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seasonal · Saturday 15 August 2026 · Various 
National Heritage Week - Guided Tour of Carlow County Museum
At Carlow County Museum · Town Hall, Carlow, Co. Carlow
At Carlow County Museum · Town Hall, Carlow, Co. Carlow
Every August, National Heritage Week gives people a free pass to step properly inside places they may have walked past a hundred times. At Carlow County Museum, the week brings guided tours that move through four galleries of the county’s past, with a staff member on hand to give the kind of context you won’t find on a label. It suits anyone with a passing interest in Irish history - families included - and the fact that it costs nothing makes it an easy addition to a day in Carlow town.
The museum holds over 5,000 artefacts spanning Carlow’s industrial, social and architectural story. During Heritage Week, guided tours give a structured walk through the galleries rather than a self-directed wander. Among the standout pieces you’ll encounter: the original gallows trapdoor from Carlow Gaol; a six-metre carved pulpit salvaged from Carlow Cathedral; items from the old Sugar Factory that once dominated the local economy; the smoking pipe of Captain Myles Keogh, a Carlow-born soldier who died at the Battle of Little Big Horn; the death mask of Kevin Barry, the eighteen-year-old executed during the War of Independence; and objects relating to John Tyndall, the Carlow scientist who first explained the greenhouse effect. A 340 million-year-old fossilised squid rounds things out on the older end of the timeline. Tours are led by museum staff and run across the full Heritage Week period, 15 to 23 August. Specific tour times are confirmed closer to the date - check heritageweek.ie or carlow.ie for the schedule as it’s released.
Carlow town sits about 80 km south-west of Dublin and is straightforward to reach. By road, take the M7 to the M9 south and follow signs for Carlow; the drive takes roughly 75 minutes from the city. Bus Eireann runs regular services from Dublin Busaras and from Waterford, Kilkenny and Wexford; the town’s bus stop is a short walk from the Town Hall. There is pay parking in the town centre, with options on Potato Market and along the quays.
The museum sits in the Town Hall on Centaur Street, a short walk from the River Barrow and the remains of Carlow Castle. The town has a compact centre with good independent cafes and a Saturday market worth timing a visit around. There is more to see in Carlow and across Co. Carlow.
Heading to Carlow County Museum in Carlow? Carlow has plenty more to see. Read the Carlow area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.