This Halloween midterm break, the ghosts of Gaelic Ireland may be gracing the galleries of Galway City Museum as Dave Swift of Claíomh Living History, shines a light on Ireland’s Gaelic past.
The Keepers of the Gael exhibition at Galway City Museum explores Gaelic society and culture in Ireland between 1200 and 1600, a period of conflict bookended by the Anglo-Norman invasion and the Tudor conquest.
On Saturday October 28, Dave Swift will give a demonstration and discuss medieval warfare in Ireland. Examples of material culture (weapons, armour, clothing, and equipment ) will be shared along with stories of the Gaelic Irish as they struggled to maintain control of their ancestral lands and way of life.
The public are invited to drop into the museum Education Room between 11am and 1pm to view the array of weapons, armour and clothing on display. This will be followed by a FREE talk at 2pm, suitable for adults and ages 12+. Booking is essential for the talk – contact the museum on 091 532 460 or by email to [email protected].
Galway City Museum goes Westside for Winter Talks Series
As part of its outreach programme, Galway City Museum has curated a series of educational events, which will take place at Westside Resource Centre, on Seamus Quirke Road, throughout the darker months between October 2023 and February 2024.
The FREE series has been specially developed in response to the interests of the local community and covers a wide range of topics from the history of the Claddagh fishing village to St Gobnait and the folklore of bees.
The next event is taking place on Tuesday 7 November with Tiernan Gaffney, folklife curator with the National Museum of Ireland, giving an illustrated talk on ‘St Gobnait and the Folklore of the Bees’. St Gobnait, as legend has it, once lived on Inis Oírr (Inisheer ) and is the patron saint of bees and beekeeping. Attendees will learn about the miracles, places and objects associated with St Gobnait and the folk history of bees in everyday life.
Séamus Kirwan will give a talk ‘From Sheep to Shawl – traditional woolcraft in the West of Ireland’ on Tuesday 5 December at 11am. He will guide people through a living history of wool fibre and its uses, keeping alive the ancient crafts of wool spinning and handweaving. The public are invited to come along and enjoy hands-on experience of the craft.
Brendan McGowan, Education Officer at Galway City Museum, will give an illustrated talk on the topic of ‘Galway in Old Photos’ on Tuesday 9 January at 11am. He will share and discuss some late nineteenth and early twentieth century photographs of Galway from the Lawrence Collection at the National Library of Ireland and from Chetham’s Library in Manchester.
Dr Bernadette Cunningham, author of Medieval Irish Pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela (2018 ), will give a talk on ‘Medieval Pilgrims from Galway to Santiago de Compostela’ on Tuesday 6 February at 11am. The talk will feature the story of Galway’s own Margaret Athy along with other pilgrims from the West.
This series of events is FREE and the public are strongly advised to book in advance. Contact Westside Resource Centre on (091 ) 528325 for more information or to make a booking.
