Ballyshannon and District Museum

Ballyshannon, County Donegal, has long been regarded as Irelands oldest town and the museum has artefacts and memorabilia stretching back from the recent past to 10,000 BC. The museum features many aspects of the local area and covers such topics as the railways, the Erne River detailing its history as one of Europe's richest salmon rivers to the building of the hydro-electric Dam and its effects. There is a military room detailing Ballyshannon's extremely strategic location and its long association with military life from earliest times through to the Battle of Ballyshannon in 1597, to World War 1 and its local connections, along with information on the famous WW2 Donegal Air Corridor. The museum also contains memorabilia and pictures covering a vast array of subjects such as art, music, sport, crafts, fishing and local media. Visit the reconstruction of the local workhouse during famine times which features the story of the local orphan girls transported to Australia during those terrible times. Guided tours of the museum are available free and a guided tour of historic Ballyshannon is also available for a small fee. During the year, different specialised exhibitions take place to coincide with local events. The museum is a community based not for profit project and is staffed entirely by local volunteers.