Skibbereen Heritage Centre

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Skibbereen Heritage Centre The Skibbereen Famine Story
Genealogy
And more! Skibbereen was one of the worst affected areas in Ireland, losing a third of its people to hunger and disease.
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Skibbereen Heritage Centre houses two permanent exhibitions - one on the Great Famine and one on Lough Hyne as well as offering a genealogy service for the greater West Cork area. The Great Famine Exhibition commemorates this tragic period of Irish history and serves as a tribute to the suffering of the local community. The Exhibition portrays the Great Famine through the primary source accounts of the time, giving an overview of government policies and how they impacted on the ground. Reports from the relief committee in their attempts to alleviate the suffering of local people are shown alongside reports of how the international community responded to the crisis. The story unfolds in an interactive way through the dramatisation by actors, including Jeremy Irons, of actual events and people of the time. Lough Hyne is a salt-water lake 5km from Skibbereen. This small marine lake was designated as Europe's first Marine Nature Reserve in 1981 and is now one of the most-studied marine sites in the world. This unique lake and its surrounds are home to a rich and varied range of plants and animals, including many rare and beautiful species. Skibbereen Heritage Centre has a database of over 350,000 genealogical records. Our genealogist, Margaret Murphy, will answer queries relating to the greater West Cork area assisted by Deirdre Collins. Volunteer Patricia Tomlinson enters data such as estate records, loan funds and deaths. These records have benefited many people over the years and are available on the database section of our website www.skibbheritage.com

All images and text on this site © Skibbereen Heritage Centre

The sun's still shining but we are now on winter opening hours, Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 6pm, we look forward to welc...
03/10/2026

The sun's still shining but we are now on winter opening hours, Tuesday to Saturday 10am to 6pm, we look forward to welcoming you!

A fantastic line up again for the West Cork History Festival and only a week to go!
31/07/2026

A fantastic line up again for the West Cork History Festival and only a week to go!

Another two fabulous historic postcards shared with us, this time from Sherkin Abbey with the second one dated to 1909.T...
31/07/2026

Another two fabulous historic postcards shared with us, this time from Sherkin Abbey with the second one dated to 1909.

Thanks so much to the kind follower who shared them with us....

Our Heritage Week genealogy sessions are now fully booked....
30/07/2026

Our Heritage Week genealogy sessions are now fully booked....

Two fabulous old postcards of the iconic Fastnet Rock and the Baltimore Beacon, kindly shared with us by a follower.Aren...
27/07/2026

Two fabulous old postcards of the iconic Fastnet Rock and the Baltimore Beacon, kindly shared with us by a follower.

Aren't they wonderful to see?

Castle Island in Roaringwater Bay - so peaceful today but once the site of mass evictions during the Land Wars.... but c...
24/07/2026

Castle Island in Roaringwater Bay - so peaceful today but once the site of mass evictions during the Land Wars.... but certainly where the 'old ghosts meet'...

Lough Hyne needs your help!Please keep an eye out on behalf of the researchers and spread the word ....
17/07/2026

Lough Hyne needs your help!

Please keep an eye out on behalf of the researchers and spread the word ....

Just when you think West Cork cannot get any more beautiful....
13/07/2026

Just when you think West Cork cannot get any more beautiful....

We are delighted to be participating in the Your Council Day with Cork County Council to offer ...FREE admission to our ...
24/06/2026

We are delighted to be participating in the Your Council Day with Cork County Council to offer ...

FREE admission to our exhibitions on Friday the 26th of June 10:00-18:00 - we look forward to welcoming you!

Cork County Council

More shots from the final week of the archaeology dig near Baltimore by staff and students of the University of Maryland...
23/06/2026

More shots from the final week of the archaeology dig near Baltimore by staff and students of the University of Maryland, see captions for details.

This is a further excavation of a site where they (literally) unearthed the story of the McCarthy and Lordan families from the late 19th to early 20th century over the last 2 years. This excavation showed there was an eviction at the site and the artefacts aligned with the family lore about that traumatic event.

This year they have focussed on an earlier cabin on the same site, with some of the finds dating back to the 18th century. This period is largely undocumented in this area so anything that this excavation throws up will be of interest.

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Address

Bridge Street
Skibbereen

Opening Hours

Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm

Telephone

+3532840900

Website

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