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seasonal · Saturday 15 August 2026 · Various 
National Heritage Week in Galway 2026
At Multiple venues throughout Galway City and County · Galway City and County, Co. Galway
At Multiple venues throughout Galway City and County · Galway City and County, Co. Galway
Every August, National Heritage Week gives communities across Ireland an excuse to open doors that are usually shut, dust off archives, and think hard about what they risk losing. Galway throws itself into it with particular energy: across nine days in 2026, over 100 free events take place from the city centre out to Inishbofin, covering everything from medieval swordsmanship to seashore safaris. If you have any curiosity about where Ireland has come from - and where it might be heading - this is one of the most rewarding (and cheapest) weeks on the calendar.
The 2026 theme is Heritage at Risk - a deliberate prompt to look at what is actually in danger: historic buildings threatened by flooding and rising damp, traditional crafts nobody is learning any more, languages fading as communities shift. Events are designed around that question, so expect guided walks to sites that are not usually open to visitors, craft demonstrations in thatching and stone masonry, oral history recordings, and talks on Galway-specific subjects.
Confirmed highlights in the Galway programme include a medieval day at St. Nicholas Collegiate Church (Saturday 23rd August, 11:30-15:30) with sword play, calligraphy, medieval dance, lucet weaving and period food. A screening of County Galway: A History on Super8 draws on family film archives gathered from six Galway families, documenting life in the county from the 1950s through the 1980s. A guided tour of Raford House - a building with roots going back to around 1170, and exceptional original joinery, chimneypieces and decorative plasterwork still intact - gives rare access to one of the county’s most architecturally significant old houses.
The full programme is published on the Heritage Council’s website, and events fill up quickly. Booking ahead for the more hands-on workshops is sensible.
Galway city is roughly two and a half hours by road from Dublin on the M6, and about an hour from Limerick on the M18. Bus Éireann runs frequent express services from Dublin Busáras, and Irish Rail operates several Galway-Dublin trains daily from Ceannt Station. Within the city, most of the city centre heritage sites are walkable from each other. For events out in the county - Ballinasloe, Connemara, or Inishbofin - you will need a car or to check local bus timetables. Parking in Galway city is manageable outside peak afternoon hours, with pay-and-display on the quays and a multi-storey at Eyre Square.
Heritage Week falls during the height of summer, so the city is at its liveliest - the Latin Quarter, the Long Walk, and the Spanish Arch are all worth an hour of anyone’s time. There is more to see in Galway and across Co. Galway.
Heading to Multiple venues throughout Galway City and County in Galway? Galway has plenty more to see. Read the Galway area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.