Athenry Heritage Centre — Local services in County Galway

This is a wonderful experience for all the family to become immersed in! We wandered in off the street not knowing what to expect and can honestly say every one of us (mam, dad and children 8 & 9 years) totally enjoyed it! We had just visited the castle (worth a visit too) and a lovely lady there directed us to the heritage centre. We got dressed up (clothing made by our wonderful tour guide no less) and the said wonderful tour guide engaged every one of us with her description of all aspects of life in a medieval town. Then we were brought to try our hand at archery which again we ALL loved, thanks again to the wonderful tour guide. I'm sorry I didn't catch her name. If you're in Athenry or looking for something different, this is worth a visit. Highly...

Great craic dressing up in medieval gear. The British lad telling the story was a little too proud of their wins — skipped over a few Irish victories, and insisted they were “invited” by Dermot, so technically didn’t invade Ireland… lucky for him there were no locals in the audience to challenge that one.

Cheerfully explained the two heads on the city stamp were a warning to the Finians not to make a peep — possibly the main reason my son (born in Ireland, learning Irish since Naíonra 10 years ago) suddenly said he felt sick and had to leave. Or maybe it was the 28°C heat combined with wearing armour minutes earlier.

There’s also a small maze, a very cute garden dotted with poetry, and a spot of fun archery — 12 shots each, plus a bonus balloon...

Based in a converted church, this museum gives a vivid picture of Athenry's medieval past. There's a large model of the old walled city. The guided tour gives a picture of Irish and Western European medieval history including bows and arrows, suits of armour and military strategy and methods of torture. You can dress up in costume if you want to (we didn't!). Our main difficulty was locating the entrance! Google Maps nearly got us there but the gateway (to the old churchyard) wasn't clearly labelled as the way to the heritage centre. (PS the song "Fields of Athenry" has little to do with its ancient history, being written in the...