How Galwegians lived contained or confined within several of the city’s institutions will be the thread that links an evening of walking and historical talks for Culture Night, tomorrow, Friday, September 18, beginning at 5pm.
The theme of this year’s Culture Night walkabout is ‘Life in Galway’s Institutions’. Speakers from the University of Galway and elsewhere will introduce some of the city’s institutions, and discuss life within their walls.
This 90-minute, free event will begin promptly, at 5pm, at the entrance to the Galway City Museum. The walkabout will then proceed from the museum to a number of other sites around the city, with different speakers presenting for eight minutes at each location.
The walkabout, which is coordinated by John Cunningham and Brendan McGowan, will be held under the auspices of Galway City Museum, and is supported by the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society.
Beginning at the museum, the walkabout will cover several topics and locations, including Salthill Industrial School (Sarah-Anne Buckley ), St Anne’s Industrial School nearby in Lenaboy (Conall Ó Fatharta ), institutions in the writings of Pádraic Ó Conaire (Brendan McGowan ), the Orphans’ Breakfast Institutes (Mary Cunningham ), Magdalen Asylum (Lorraine Grimes ), Galway Mendicity Institute (John Cunningham ), children in Galway Gaol (Geraldine Curtin ), and The Galway Workhouse (Sorcha Clarke ).
These short talks are complementary to the Galway City Museum’s current exhibition Survivor Stories: Tuam and Ireland’s Institutional Past, which runs until Saturday, September 19, 2026.
Participants should arrive in good time, and be prepared for all weathers.
