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heritage · Saturday 12 September 2026 · 10:00am 
Frame loom weaving workshop
At North Mayo Heritage Centre · Enniscoe, Castlehill, Crossmolina, Co. Mayo
At North Mayo Heritage Centre · Enniscoe, Castlehill, Crossmolina, Co. Mayo
A free full-day weaving workshop at one of north Mayo’s most atmospheric heritage sites - this is a rare chance to leave with a handmade textile you actually created yourself. Frame loom weaving is one of the oldest textile traditions in Ireland, and this workshop strips it back to the basics: you build up a woven piece row by row, choosing colours and patterns as you go. It suits complete beginners as much as anyone with a passing interest in textile crafts, and the setting at Enniscoe makes a good day of it whether you live locally or are passing through Mayo.
The workshop runs from 10:00am to 4:00pm - a genuine full day, not a taster session. A frame loom is a simple, portable wooden frame strung with vertical threads (the warp); you then weave horizontal threads (the weft) over and under to build up a pattern. It requires no prior experience and no special hand skills - the process is methodical and absorbing, which is much of the point. By the end of the day you will have completed a woven artwork to take home.
The North Mayo Heritage Centre runs this as part of its broader programme of traditional craft workshops for adults. The centre is based on the grounds of Enniscoe House, a Georgian estate that has been in the same family since the 1790s, and the heritage centre itself operates as a community charitable organisation, blending genealogy research, organic garden produce, outdoor trails and hands-on craft education. All materials are provided, so you turn up and get started.
Crossmolina sits on the R315, about 10km north-west of Ballina, on the northern shore of Lough Conn. The centre is signposted from Crossmolina at Enniscoe, Castlehill - follow the R315 south towards Lahardane and look for the Enniscoe estate entrance. There is parking on site. Public transport options in this part of Mayo are limited; the nearest Bus Eireann services run to Ballina, from where you would need a car or a taxi for the final stretch.
Lough Conn is right on the doorstep - a large, quiet lake well known for brown trout fishing and walking, with the ruins of Errew Abbey sitting on a small peninsula to the south-east. Deel Castle and the Nephin Whiskey distillery at Lahardane are both within a short drive. There is more to see in Crossmolina and across Co. Mayo.
Heading to North Mayo Heritage Centre in Crossmolina? Mayo has plenty more to see. Read the Crossmolina area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.