‹† ›‘— ‘™ –Šƒ– –Š‡ ˆ‘”‡ˆƒ–Š‡”• ‘ˆ ϐ‹˜‡
US Presidents including John F. Kennedy
came from Ireland? In fact, two million
Irish men and women left their ancestral
country to start a new life in the New
World in the 18th and 19th centuries. This
sprawling open-air museum recreates that
•‹‰‹ϐ‹…ƒ– ’‡”‹‘†ǡ ƒ† ‹• ”ƒ‡† ƒ‘‰
the world’s best. The kids can have an
infomative morning in the company of
costumed guides who take you around an
Ulster street, an emigrant ship and the
actual homesteads of the early Irish
settlers in America.
The children can run around an old
Pennsylvania farm, and pretend they are
18th- century immigrants as they explore
the log barn, the corn storehouse and the
place where meats used to be smoked to
preserve them. There’s also a schoolhouse
among the 30 historic buildings on
this spread.
It is a journey back in time and the
most hands-on history lesson they
can have into ƒ •‹‰‹ϐ‹…ƒ– ’‡”‹‘† ‘ˆ
both Ireland and the US. The kids will
‰‡– ƒ ‡ƒ”Ǧϐ‹”•–Šƒ† ‡š’‡”‹‡…‡ ‘ˆ
emigration and immigration, mass
movements of people across countries
and continents which continue to change
destinies today.
You can have an extra helping of fun if you
visit this folk park during the American
†‡’‡†‡…‡
ƒ›ǡ ƒŽŽ‘™‡‡ ‘” ‡ƒ”Ž›
September when the Appalachian-
Bluegrass music festival is held, all
saluting the US-Irish connection that is
so interestingly projected in this open-
air museum.
Ulster American Museum
& Folk Park, Omagh
www.folkpark.com
Castletown, Omagh, Co. Tyrone.
T: +44 28 8224 3292
Easter-September: Monday-Saturday 11am-6pm,
Sun 11am-7pm; October-Easter: Monday-Friday 10.30am-5pm.
Marble Arch Caves,
Fermanagh
www.marblearchcaves.net
Florencecourt, Co. Fermanagh.
T: +44 28 6634 8855
Mid-March to June & September: 10am-4.30pm,
July & August: 10am-5pm.
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