Kids Go Free: Summer Family Fun at Kerry County Museum
Did you know that Kerry County Museum is open seven days a week in June, July and August? Our doors open at 9:30am daily and we are open until 5:30pm (last admission is at 4.15pm). The admission fee is €5 for adults and children visiting with their families go free. We have seven exhibition rooms, covering different aspects of Kerry’s rich history and archaeology from the first settlers in the Stone Age to Tom Crean and the Rose of Tralee. Visits are self-guided with a floorplan and exhibition information leaflet and we do have a free activity booklet for children with fun activities throughout. If you haven’t visited the Museum before make sure to leave enough time for our “Medieval Experience”, a reconstructed medieval street complete with the sounds and smells. Wheelchair and pushchair access is via the Tralee Tourist Information Office (their entrance faces the playground in the Town Park) and we do have a lift making all exhibitions easily accessible. The accessible toilet and baby changing facilities are also best reached via the Tourist Office.
Exciting news – Dig Tralee Season 3 underway
Dig Tralee is a major community archaeology project that explores Knockanacuig, a prehistoric monument complex on the outskirts of Tralee, County Kerry. The aim of the project is to explore this ancient monument and uncover the role it might have played in the origins of Tralee. Dig Tralee began in 2022 with a two-week excavation, continued on a larger scale in 2023 and season 3 is now underway throughout July 2024. The Dig Tralee Community Archaeology Project is funded through the Heritage Council’s County Heritage Grants Scheme, Creative Ireland and Kerry County Council.
Knockanacuig was once an enclosure of significant size and height that commanded views of the surrounding area for miles around. The excavations showed that Knockanacuig had been in continuous use since the Stone Age and could well be the site where the town of Tralee began, long before the Normans arrived and established an urban centre. But now, as the modern town encroaches on all sides, the landscape context in which the monument site is being lost bit by bit. Dig Tralee provides a unique opportunity to find out more about the site, to reinstate its prominence in the history of the town, and to connect people today with the town’s earliest inhabitants thousands of years ago.
Watch our short film about season 1: Click on Dig Tralee 2022 (11 minutes)
Watch our short film about season 2: Click on Dig Tralee 2023 (15 minutes)
Park Festival 29 & 30 June: Free Entry to the museum and hands-on living history in the Medieval Experience
Tralee’s annual Féile na mBláth Park Festival returns from Friday 28 to Sunday 30 June to Tralee Town Park & Kerry County Museum. Thanks to Kerry County Council – Tralee Municipal District, entry to the festival and its events will once again be 100% free. This year’s festival sees the return of the brilliant Waterford-based Viking re-enactment group Déise Medieval with over thirty warriors and reenactors moving into their tented camp in the Town Park. All participants will dress, live and work in an authentic recreation of Viking life. Cooking is done over the open fire and demonstrations, including mock battles, will take place throughout the weekend. You can also visit Kerry County Museum free of charge on Saturday and Sunday and enjoy a self-guided tour of all exhibitions, as well as family-friendly, hands-on history experiences in the ‘Medieval Experience’, a recreation of Tralee in the year 1450 complete with the sounds and smells. Living History group ‘The Last Prince’ are back by popular demand and if you ever wanted to know what life was like in Gaelic Medieval Ireland then this event is for you. Entrance to the Museum will be via the front as usual but also via the Tourist Information Office. If you have a buggy or wheelchair or would only like to see the medieval re-enactment in the museum, then we recommend using the Tourist Information Entrance for ease of access. Further information on all other events events can be seen on www.festivaltralee.com or the Festivals Facebook Page @parkfestivaltralee
Photo By : Domnick Walsh © Eye Focus LTD .
Curranes NS – winner of the Heritage Hunters Award 2024
Huge congratulations all Kerry primary schools who were shortlisted for our Heritage Hunters Award 2024, especially this year’s winners: Curranes National School. Their comprehensive local heritage project on ‘The Castle of the Island’ received great praise from the adjudicators. Blennerville NS’s project ‘Our Hero Tom Crean’ was awarded a fabulous second place, while Spa NS scooped up third place with their architectural heritage project on ‘Lassinagh House’.
