Michael Davitt Museum

About the museum

Michael Davitt was born in Straide on 25 March 1846, during the Great Famine. His parents were tenants on a local estate and were evicted when he was a small child; the family spent a short time in Swinford Workhouse before emigrating to Haslingden in Lancashire. At the age of nine Davitt began work in a cotton mill, and in 1857 he lost his right arm in an accident at the machinery. He went on to become a leading figure in the Land War and the campaign for tenants’ rights in Ireland.

The museum was opened in 1984 and is housed in a restored early 17th-century pre-Penal church, the building in which Davitt was baptised. It stands next to the ruins of Straide Friary, a medieval monastic site, and the graveyard where Davitt is buried under a Celtic cross.

The displays include personal belongings donated by the Davitt family, such as his walking stick and rosary beads, letters written from prison, family photographs and eviction images, and the mantelpiece and grate from his Dublin home. The visit begins with a short film on his life and continues with a guided tour of the exhibition and the grounds, including a sensory garden and the friary ruins.

Highlights

• Personal belongings of Michael Davitt, including his walking stick and rosary beads
• Handwritten letters, among them one sent from Dartmoor Prison
• The Freedom Chest presented to Davitt in 1884 on becoming a Freeman of Limerick
• 12-minute film on Davitt’s life and legacy
• Guided tour of the grounds with the sensory garden, Davitt’s grave and Straide Friary

Permanent exhibitions

• Michael Davitt exhibition – Objects, letters and photographs tell the story of Davitt and of Ireland in the years of the Famine and the Land War.
• Grounds and Straide Friary – The guided tour continues outdoors through the sensory garden, past Davitt’s grave and into the medieval friary ruins.

Founded

1984

Admission & discounts

Every visitor receives a free pass to the Céide Fields Visitor Centre and a 10% discount card for the shop and café at Foxford Woollen Mills. Booking online is recommended.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• 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 museum has an open-plan layout that is fully accessible to wheelchair users, with wheelchair parking in the car park and an accessible toilet beside the porched entrance (the two entrance doors are not automatic). The film has subtitles, staff can give verbal descriptions of the objects, and ear defenders are welcome if the museum is busy. The sensory garden is wheelchair accessible, while the paths in Straide Friary are pebbled and there is no paved path to Davitt’s grave, which can be seen from the garden.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations

Children are welcome. There is a children’s storybook about Davitt, a hands-on sensory area for children and a sensory garden, and school groups of all ages can book guided visits.

Getting there & parking

Straide is on the N58 between Castlebar and Foxford.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available
• Museum shop

There is a gift shop but no café; visitors can picnic on the benches at Straide Friary beside the museum, and the Céide Fields Visitor Centre and Foxford Woollen Mills offer cafés.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit