Drawing Room page

Family & School Resources

Welcome to History Hunters, fun for all the family!

Download our History Hunter PDF or pick up a free physical copy when you visit Kylemore. You will be guided on a fun tour of learning and exploration. Do just one section or all three and don’t forget to pick up you authentic History Hunter certificate at the end

HISTORY HUNTER SELF GUIDING TOUR DOWNLOAD HERE 

Introducing our wonderful history workbook ‘Imagine A Castle’. We hope you and your class will have lots of fun exploring its pages and carrying out the fun and interactive’ Over to You!’ tasks at the end of each section. The workbook will be distributed to schools in County Galway through Galway County Library, mobile school’s library service with copies also available at Kylemore Abbey or the Heritage Office, Galway County Council. We would love to see some of the castles and other things you create, please send them to us at info@kylemoreabbey.com and if you like we will share them here to inspire other schools!

Imagine a Castle Videos

Follow the links to view our tiny videos which accompany the workbook or you can view them just for fun!

History, Myths, & Tall Tales from Kylemore Abbey

The ironing stone

Listen to the stories here...

Introduction to the Myths and Legends of Kylemore, Pollucapul and Léim na h'Eilte. Stories of a magical white horse from Tír na nÓg and a phantom deer being chased by Chu Chulainn's hound and how they shaped the area surround Kylemore Castle are all part of the first story of the series

Na Páistí Muca (The Little Pig Children)This is a new story, inspired by the estate, and is full of fun & mischief. This particular story is dedicated to our resident Kune Kune pigs, Ken & Gloria.

The Milk Jug The moral of today's story is, even if you have very little, if you share it with someone who has less, good will come to you for that deed. The story is dedicated to the people of Connemara, who always shared what little they had an inspired by the tradition of challenging stories in Irish folklore.

The Smoothing Iron For generations children and adults from all over the world having been casting their wishes at the Smoothing Iron in Kylemore, but have you ever wondered how it got there or just what makes it so special? In today's story, Eithne O'Halloran tells us a tale of quarrelling Giants and the magic they unleashed.

The Tale of Dastardly Dan & Dastardly Dan Quigley Colouring Sheet The Fairies are a huge part of Irish myth and folklore and until recent years and even as is evident in some of todays’ practices (for example, never ever cut a whitethorn tree!), the Irish people knew to respect the Fairies. If only Dastardly Dan Quigley heeded such advice…learn the Tale of Dastardly Dan and his encounter with the Fairies.

The Very Hungry Giant. Another tall tale today, in fact a very tall and hungry one of a ferocious Giant and a brave young man! Today, Abbey Experience Manager, Eithne O’Halloran, tells us the story of The Very Hungry Giant of Leím na hEílte!

Activity Sheets for Families & Schools

Imagine a Castle

Activity Sheets for Families & Schools 

Rainy day blues? Download some of our fun activity pages all themed on Kylemore. Whether you know Kylemore Abbey inside out or if you just wish to visit someday these activity pages will keep little minds and hands busy, well for a while at least.

Primary School History Resources

Pupils

Introducing our wonderful history workbook ‘Imagine A Castle’. We hope you and your class will have lots of fun exploring its pages and carrying out the fun and interactive’ Over to You!’ tasks at the end of each section. The workbook will be distributed to schools in County Galway through Galway County Library, mobile school’s library service with copies also available at Kylemore Abbey or the Heritage Office, Galway County Council. We would love to see some of the castles and other things you create, please send them to us at info@kylemoreabbey.com and if you like we will share them here to inspire other schools!

Imagine a Castle Videos

Follow the links to view our tiny videos which accompany the workbook or you can view them just for fun!

Portraits at Kylemore Abbey

A video to accompany the Stories Through Pictures section of our Imagine A Castle workbook. We look at some of the portraits we are lucky to have here in Kylemore, an oil painting and a video of Margaret Henry and a sculpture of Mitchell Henry. We discuss what is unique about each of them and what we can learn from them.

Meet the Head Gardener

In this video we visit the beautiful Victorian Walled Garden to speak to our Head Gardener, Anja and find out about the best and worst parts of her job! Can you guess what they might be?