michael davitt museum

My husband and I visited the Museum on the 12th of March last . We were welcomed and greeted by a very friendly staff and offered a cup of tea / coffee straight away .We watched an audio visual first and then were guided by a very informative staff around the Museum which has plenty of interesting artefacts based on the life , trals and achievements of Michael Davitt .It helped refresh my memory of Davitt and the Land League and I learned lots more .The Museum is located in an old Church and the remains of Michael Davitt are interred in the adjoining cemetery .

Wonderful visit. Staff extremely helpful. Treat group to tea. Guides were fanatically ķnowledge & gave freely of their time. Definitely the best museum I've visited. Well done. Definitely will be back

We received a truly Irish welcome to this delightful gem of a Museum. Our guide, Joe, was both informative and interested. The exhibits are well laid out, and in wonderful condition. It would be very easy to browse without a guide, but Joe added a truly personal touch as well as adding much information from a deep knowledge of the subject. We would recommend it t everyone. Nicole O'Sullivan Arnould

The staff were very friendly, helpful and very enthusiastic about the museum. Joe went above and beyond to explain the history about Michael Davitt and the ruins of the abbey. The museum is very well laid out and is very interesting for people who like Irish history. There was no charge apart from a voluntary contribution which you will no doubt give after having a great experience!

I learned so much and was treated to tea and biscuits. The gave me a personalised tour and grrat advice abouts things to see and do in the locality. The museum was very informative and informative, well worth stopping for.

We stopped by this museum in Straide, Foxford, Co. Mayo. I had heard of Michael Davitt, but didn't know much about him except he was one of the founders of the Land League, after visiting this museum I knew a lot more about the man. He had an amazing life and packed so much into his 60 years. The staff at the museum were all volunteers, and loved their subject - and it showed. We spent over an hour and a half there and it flew by. The museum is housed in an old church where Michael Davitt was baptised, and outside was the graveyard where he is buried. If you are in the area, don't hesitate to visit this museum, you won't be disappointed.

Was travelling to Ballina and i finally stopped the car to check out this place . Excellent experience and brought a tear to my eye to be reminded of the history of the peoples who came before us ..........

Joe does a great job presenting the Davitt Museum artifacts, which are many and various and interesting. Davitt is a great Irish hero and it is worth having a look at some of his wonderful work. Video presentation lasts around 15 minutes and is followed by a tour of the museum and church. Copper Beech pub next door is also nice and does food and has friendly service

Stopped off here on our way to the Museum of Country Life and very glad we did. Our guide Joe couldn't have been friendlier or more informative and amusing. The museum itself is full of interesting artifacts and the audiovisual presentation gave a good overview of the life of this most important figure in Irish history - a republican socialist who inspired the British Labour Party and Gandhi amongst many others. Joe also took us around the ruins of the Franciscan monastery and the graveyard containing the grave of Davitt and a particularly interesting grave of an unknown bard.Top marks all round for the museum and the staff. Entrance is free but the museum is dependent on contributions so give generously!Nár laga Dia sibh.

We really enjoyed the audio visual shown. After we were given a tour of the museum by our tour guide called Joe. He was very knowledgeable and knew his stuff. Our children found the tour very good and Michael Davitt was explained very well to us. I would recommend this museum to any history teacher across the country.

Stopped off at the Michael Davitt Museum last week and what a pleasant surprise! A really interesting museum; very professional displays, beautiful building, informative audio visual and extremely friendly and hospitable staff. A great place to stop off and learn some local history which had a national import in a friendly and informal manner. We visited with three young children (10. 8, 6 years old) and we all enjoyed our visit. The children enjoyed doing a crossword based on the information in the displays and actually left knowing some real details about the life of Michael Davitt. They enjoyed seeing his walking stick and his rifle! We enjoyed all the displays and the passionate enthusiasm of Joe, the curator! Take a moment and learn something about life in rural Ireland of the day. Easy parking and facilities available.

Great little museum, made all the better by staff being so personable and giving us an individual tour around exhibit and graveyard. Very interesting.

As a History student in Galway I travelled out to Castlebar to visit the museum and gain a basic knowledge of Michael Davitt and the Land League - I left with a rounded understanding of the man and his times and the desire to read more about him.The Museum is packed with Davitt's personal letters and artefacts alongside brilliant photographs from the time. The staff were very friendly and welcoming - especially Joe who's enthusiasm for the subject is infectious. He was ready and able to explain any queries and answer any questions.One of the greatest assets of the Museum is its location - the site itself is the old abbey in which Davitt was baptised, the field next to it was where he was born and the man himself is buried in the abbey graveyard just behind it. This helps to flesh out the history and make it tangible.I was able to grab lunch next door in a wonderful little pub - which is also full of Davitt memorabilia. Will definitely visit again when I'm ever out that way. Couldn't recommend it any more - a must see for lovers of Irish history and even those with just a passing interest.

From the clear and informative short film we were invited to watch at the start of our visit to the warm, genuine farewell we received from locals as we drove away from the museum, our visit was a treat. A staff member explained that there was no entry charge but that we could make a contribution on the way out. I'd rather expected a spotty history undergraduate going through the motions as he trotted out a spiel he'd recited a hundred times before. How wrong I was. A sophisticated, experienced middle-aged man (sorry to sound ageist!!!) brought us to the area where we watched the DVD - he even handed me the remote control, just in case I wanted to adjust the volume! We watched a very illustrative film that outlined the life of Michael Davitt - founder of the Land League - in a concise manner that placed him in context. After the film ended, our guide was most personable as he walked us to the start of the exhibition and proved to be a font of information - we'd picked up the important facts from the film, and the exhibition boards filled in a lot of the background colour but guide Joe has a gift for selecting a telling detail from Davitt's life or the social landscape of the time that makes history come alive. Rather charmingly, he kept saying, "I'll shut up now..." In all seriousness, I could have listened to him all day! In addition, when one of our party - an elderly lady - decided to sit down to take a breather and headed for the nearest chair, he walked over and asked if she was okay. He really was a star. Unfortunately, we were committed to an appointment in Ballina so we had to head away before we'd had time to fully inspect the exhibition but I'd love to make a return visit. (I didn't even visit Mr Davitt's grave - so I guess I have to go back, right?)If your Irish history is a little rusty, you need a little refresher course in why the Land League really mattered, and you're in that part of Mayo (it's not far from the main Dublin-Castlebar road, afaik) I'd heartily recommend it. It's not an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza but you'll learn something and you'll meet at least one extremely interesting and personable man.

Having first stumbled ourselves through two Abbeys for photos we were happily surprised to be greeted at the door by joe, a volunteer docent and font of information. Don't shy away and let them show you around and explain things. This was the best part of our day. We got numerous photographs and memories of unique place and people. Move this to the top of your list, you'll be glad you did.