The Galway Shawl

The theme for National Heritage Week 2025 is ‘Exploring Our Foundations’. To celebrate Heritage Week, Museum staff have prepared a special tour that begins with the origins of Galway – from Gaelic fort to Anglo-Norman town – and then focuses on an iconic object that reveals a story that has helped to shape the city’s unique character.

Shawls were once a common item of women’s clothing. Draped around shoulders or head and wrapped about the body, they came in various shapes, sizes, patterns, and colours. Some shawls were worn purely for fashion, while others were worn to protect the wearer from the cold, wind, and rain. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, one type of shawl, which was made in Scotland, became so popular in the west of Ireland that it became known as the ‘Galway Shawl.’ Join us to learn more.

This event is free of charge, but advance booking is required. For further details or to make a booking, please email museum@galwaycity.ie or call (091) 532460.

Suitable for adults and young people aged 10+