Glenview Folk Museum

Private family-run folk museum near Ballinamore with a reconstructed 1930s street scene, farm machinery, vehicles and a large collection of household items.

Ask the museum for opening hours Wheelchair accessible Restaurant

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About the museum

Glenview Folk Museum was founded in 2000 by the Kennedy family at Aghoo, just outside Ballinamore in County Leitrim. The family wanted to save the everyday objects of rural Ireland, and the collection grew from a few pieces of farm machinery into a private collection of more than 7,000 items. The collector Brian Kennedy began by converting an old outbuilding into a traditional thatched cottage and then kept gathering objects from the surrounding area.

A later extension, which is described as fully wheelchair accessible, added a reception area, a transport hall, a covered space for farm machinery and accessible toilets. The museum is still owned and run by the Kennedy family, which also runs a licensed bar and restaurant beside it.

The displays include a reconstructed street scene in which shops are stocked and dressed as they might have been in the 1930s, along with a travelling shop, tradesmen's tools, butter-making equipment, kitchen utensils, lamps and furniture. Visitors also see horse-drawn farm machinery and a threshing machine, vintage vehicles, coins, ledgers and posters, and a room of memorabilia connected with the Leitrim writer John McGahern. The museum is also known for a collection of more than 4,000 egg cups.

Highlights

Reconstructed 1930s village street scene with stocked shops
Private collection of more than 7,000 items
Horse-drawn farm machinery, a threshing machine and vintage vehicles
Memorabilia of the Leitrim writer John McGahern
Collection of over 4,000 egg cups

Permanent exhibitions

Shop and street scene – A reconstructed street of shops stocked and furnished as in 1930s Ireland, with a travelling shop and tradesmen’s tools.
Farm equipment, vehicles and household items – Horse-drawn machinery, a threshing machine, vintage vehicles and everyday household objects such as butter-making equipment and lamps.
John McGahern memorabilia – A display of objects connected with the writer John McGahern, who was born near Ballinamore.

Founded: 2000
Operated by: Kennedy family (private)

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Accessibility

Wheelchair accessible
Elevator: no information
Accessible restroom
Accessible parking: no information
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 museum describes a newer extension with reception, transport hall and farm machinery area as fully wheelchair accessible, with wheelchair-friendly toilets.