An artistic asset to Sligo, and the North-West! There's always something going on here - informal…read moremusic afternoons, to weekend music and comedy gigs, film screenings from the Sligo Film Society to the semi-regular Sligo Flea Market. The Niland Collection (with a selection of Sligo's most famous artistic son - Jack B Yeats paintings) is now on permanent display, coupled with regular contemporary art exhibitions. The beautiful old Model school building hosts two exhibition spaces, an education room for family and children events, 'Room' - a space for artists in residence to curate smaller exhibitions, a large cinema/gig space, and sometimes the venue can be hired privately for weddings. The bright and airy atrium is a lovely place to meet and catch up with friends. During the summer there are regular tours of the gallery space, and the Niland collection.

From the owner: The Model, home of the Niland Collection is one of Ireland's leading contemporary arts centre. It…read moreis due to reopen in Spring 2010 after an extensive redevelopment phase. The extension will provide new, exemplary, artist studios, a purpose-built performance space and a new entrance from a new civic plaza. The extension will also allow for new gallery to form a complete Gallery circuit for the visitor, a new reception are and bookstore and a new destination restaurant. The award winning building is home to the impressive Niland Collection, featuring works by John and Jack B. Yeats, Estella Solomons, Paul Henry and Louis Le Broquy among others.

In the west of Ireland it rains - a lot, really, an awful lot, so it is vitally important for those…read morewho live there and indeed those of us visiting that there are distractions of some form or another least we all team up in a bored, wet and un-tanned rage and go on some sort of killing spree (probably drowning the victims). One such distraction is the rather unpromising sounding museum of country life, which as it turns out is a very nice wee place to wander around and kill a few hours. There are samples of clothing worn by the Irish way back when, a few temp exhibits like the Moylough Belt (8th Century belyt-thingy) and when we were there a temp exhibition (until spring 2010!) called Straw, Hay and Rushes where you get to see the unbelievable vast array of things we used to use straw and hay for! - really, everything from mattresses (which you get to try out) to harnesses (which you don't) We didn't get to see much of the outside exhibits because , guess what, it was blinking raining, but the indoors bit was enough to keep us going for a couple of hours. There is no admission fee which is nice, the café is OK but not noteworthy!

We drove to the National Museum of County Life last Monday.Unfortunatly the museum was closed but…read morethe grounds were still open to the public. There are lovely walks around the grounds through the formal gardens and the kitchen gardens. There is a restored Victorian Glasshouse in the grounds overlooking Turlough House and the beautiful tulip borders which were in bloom whilst I was there. There is also a small cottage which has recently been built to show how traditional cottages were constructed. Walked along the river and continued up to the round tower on the hill. I have no doubt this would be a great place to spend a day,when the museum is open.will be back to visit when it opens.

A MUST SEE! The Jackie Clarke Collection is an absolute hidden gem in Ballina. A perfect way to…read morespend your afternoon. I could not recommend it higher! They put a lot of thought into this collection and it is amazing to see the historical significance in each letter, picture, map, etc. they hold in this exclusive collection. It is interesting for tourists to see the history of Ireland unfold in each room of the collection. It is also of interest to the locals with the collection of maps which show how the county boarders have changed overtime. It is well worth the trip to beautiful town of Ballina to check it out. And if this collection isn't already enough to grab your attention, the collection is actually hosted in an old bank! The bank's old vault is now home to one of the rare original copies of the Proclimation of the Irish Republic printed before the 1916 rising. The good news is you don't need to know much Irish history to enjoy The Jackie Clarke Collection.

We visited before they actually opened on the CIE Scots Irish Tour…read more I liked that our tour guide had worked in the mine. I liked that relatively few folks had died in the mine. I liked that there were things to look at before we went into the mine. I thought the walkways were well lit. I liked that there were dates showing when the support beams were put up and I saw one from this year! I'm a bit claustrophobic, but I stood at the edge of our group and was able to enjoy most of it. There was a nice snack / restaurant area and cute gift shop at the end. ... and one of the folks called in some smoke I saw in an area that wasn't supposed to have smoke.

It's hard to categorize this fine little place. It's in the middle of some beautiful scenery near…read moreLough Allen with big steep but rolling hills. The little museum in interesting but the mine tour, given only by retired miner tour guides was the best part. The tales of the mining days, which ended in the early 90's (1990's) were interesting and fun. It's amazing what these men accomplished under the mountains here. I come from coal mining folk in the States and thought I knew a little about mining. This was so very different from the way they did the mining to the way it helped the folks around here avoid the worst of the famine. The tour is 10 euro per adult. There's a pretty little waterfall nearby if you are willing to drive on some skinny little roads. I don't give out many five stars and this is without a doubt five stars!

Loved it! Arrived at 4pm Sunday and they closed at 5, but it's a great museum with free admission…read more The grounds are lovely.

Set in the grounds of Turlough Park, this is a bright modern museum. There is no charge to visit…read morebut they do appreciate a five euro donation which in my opinion was well worth it. Covering three floors, there is a vast selection of items on display covering all aspects of country life, crafts, living, clothing, tools etc. it is set out well with plenty of information. There is also a video presentation. We really enjoyed our visit to the museum but the house itself was a bit of a disappointment. Only a few rooms are open to the public. So my advise is come for the museum, not the house.