The Michael Cusack Centre is located at the unspoiled village of Carron in the heart of the Burren at one of the highest points in the Burren Mountains and overlooks the largest Turlough (disappearing lake) in Western Europe. The center traces the life and times of the founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).
The center offers a portal into nineteenth-century life in Ireland, from living through the famine to the founding of the GAA. This unique story is brought to life in Cusack's original thatched cottage, as the ghost of Michael Cusack regales visitors with his story. This cultural and heritage center provides an insight into Irish identity and is a part of who we are.
The center offers an Audio-visual experience unequaled in Ireland. You can view a sample of the holographic expo on Youtube.
Tours at the center can be tailored to visitor's needs and interests in education, farming, geology, or sport.
You can experience our National pass times at Michael Cusack's GAA Club, and you can even try your hand at Hurling and Gaelic Football. The center provides visitors the opportunity to experience our native games, firstly, through a demonstration followed by visitor participation in the basic skills of lifting and striking a sliothár (hurling ball).
The center has a beautifully restored Irish Cottage with a Cafe where you can enjoy Tea, Coffee, Sandwiches, Biscuits, and Scones and there is also a Gift Shop.
Walking Tours
Just one mile from the Centre is the trailhead for the Carron loop and caters to those wishing to explore the flora and fauna of the Burren. This trail includes Carron Turlough, megalithic tombs, St Fachtnas Holy Well, and spectacular views of the Burren landscape. Further information at Shannon Region Website.
Farm Heritage Tours
The Centre also offers tours of working farms within the Burren. Local farmers illustrate how to farm in this unique environment and give access to tombs and other prehistoric monuments not normally available to the public. Father Ted's house is located on one of the many different walks available to visitors. You can try this guided tour with a difference while on Tour with Ireland West Tours. More information is available on their Website. Please let us know, well in advance, if you would like to do this tour.
Michael Cusack
Michael Cusack, born in Carron in 1847, founded the largest amateur sporting organization in the world, the Gaelic Athletic Association. The Michael Cusack Centre, located in the picturesque limestone landscape of the Burren is situated at the original homestead. The center and family homestead honor the founder of Ireland's greatest sporting and cultural organization, the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA).
Visitors receive an informative talk on the life and times of Cusack, and then come face to face (literally!) with the Ghost of Michael Cusack in the original mid-19th century thatched cottage where he lived. Here Michael Cusack tells his own story, through a unique audio-visual experience incorporating revolutionary holographic technology, the first of its kind in Ireland.
Visitors to the Centre will also be able to familiarise themselves with the game of hurling on a first-hand basis. In the green area after a demo with an experienced guide, they will be invited to take up a hurley and sliothár and learn some hurling skills under instruction from the guide. They will also be able to try out their new skills at our superb new hurling wall.
Visitors are also invited to take a walk around the cottage grounds, where they will encounter the wonderful flora unique to the Burren. Lucky guests may even catch sight of our resident family of red squirrels as they go about their daily business. A set of interpretative nature panels placed around the grounds offers a guide to the flora, fauna, and geology of the Burren area.
The center offers visitors a uniquely Irish experience and a fresh perspective on Irish history. The tour captivates and engages young and old, instilling a true understanding and appreciation of our native games and culture in the 1800s and in Ireland today.
You can get more information on michaelcusack.ie
YouTube By Hurlingtime Duration 01:38
