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markets · Sunday 30 August 2026 · 9:00am 
Oughterard Agricultural & Horticultural Show
At Corribdale Park & Community Centre · Oughterard, Co. Galway
At Corribdale Park & Community Centre · Oughterard, Co. Galway
The Oughterard Agricultural & Horticultural Show is one of the most established country shows in the west of Ireland - 2026 marks its 61st year, held every last Sunday in August at Corribdale Park on the edge of Connemara. It is free to attend, genuinely broad in what it covers, and draws visitors and competitors from across the province and beyond, including entries from Great Britain and Northern Ireland in recent years. If you want a taste of rural Connemara life at its most unhurried and genuine, this is a good day to come.
The show spans livestock, ponies, dogs, domestic arts, vintage machinery and crafts - all running across Corribdale Park and the adjacent Community Centre. The horse and pony section is a draw in itself: past years have hosted All Ireland championship finals for Irish Draught foals, attracting serious competitors from across the country. Cattle, sheep, and sheepdog classes run alongside, and there is a dog competition for those with pets to enter.
Inside, the domestic arts section covers baking, preserves, floristry and similar, and there are art and craft exhibits and competitions open to all skill levels. Vintage tractor and machinery displays tend to pull a crowd of their own. The show has expanded a Mad Hatters Tea Party competition in recent years, adding a family-friendly novelty alongside the more traditional classes. Children’s entertainment runs through the day, and the pace is relaxed enough to move between the rings at your leisure.
Schedules and entry forms are usually published in July on the show website at oughterardshow.ie, or contact the Show Society on 086 151 7289.
Oughterard sits about 27 kilometres west of Galway city on the N59, roughly 25 minutes by car. It is the last main town before the road opens into the Connemara landscape proper. Driving is the most practical option; Corribdale Park is signposted from the town centre. Bus Éireann operates services from Galway Ceannt Station to Oughterard on the Clifden route - check current timetables at buseireann.ie before travelling, as Sunday services run less frequently. Parking at the showground is the norm for this type of event; arrive early on a fine August Sunday and space tends to fill.
The town sits at the top of Lough Corrib and is a good base for walking, fishing, and getting into the Connemara hills. The lake shore is ten minutes on foot from the centre, and Aughnanure Castle - a 16th-century tower house - is worth a short detour. There is more to see in Oughterard and across Co. Galway.
Heading to Corribdale Park & Community Centre in Oughterard? Galway has plenty more to see. Read the Oughterard area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.