Dún na Sí Amenity and Heritage Park

About the museum

Dún na Sí is a community-led heritage project near Moate in County Westmeath, built up by generations of volunteers and run as a not-for-profit. Its name comes from local folklore about a fairy fort, marked by hawthorn bushes, on the land.

The heritage park takes visitors through Ireland’s past with reconstructed sites such as a ringfort, a farmhouse and cottages, a blacksmith’s forge, a hedge school and a fisherman’s cottage. A rural museum shows the tools and machinery once used on Irish farms, and a large sculpture and a stone circle refer to the mythological god Lugh.

Next to it, the Teach Ceoil is the Moate branch of the music organisation Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann; it houses the Scéal Exhibition on traditional music and an audio archive. The park also has a genealogy centre for tracing Westmeath ancestors, walking trails through a turlough and woodland, a playground and a pet farm.

Highlights

• Reconstructed ringfort, farmhouse, forge, hedge school and fisherman’s cottage
• Rural museum of traditional farm tools and machinery
• Scéal Exhibition on Irish music in the Teach Ceoil
• Westmeath Genealogy Centre
• Pet farm, playground and nature trails

Permanent exhibitions

• Heritage Park – Reconstructed ancient and rural buildings, including a ringfort, farmhouse, forge, hedge school and fisherman’s cottage, show how people lived in earlier centuries.
• Rural Museum – A collection of agricultural tools and machinery once used on Irish farms.
• Scéal Exhibition – An exhibition on traditional Irish music in the Teach Ceoil, the Moate home of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann.

Admission & discounts

Carers are admitted free. Family memberships for April to September are available.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The park has step-free entrances and accessible parking bays near the entrances; accessible toilets are in the café and there is step-free café seating. Quiet natural areas are available for rest, and an Access Welcome Guide is published on the website.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations
• Playground / play area

The park has a large outdoor adventure playground, a pet farm with goats, donkeys, poultry and pigs, a sensory garden and nature trails.

Getting there & parking

The park can be reached directly from the Old Rail Trail Greenway.

Amenities & dining

• Café

Café with child-friendly menu; picnic tables in the park.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit