancient Ireland, transmitted orally during the Common Celtic Period were later preserved in manuscripts after the coming of Christianity to Ireland in the 5th Century AD.
In medieval Ireland ( 400 – 1200 AD) the laws reflected the culture and traditions of the people. Surviving texts describe a system of justice that was innovative and progressive for its time.
More: The Brehon Laws | National Heritage Week 15th – 23rd August 2026
Millennia of shared heritage: following the Old Irish Goat from domestication to today using ancient DNA.
– A talk by Dr. Kevin Daly
– At the Oratory, Mulranny Arts, F28 F8N8
– Friday, 21st August 8pm – 9pm
– Free Event
“Millennia of shared heritage: following the Old Irish Goat from domestication to today using ancient DNA” talk by Dr. Kevin Daly, a geneticist and researcher who completed his PhD on goat domestication at the Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin. He now serves as an Associate Professor at University College Dublin studying the impact of domestication on small ruminants and their pathogens, and maintains an adjunct position at TCD.
Goats and other livestock are a major part of our food culture, our mythologies, our art, and our way of life. For the last 10,000 years, we have lived with these animals, relied on them for our survival, and shaped their genetic makeup – today, represented by many production and local breeds such as Old Irish Goat. This talk will discuss the history and pre-history of the domestic goat leading to the Old Irish Goat, as understood by genetics and the ancient DNA.
More: Ancient DNA of the Old Irish goat | National Heritage Week 15th – 23rd August 2026
The Village Shops – Louisburgh
The Village Shops project was set up to focus on the significance and extent of the small shops, artisan workshops, bartering trade and Meitheal practices in Irish rural communities circa 1900-1980, with specific reference to Louisburgh locality, particularly the full parish of Kilgeever.
To celebrate The Village Shops / An Siopa Áitúil Project, Louisburgh & Killeen Heritage will be hosting an event open to all.
Date: Friday 21stAugust
Time: 19:30 – 20:30
Venue: Louisburgh Town Hall, Louisburgh, Co Mayo
This project is funded by the Sunflower Charitable Foundation and coordinated by Killeen Community Council in collaboration with Louisburgh Killeen Heritage, Louisburgh Community Futures, Louisburgh Tidy Towns and Climate Action Louisburgh Locality (CALL).
For more information on the project, see:What is The Village Shops / An Siopa Áitúil Project | An Siopa Áitúil-The Village Shop | Louisburgh Killeen Heritage
River Mosaic Workshop
To celebrate this years Water Heritage Day, join CALL: Climate Action Louisburgh Locality for a fun and creative Bunowen inspired Roman Mosaic Workshop led by artist Annaliese Brown!
Friday 21st August, 11am – 1:30pm
Books at One Louisburgh
Dive into the world of mosaics as you learn to craft beautiful river-inspired designs using paper and card. To inspire your designs you will first be brought across the road on a short tour of the Bunowen river, where river experts will teach you about the tiny creatures under the water which can tell us about how clean our rivers are.
Perfect for all skill levels, this hands-on session is a great way to unwind, learn about the ecology of our rivers, and create something truly unique. Places are very limited so please register and do let them know if you can’t make it so they can fill the spots.
Register here: River Mosaic Workshop with Annaliese Brown Tickets, Friday 21 August • 11 AM – 1:30 PM | Eventbrite
Foundations of a Friary
A one-day symposium exploring the founding and pre-reformation history of the Augustinian Friary (St. Mary’s Abbey), Ballyhaunis, with four guest speakers.
It is the first in a series of annual symposia which collectively will uncover and share the rich history and legacy of this unique foundation.
This event will take place on Saturday, 22nd August 2026 from 9.30am-4.00pm.
The Friary Ballyhaunis
Light lunch included 12.30pm-1.30pm.
Tickets: €20 on Eventbrite and on the Door.
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/foundations-of-a-friary-tickets-1995108036845
Native Seed Saving Workshop
Saturday 22nd August
Cong Community Centre
The Achill Currach Walk and Talk
To celebrate Water Heritage Day on Saturday 22nd August, Féile Dú Éige will host “The Achill Currach Walk and Talk” at 12pm in the Dooega Boat Yard.
This will consist of a gentle one hour guided walk by local fisherman Denis McCarthy around historic parts of Dooega village followed by an Achill currach and various fishing paraphernalia display in the boat yard.
The event will finish with light refreshments and an informal Q&A session.
All very welcome!!
Saturday August 22nd from 10am-4pm at Moore Hall Co. Mayo
Attymass Community Centre
Sunday, 23rd August
2.00pm – 5.30pm Free Admission
Celebrate Heritage Week with Leave No Trace Ireland!
Croagh Patrick Walk & TalkTime: 11:00am – 1:00pm
Location: Foot of Croagh Patrick, Co. Mayo
Cost: Free
Shrule Heritage Day
Shrule Community Partnership invites you to Shrule’s Heritage Day event.
Sunday 23rd August
Starts at 12pm
Shrule School Hall
All are welcome.
Celebrate Water Heritage Day with Circus250!
Clowns. Clean beaches. Circus.
Sounds like a pretty great afternoon to us!
Circus250 are delighted to be celebrating Water Heritage Day with an afternoon of fun, laughter and a little bit of looking after the place we all love.
Sunday 23rd August
Join them on beautiful Keel Beach at 12pm for a clown-led beach clean, before heading to Keel Community Hall for Juanita’s Big Problem – a hilarious circus show that explores plastic pollution and how you can help protect our oceans.
Come and celebrate our coastline, help keep it beautiful and enjoy a brilliant afternoon with the whole family.
Check the poster for all the details, they’d love to see you there! 
