National Heritage Week 2026 in Mayo

National Heritage Week is Ireland’s largest annual celebration of built, natural and cultural heritage, and County Mayo takes it seriously. For nine days each August, community groups, historical societies, local museums and volunteers across the county open up sites, lead guided walks and run hands-on workshops that would never normally be on offer to the public. If you have any curiosity about the landscape, history or traditions of the west of Ireland, this is one of the best weeks of the year to be in Mayo.

What to expect

The 2026 theme is “Heritage at Risk” - a prompt for communities to shine a light on the elements of heritage most under pressure, from historic buildings and archaeological sites to traditional crafts, regional language and natural habitats. In practice, that means a varied programme across the county: expect guided walks around early Christian ruins, talks from local historians, handling sessions with old farm tools or archival material, and possibly open days at sites not usually accessible to visitors.

Mayo hosted around 90 events during Heritage Week 2025, a figure that has grown year on year. Across Ireland the week draws close to half a million people and runs roughly 2,500 events. The National Museum of Ireland - Country Life at Turlough Park, just outside Castlebar, has been a regular anchor venue - the museum holds collections focused on Irish rural and folk life, and its parkland setting is well suited to outdoor trails and family activities. Céide Fields on the north Mayo coast, Moore Hall near Lough Carra and various abbeys and town heritage centres across the county typically feature in the programme as well.

Individual events are registered by community organisers in the months before the week, so the full Mayo programme appears on the Heritage Week website as August approaches. It is worth checking back closer to the date and filtering by county to build your own itinerary across the nine days.

Getting there

Castlebar is the county town of Mayo and is straightforward to reach by road or rail. From Dublin, take the N5 west through Longford and Roscommon - the drive is around two and a half hours. Bus Éireann operates regular services from Dublin, Galway and Westport. Castlebar railway station is on the Westport to Dublin Heuston line, with several services daily.

For events at Turlough Park, the museum is signposted from the N5 roughly five kilometres east of Castlebar town centre. Free car parking is available on site. Town centre events have parking off the main square or along the ring road.

While you’re in Castlebar

Heritage Week is a good reason to linger in Mayo for a few days rather than a single afternoon. The county has a striking mix of bog, lough and Atlantic coastline, and the western seaboard from Westport to Achill is within easy reach of Castlebar. There is more to see in Castlebar and across Co. Mayo.

Good to know

• Dates: Saturday 15 August to Sunday 23 August 2026
• Time: Various - individual events have their own start times; check the programme
• Price: Most events are free; some specialist workshops or tours may charge up to EUR 10
• Programme: Full listings at heritageweek.ie - filter by County Mayo for local events
• Booking: Some events require advance registration; check individual listings early as places fill
• Organised by: The Heritage Council, with events run by local community groups and heritage organisations