Discover Béal Na Mbuillí

For a trip to Béal Na Mbuillí, Strokestown Park, the National Famine Museum and the National Famine Way offer different perspectives on history and landscape. The museum focuses on the Great Irish Famine and the lives of people on the Strokestown Park estate; the gardens offer another way to experience the place. The waymarked walking and cycling route, in turn, commemorates a specific chapter in Irish history. When planning your trip, you can therefore decide whether you would prefer to focus on exhibitions, garden spaces or a longer route.

History at Strokestown Park

The Georgian-Palladian mansion at Strokestown Park is a living record of the past, offering insights into different Irish ways of life. The National Famine Museum presents the contrasting lives of Strokestown Park’s aristocratic landlords and their tenants during the Great Irish Famine. A visit to the museum therefore introduces both the perspective of the estate and that of its tenants.

Original documents at the museum give a voice to people affected by the Famine: they come from people connected with the Strokestown Park estate. The documents can be viewed there. They are part of the Strokestown Park Famine Archive, which contains one of the world’s most significant collections of documents relating to the Great Irish Famine. This means you can explore the history not only through the museum’s interpretation, but also through historical written records.

The interpretation combines creative displays with audio, audiovisual and touchscreen features; a family activity guide is also available. Audio guides are offered in English, Irish, French, Spanish, German and Mandarin. As available languages may change, check before your trip whether your preferred language is currently available. One distinctive feature of the house is the gallery kitchen at Strokestown Park House: it is considered the last of its kind in Ireland.

Walled gardens and woodland

Strokestown Park includes 6 acres of walled gardens as well as lush, mature woodland. The garden areas include one of Ireland’s longest herbaceous borders, a lush fernery and a Victorian rose garden. Each design feature has its own character: the herbaceous border, fernery and rose garden sit alongside the woodland as distinct parts of the estate.

The programme at the historic gardens and woodland includes family-friendly events, talks, guided tours and art installations about the design and history of the gardens throughout the year. Individual events have their own dates; check them before your trip. Alongside the history of the mansion, garden design and the development of the gardens are therefore further subjects to explore during your visit.

The National Famine Way

The National Famine Way is a 165 km waymarked walking and cycling route. It starts at the memorial glass wall at Strokestown Park House and the National Famine Museum, and commemorates the forced migration march of 1847 associated with Strokestown. The route follows the Royal Canal and connects Strokestown Park with Rowan Gillespie’s Famine Memorial at Custom House Quay in Dublin. Its length and the two stated ways of travelling make the route a different way to engage with history than a visit to the museum on site.

Clear signage, a map produced by Ordnance Survey Ireland, digital interpretation and a passport or guide help you find your way along the route. These resources offer different ways to learn about the route and its theme. If you would rather explore individual museum and garden areas, their historical and landscape highlights take centre stage; the National Famine Way, by contrast, is a waymarked route with its own commemorative significance.

More to explore in County Roscommon

The wider destination of County Roscommon also offers distinctive cultural and walking experiences. Boyle is home to Boyle Abbey, a well-preserved 12th-century Cistercian monastery. Its restored gatehouse houses an interpretation centre. The abbey therefore offers a different historical focus from Strokestown Park: the monastery and gatehouse shape the visit here, while the mansion, museum and gardens take centre stage at Strokestown.

The Suck Valley Way also runs through the wider destination of County Roscommon. This circular route starts at Mount Talbot on the western side of the Suck and reaches the outskirts of Castlerea; after a short break, it returns along the eastern side. Landscapes along the route include bogs, flood meadows, woodland and traditional farmland, with some sections beside the river. This county-wide walking option can be appreciated for its own landscapes and circular-route character, without confusing it with the National Famine Way.

Discover more destinations: Tulsk, Termonbarry, Arigna, Boyle, Ballaghaderreen, Ballinlough, Cootehall, Lisacul

For the wider travel overview: County Roscommon.