Kiltimagh Museum and Railway Station

The old Kiltimagh Railway Station, closed since 1963 and restored by community effort in the late 1980s, is now the town's cultural centre. The Station Master's Exhibition Centre tells the story of Kiltimagh and its surrounding townlands, with a particular focus on emigration — this part of Mayo sent waves of people to America, Britain, and Australia across the 19th and 20th centuries, and the museum records their departures with some honesty.

The adjacent Sculpture Park occupies the old station grounds and features a trail of contemporary works by Irish artists. It is free to walk and a pleasant way to spend an hour, particularly in summer when the grounds are in full colour. The sculptures range from the conventional to the genuinely quirky.

Kiltimagh is also the birthplace of Antoine Ó Raifteirí (Anthony Raftery), the 18th-century blind wandering poet who is one of the great figures of Irish-language literature. A small memorial near the town marks the connection.

things to do museum sight
A story
The railway that once passed through Kiltimagh was part of the Midland Great Western line connecting Dublin to Ballina. When it closed in 1963, it took with it the town's main link to the wider world. The station sat derelict for 25 years before the community restored it — the restored building is more a monument to that lost connection than a conventional museum exhibit.