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arts · Friday 10 July 2026 · Various 
Donegal County Museum - Earagail Arts Festival Visual Arts Exhibition
At Donegal County Museum · High Road, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
At Donegal County Museum · High Road, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
The Donegal County Museum is marking a genuine centenary this summer: a hundred years since American painter Rockwell Kent arrived in remote Glenlough valley, rented a tumbledown cowshed, and spent four months producing 36 paintings of the wild Gaeltacht landscape. Kent was among the most celebrated US artists of his era, known for stark luminous work made in Greenland, Newfoundland, and Tierra del Fuego. His Donegal paintings are less well known than they deserve, and this centenary exhibition - opening on the first day of the Earagail Arts Festival - is a chance to see that chapter properly told.
Rockwell Kent - An American Artist in Donegal traces his time in the county through paintings and the story behind them: the isolation he sought, the friendships he formed with neighbours, and what he carried back to America. The museum also holds its permanent collection telling Donegal’s story from the Stone Age to the twentieth century, so there is enough to fill a solid hour beyond the main show. The building - part of Letterkenny Workhouse, built in 1845 - adds its own quiet weight.
Letterkenny sits at the head of Lough Swilly, just off the N13/N14 routes connecting it to Derry (about 35 km east) and the rest of Donegal to the west. From Dublin, the drive is roughly 2 hours 45 minutes via the M1 and A5 through Derry. Bus Eireann and Feda O’Donnell coaches run regular services from Dublin, Galway, Sligo, and Derry. The museum is on the High Road, a short walk uphill from the main shopping street. On-street parking is available nearby; the town’s Port Road car parks are a few minutes’ walk away.
The Earagail Arts Festival runs across multiple venues in the town and county from 10 to 25 July - music, theatre, and visual arts all at once - so there is good reason to stay longer than an afternoon. There is more to see in Letterkenny and across Co. Donegal.
Heading to Donegal County Museum in Letterkenny? Donegal has plenty more to see. Read the Letterkenny area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.