Inishowen Maritime Museum and Planetarium

About the museum

The Inishowen Maritime Museum and Planetarium is housed in the former coastguard station overlooking the harbour at Greencastle, at the mouth of Lough Foyle in County Donegal. It grew out of a local effort in the 1990s to use the peninsula’s history to attract visitors. A community committee took over the coastguard buildings from the state and turned them into a museum, and a planetarium was added later. It is run by a registered charity.

The displays cover the maritime past of Inishowen. Themes include the Irish Naval Service, the Spanish Armada ship La Trinidad Valencera that was wrecked off the peninsula, lighthouses and their keeping families, the Foyle pilots who guided ships to Derry, the Atlantic war at sea in both World Wars, a B-17 bomber that made an emergency landing in Lough Foyle in 1942, emigration from the area, the Malin Head radio station and traditional Drontheim fishing boats.

The museum is currently closed for a complete redesign. Funding from the Shared Island Coast-to-Coast Capital Investment Scheme covers most of the cost of a new planetarium projector, new shows made for the planetarium and new displays by the exhibition designers Mirador Media. The museum has announced that it will reopen in early 2027.

Highlights

• Finds from the Spanish Armada wreck La Trinidad Valencera
• Displays on lighthouses, Foyle pilots and Malin Head radio station
• Story of the B-17 bomber that landed in Lough Foyle in 1942
• Full-dome planetarium (being renewed during the closure)
• Setting in the historic coastguard station at Greencastle harbour

Permanent exhibition

• Inishowen maritime history – Themed displays on the Irish Naval Service, Armada wreck finds, lighthouses, pilots, wartime sea battles, emigration and Malin Head radio station. The displays are being redesigned during the closure.

Admission & discounts

These prices for the museum and planetarium were last published before the closure and may change when the museum reopens. Booking in advance gives priority access.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• 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 states that the building is wheelchair accessible.

Kids & families

Children aged 3 and over pay the child rate and must be accompanied by an adult. A family ticket covers 2 adults and 3 children.

Getting there & parking

The museum is on Greencastle harbour, about 3 miles beyond Moville on the A2. Turn right before the Greencastle Seafood building and then left at its end.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Lockers: not available

There is no café in the museum; a café in the village is about 150 m away. Picnic tables stand outside. Bags and luggage cannot be stored, but items can be left at the front desk at the owner’s risk.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit