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heritage · Monday 10 August 2026 · 10:00am 
Newbridge Silverware Heritage Exhibition
At Newbridge Silverware Museum · Main Street, Newbridge, Co. Kildare
At Newbridge Silverware Museum · Main Street, Newbridge, Co. Kildare
Newbridge Silverware has been making cutlery and jewellery in Co. Kildare since 1934, when the factory opened as a cooperative to give local craftspeople steady work during lean times. The Heritage Exhibition at the Newbridge Silverware Museum tells that story through the tools, moulds, photographs and finished pieces that have come out of the factory over nine decades. It suits anyone with a passing interest in Irish industrial history, design, or the kind of skilled handwork that most manufacturing has long since abandoned.
The exhibition traces the full arc of the Newbridge silverware story - from the workshops and machines that shaped silver cutlery in the early years, through the design evolution that took the brand from a local cooperative to an internationally known name. You will see historic pieces alongside the tools and techniques used to make them, with photographs and archive material filling in the human side of the industry. The museum sits within the wider Newbridge Silverware Visitor Experience on Main Street, which includes a working factory floor where production still happens today. The Museum of Style Icons - a couture collection that grew from a single Audrey Hepburn dress - occupies the upper floor and is included in the visit. Guided factory tours run at 11am and 2.15pm on weekdays and are worth booking ahead if you want to see silversmithing in action.
Newbridge is on the main Dublin to Limerick road (N7/M7), about 40 kilometres from Dublin city centre - roughly 35 minutes by car. By rail, Irish Rail runs regular services from Heuston Station to Newbridge, with the journey taking under an hour; the museum on Main Street is a short walk from the station. Bus Eireann and Dublin Coach also serve the town from Dublin. Free on-site parking is available at the visitor centre.
The town has independent shops and cafes along the main street, and the Liffey runs along the western edge if you want a short walk after the museum. There is more to see in Newbridge and across Co. Kildare.
Heading to Newbridge Silverware Museum in Newbridge? Kildare has plenty more to see. Read the Newbridge area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.