Stories of Us: Ulster American Heritage Exhibition

The Stories of Us runs at Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, until Sunday, 27 September 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence alongside the Folk Park’s own 50th anniversary. The summer-long programme widens the museum’s usual emigration story to include voices not always given equal space, among them women, Indigenous peoples and enslaved individuals whose lives intersected with Ulster emigrant families.

What to expect

Alongside familiar figures such as Thomas Mellon, the banker whose Castletown farm forms the basis of part of the museum, the programme introduces less familiar names including James McGavock, Charles Thomson and John Dunlap, all connected to the American Independence story. Living history demonstrations run throughout the site, blacksmithing, printing, quilting and spinning among them, and the museum’s food stalls serve traditional fare drawn from both sides of the Ulster-American story. The programme also folds in the two temporary exhibitions running over the same summer, Under the Hawthorn Tree and From Here to the White House: Presidential Portraits, plus a run of Bluegrass BBQ concerts with live Irish and American roots music through the season. General admission covers every part of the programme.

Getting there

The Folk Park is signposted off the A5 about two miles north of Omagh, with free parking on site.

While you’re in Omagh

Stories of Us runs across the whole of Omagh’s biggest heritage attraction for the summer, so it is worth allowing the best part of a day. There is more to see across Co. Tyrone.

Good to know

• Runs until: Sunday, 27 September 2026
• Venue: Ulster American Folk Park, 2 Mellon Road, Omagh
• Price: included with general admission
• Includes: living history demonstrations, Bluegrass BBQ concerts, and two temporary exhibitions
• Part of: USA-NI250 commemorations, funded by USANI, DFC and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council