Four Kerry schools were highly commended by adjudicators Isabel Bennett (Archaeologist & council member of the Kerry Archaeological & Historical Society), Maria Walsh (Heritage in Schools Programme Manager & Child Protection Officer at the Heritage Council of Ireland) and Terry O’Sullivan (Director of the Education Support Centre Tralee): St Teresa’s NS, Kilflynn (‘Tobar Flainn Holy Well’), whose project is currently on public display at Kerry County Museum; St John’s Parochial School Tralee (‘St John’s church & graveyard’); Scoil Mhuire Killorglin (‘O’Sullivan’s bakery’) and Castledrum NS (‘Our local history’).
Watch our Heritage Hunters Award 2024 video showcasing all seven local heritage projects (7mins):
Heritage Hunters is an award-winning local heritage competition open to all Kerry primary schools. Kerry County Museum has teamed up with Radio Kerry, the Kerry Archaeological & Historical Society, Kerry County Council, the Education Centre Tralee and the Heritage in Schools Programme by the Heritage Council of Ireland for this exciting opportunity to showcase all the amazing heritage projects that are underway in primary schools across Kerry.
If you are a teacher and would like to participate in Heritage Hunters 2025, please send an email to education@kerrymuseum.ie. An open call for participation will be issued in September 2024 via the Education Support Centre Tralee.
You can listen to some of our Heritage Hunter podcasts by Radio Kerry via by clicking on this link https://www.radiokerry.ie/podcasts/heritage-hunters-podcast/ or by scanning the QR code below:
Radio Kerry Heritage Hunters podcasts with Kerry primary schools
By Kerry County Museum|June 20th, 2024
New Exhibition: “Embracing Our Heritage: A celebration of Irish Traveller Identity”
Kerry County Museum is delighted to launch a temporary exhibition “Embracing Our Heritage: A Celebration of Irish Traveller Identity” as part of Traveller Pride Week 2024. This temporary exhibition & short film is the result of a collaborative community partnership lead by the Kerry Travellers Health and Community Development Project. “Embracing Our Heritage” provides an opportunity for families, both Traveller and Settled, to learn more about the traditions, values and culture of the Traveller community in County Kerry. It aims to foster mutual understanding and appreciation of Traveller culture and heritage. The exhibition will be open with free entry to the public and will run until the end of June 2024. Kerry County Museum is delighted that one of the scale models depicting Puck Fair in the 1960s will go on permanent display in the Main Museum Gallery.
“Embracing Our Heritage” is the highlight of this year’s Traveller Pride Week in County Kerry and was launched by renowned author and Traveller Rights’ activist Oein DeBhairduin, who works with the National Museum of Ireland as Curator for Traveller #Mincéirí Culture. On display are a collection of photographs of Travellers at Puck Fair from the Kennelly Archives, artisan tinsmith products and other traditional artisan crafts, two scale model traditional wagons, and a scale model Traveller camp set at Puck Fair alongside an assortment of other items traditionally used as part of the nomadic life of a Traveller family.
Brigid Quilligan, Project Manager at Kerry Travellers Project said “We are proud to be working in partnership with Kerry County Museum, bringing the rich traditions of Traveller Culture to a wider audience, and ensuring they can be appreciated into the future. We look forward to welcoming everyone to the launch of this special event”. Irish Travellers have a shared history, culture and language and are a distinct ethnic group that have been an integral part of Irish society for centuries. As recent laws have led to a decline in many of the old nomadic traditions practiced by Travellers, it is crucial to preserve and share Traveller heritage and culture for future generations.
