Escape the hustle and bustle for an hour or two this Sunday afternoon, 21 December, as our ‘Christmas at Turlough Park’ programme concludes with some atmospheric choral performances in the exhibition galleries.

Two of the region's leading choirs - the Mayo Male Voice Choir and the Cill Aodain Choral Society - will be delivering a repertoire of traditional and contemporary Christmas carols and choral pieces for visitors to enjoy.

The Mayo Male Voice Choir will perform at 2pm under the direction of Deirdre Lee. The Cill Aodain Choral Society will perform at 3pm under the direction of Finola Higgins-Cosgrove. 

These choral performanceshave become a firm festive favourite with Museum visitors over the last number of years and the National Museum would like to express its gratitude to both groups and their musical directors for bringing this event to Turlough Park once again.  FIND OUT MORE

A very bear-y Christmas

During your time at Turlough Park, be sure to visit the impressive bear specimen which has just gone on display as part of the ongoing exhibition, The Murmur of Bees. Bears have long been associated with bees and honey and one of the ancient Irish names for a bear is milchobur (honey-lover).


The female bear from Alaska has pale brown fur and is mounted standing on her hind legs, with long claws outstretched towards the visitor. Brown bears once roamed throughout Ireland but became extinct here thousands of years ago. Find out more on Level A of the exhibition galleries at Turlough Park.


Decoration Trail
Available until Sunday, 4 January 2026

Go on a festive and fun, treasure-hunt style activity in the museum galleries. This is a self-guided trail - meaning visitors pick up an activity sheet at any time during Museum opening hours and enjoy the trail at your own pace. The clues will lead visitors through three floors of exhibition galleries to find 12 decorations hanging in the displays. 
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Christmas Post Box
Available from Sunday, 7 December

Write your letter to Santa or make a Christmas card at the Christmas Post Box. All letters will be collected and whisked away in time for Santa to check before he packs his sleigh this year!