Housed in a handsome Victorian church on Moran Park, between the seafront and the town centre, this small but well-organised museum covers Ireland's seafaring history from Viking longboats to the present. The exhibits range from navigational instruments and charts to ship models and a working telegraph from the old Transatlantic Cable station.
The centrepiece is the Baily Lighthouse optic: a huge lens assembly that fills an entire room and gives a visceral sense of the engineering behind pre-electric lighthouse technology. Entry is modest; the building alone is worth a look even if maritime history isn't your thing.