Pictures of the exhibition launch on 30 May 2024 by Pauline Dennigan/Dennigan Photography
Celebrating St Brendan the Navigator 3 – 19 May
Saint Brendan the Navigator was born in Fenit, near Tralee around 500 AD. A wide range of community events in honour of Kerry’s seafaring patron saint will take place across the county from Friday 3 May until Sunday 19 May. From walks and talks, guided tours of Ardfert cathedral, art installations at Siamsa Tire, a film screening at Tralee library to arts and crafts workshops for children at Kerry County Museum, there is something for everyone to celebrate Brendan and his legacy. On his feastday, Thursday 16 May, a multitude of events are taking place in his native Fenit and across Kerry. Schools and families are encouraged to make and fly flags for Brendan. Kerry County Museum in conjunction with the Education Support Centre Tralee and the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society is hosting a webinar for primary schools across Ireland.
So who was St Brendan? We know that he founded a federation of monasteries in Ireland – Ardfert cathdral and Clonfert cathedral being his two major foundations – but he is most famous for his legendary voyage across the North Atlantic in a simple wooden boat. Without the help of navigational instruments, he may have reached America 500 years before the Vikings and 1000 years before Christopher Columbus. His story seems to describe the sheep and seabirds of the Faeroe Islands, the volcanoes of Iceland, the icebergs of Greenland and the fog surrounding Newfoundland. His travel adventures were written down in monasteries all over Europe and soon became a major medieval bestseller. To this day, St Brendan is the patron saint of Kerry as well as sailors, travellers and all seafaring people. He is even the patron saint of the U.S. Navy.
Events at a Glance:
By Kerry County Museum|May 3rd, 2024
In order to facilitate essential repairs and maintenance, Kerry County Museum’s Medieval Experience will be temporarily closed from Monday 8 April until Monday 22 April inclusive. All other exhibitions are open as usual. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and would like to thank you for your understanding.
Easter opening hours and family event programme
Kerry County Museum is open throughout the Easter bank holiday weekend and is offering a fun-filled programme of events for families. This includes family arts and crafts, our bunny trail in the Main Museum Gallery and Tom Crean Polar Room and drop-in workshops with Me and the Moon, where children can make their own creative Easter decorations. All activities are included in the museum admission fee. Family offer: adults €5, children go free. Please note that childrenmust be accompanied and supervised by an adult at all times.
Easter Museum Opening Hours:
Friday 29 March: 9:30am-5pm
Saturday 30 March: 9:30am-5pm
Sunday 31 March: 10am-5pm
Monday 1 April: 10am-5pm
(Last admission is at 4pm as we recommend a minimum of 60 minutes to see our exhibitions)
Happy St Patrick’s Day from all of us at Kerry County Museum. As every year, we are throwing our doors open on St Patrick’s Day and visitors can avail of free entry all day 10am until 5pm. All exhibitions are open and there are plenty of fun activities for all the family. We are especially delighted to welcome the talented young musicians of Oidreacht Music School this year who will perform at the museum at 2pm after the Tralee parade, which will start at the Rose Hotel at 12noon and finishes on Denny Street outside the Museum.
Museum Opening Hours:
Sat 16 March: 9:30am – 5pm
Sun 17 March: 10am -5pm FREE ENTRY ALL DAY
Mon 18 March: 10am – 5pm
Last admission is 45 minutes before closing at 4.15pm
Please see below details of the various St Patrick’s Day parades across the county (Source: Radio Kerry)
Number of parades planned in Kerry
5.3.2024 : Repro Free . Tralee is all set for this years St Patrick’s Day parade. Pictured at the launch in Tralee were Juke Healy (St Patrick) and stars Róisín Sugrue and Maiya Rivis McHugh, Mayor of Tralee Terry O’Brien , Eamon Cunningham Tralee Municipal District Officer and Mark Sullivan of the Rose Hotel Tralee.
Parades and celebrations galore are planned around Kerry to mark St Patrick’s Day.
The first parade gets underway in Dingle at 6 o’ clock tomorrow morning as the Fife and Drum band take to the street for their traditional dawn march from Ashmount.
Milltown’s parade will leave the Mid Kerry Co-op Mart at 10am and Gneeveguilla’s parade will leave the Sea Lodge at 10:30am.
