Please note we will be operating winter hours from 1st September 2023
Inishowen Maritime Museum
Inishowen Maritime Museum & Planetarium is located at the Old Coast Guard station over looking Greencastle Harbour on the banks of the beautiful Lough Foyle. It is situated beside the Lough Foyle ferry entrance; this passenger/car ferry service runs between Greencastle and Magilligan, Co. Derry
If you wish to contact us or have any queries on our new full-dome digital theatre please do not hesitate to call the museum on (00353) 074 9381363.
Note: During winter hours, planetarium shows are not presented at pre-set times. As long as a staff member is present to run the shows, they are available anytime on a walk-in basis. (min 6 persons for unscheduled shows during winter opening hours)
For information or bookings, call 074 938 1363.
From N.I. & U.K.: 00 353 74 938 1363
Family and group rates available. School groups especially welcome!
Open All Year Round
Summer Opening
May – 1st September
Monday – Saturday
10.00am – 5:30pm
Sunday
12.00pm – 5pm
Last admission 4.00pm
Winter Opening
1st September – May
Monday – Friday
10.30am – 4.00pm
Last admission 3.30pm
Other times by appointment
Sponsors and Friends of Inishowen Maritime Museum
Inishowen Maritime Museum, located at the Old Coastguard Station in Greencastle, has been at the heart of the community, preserving and showcasing Inishowen’s rich maritime heritage for the past 30 years. The museum has achieved great success over the years and has held many exhibitions and events to promote the importance of the Inishowen sea faring community. The museum is continuing its progress by being part of the Museums Standards Programme of Ireland with the Heritage Council and with its close partnership with Failte Ireland.
Since the outbreak of the COVID pandemic the museum has received no operational support from the council or from any other government body. The prolonged periods of closure forced upon us by the pandemic and the rising energy costs due to the war in Ukraine have meant that we have had to make serious cutbacks in order to keep our doors open. To this end, we are hoping to establish Sponsors and Friends of the museum to help ensure our future.
We are asking that you would consider being a sponsor or friend of the museum on an annual basis. Being a sponsor or friend will entitle you to free access to the museum, museum run events and additional benefits listed below.
Sponsor – €500 Annual Fee
Friend – €100 Annual Fee
Free access to the museum and
museum run events all year
Free access to the museum and
museum run events all year
Free entry for up to 10 guests per year
Free entry for up to 5 guests per year
Listing as sponsor on website and at museum
Listing as friend on website and at museum
Your support is vital for the future of the museum. We are now a registered charity so tax benefits may accrue to donors.
If you are happy become a sponsor or friend, we would be grateful for your contribution. The easiest way to make the payment is by setting up a standing order to be paid recurring on the 1st of May via online banking direct to our account stating your name as the reference:
ACC – Inishowen Maritime Heritage CLG
IBAN – IE09BOFI 904771 89425514
BIC – BOFIIE2DXXX
The payment can also be made by calling to the museum and paying by card or cash.
This year’s Blessing of the Fleet at Greencastle will include a very special event which will commemorate those from Inishowen who lost their lives at sea. The Inishowen Maritime Museum has been working tirelessly over the last year to update the existing memorial and ensure that all those who tragically lost their lives in the waters around us will be remembered. The existing memorial was unveiled in 1997 by President Mary Robinson. As further research was carried out over the years it was realised that many more had lost their lives at sea that had not been previously recorded on the memorial. Realising how significant it was for the families who had lost loved ones it was decided that new panels would be installed to include anybody who had not been included before.
Keep up to date with the programme, book tickets for the events and keep up to date with the events and scheduling of the first ever ‘May the 4th by with you’ festival in Malin Head here….
Kjell Magnus Økland will be organising visits by Norwegian traditional boat builders and maritime heritage enthusiasts to Ireland over the coming season.
Kjell is a journalist, photographer, film maker & webmaster and has been an organizer and promoter of cultural and maritime events for more than 25 years. He sails both traditional and modern boats.
Kjell, and his family, will be visiting Inishowen on 25, 26 & 27th February for a preliminary tour of maritime culture and heritage promoters in Donegal and will be based at the Inishowen Maritime Museum, Greencastle.
Kjell is the managing director of the Coastal Heritage Weeks Foundation.
In November 1912, Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian polar explorer, delivered a lecture to the Royal Geographic Society, London, describing his expedition to the South Pole.
The lecture was accompanied by slide photographs taken on the expedition. The quality and clarity of the photography is amazing.
The Fram Museum, Bygdøy, Oslo, is dedicated to telling the story of Norwegian polar exploration.
In 2006, the negatives of Amundsen’s polar collections were donated to a public / private partnership in Norway and are archived in the Norwegian National Library.
The Fram Museum used this access to create exhibitions, and accompanying book, about Amundsen’s polar expeditions. Using the original photographs and notes and reports of the expeditions, the museum has created an entertaining and informative display.
The book by Guy Warner covers WW1 naval aviation in Inishowen. Its main emphasis is on the United States Naval Air Station “Lough Foyle” at Ture, with pictures and stories of seaplanes, base and personnel and descriptions of the interaction between base personnel and the local community. It also covers the Royal Navy kite balloon service in Lough Swilly, the USNAS meteorological station at Malin Head and the testing out of Ballylifen as a mooring out station for Royal Naval Air Service dirigible balloons.