Festivities will begin in Castlemaine at 11.15am and in Tarbert leaving from the fire station at 11.30am.
Lixnaw’s parade begins at 12pm from the community centre while festivities get underway in Glenbeigh/Glencar from around noon at the GAA grounds.
Tralee’s parade has a new route this year with participants leaving the Rose Hotel at 12 noon and traveling through the town via Mitchel’s Rd., Boherbee, Castle Street and finishing on Denny Street.Advertisement
Duagh’s parade starts at 12.30 while Dingle’s second St. Patrick’s day celebration begins at Ashmount Terrace at 12.45pm.
Listowel’s parade also begins at quarter to one from The Square.
Killorglin’s festivities commence at 1 from the Rowing Club on the Tralee Road.Advertisement
Sneem’s parade will leave Galvin’s Hardware at 1:30pm – that’s the same time as Causeway’s parade which leaves from An Tóchar Education Centre.
Castleisland’s parade also leaves at half one and there’ll be a Joe Dolan tribute show on the Main Street before the parade.
Killarney’s St Patrick’s Day Parade starts from Mission Road at 2pm; Dan Kelleher, who spent almost 60 years working in the National Park, is grand marshal.Advertisement
Abbeydorney’s parade also leaves at 2 from the GAA grounds.
Cahersiveen’s parade begins at 2pm; floats start from Fertha Drive and walkers begin from Aldi to the Carnegie Building, followed by dancing at the crossroads.
Ballybunion and Castlegregory’s festivities begin at 3pm with a 3.30pm starting time for Ballyheigue.
There’s a 4pm start for Kilflynn, Waterville and Abbeyfeale in West Limerick.
Get a FREE visit by a Heritage in schools expert
Kerry County Museum is delighted to announce that all Kerry primary schools participating in our annual local heritage competition “Heritage Hunters” can avail of a free visit by a heritage education expert from the Heritage in Schools programme. The Heritage in Schools Scheme by the Heritage Council of Ireland provides a panel of Heritage Specialists who visit primary schools to help children and their teachers learn about and appreciate their local heritage. We would like to thank Heritage in School co-ordinator Maria Walsh for this generous offer and continuous support. If you are participating in Heritage Hunters 2024 and would like to avail of your free heritage expert visit, please put “Kerry Heritage Hunters” in the reference line. More information on how to book can be found here: https://www.heritageinschools.ie/heritage-expert/booking-guidelines
Make your own podcast with Radio Kerry
Kerry County Museum is also delighted to announce that to date Radio Kerry has broadcast ten Heritage Hunters school projects to date and more are in the making! Heritage Hunters is a creative collaboration of Radio Kerry, the Kerry Archaeological & Historical Society, Kerry County Museum and Kerry County Council. This primary school initiative is kindly supported by the Heritage Council of Ireland and The Education Support Centre Tralee. You can listen to these award-winning podcast series on the Radio Kerry website: https://www.radiokerry.ie/podcasts/heritage-hunters-podcast/
Heritage Hunter podcasts to date (click and listen)
Episode 1: Oyster Fishing | Spa National School (2023)
Episode 2: Blennerville Windmill | Blennerville National School (2023)
Episode 3: Ghost Train | Glenbeigh National School (2023)
Episode 4: Presentation Order | Presentation Primary School Tralee (2023)
Episode 5: Fenit NS | Little Samphire Lighthouse (2023)
Episode 6: Tarbert NS | The History Tarbert Bridewell (2023)
Episode 7: Knocknagoshel NS | The History of Knocknagoshel (2023)
Episode 8: Scoil Íde NS | The Life of Con Houlihan (2023)
Episode 9: Glenderry NS | St. Daithleann’s Well (2024)
Episode 10: Lyreacrompane NS | Lyreacrompane in the 1800s (2024)
Contact details:
Kerry County Museum
Ashe Memorial Hall
Denny Street, Tralee
Co Kerry, Ireland
V92CXE3
066 712 7777
info@kerrymuseum.ie