Ulster-American Folk Park
| Ulstèr Merikay Fowk Pairk(Ulster-Scots) | |
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| Established | 1976 |
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| Location | Castletown, Northern Ireland |
| Coordinates | 54°39′32.58″N 7°20′5.03″W / 54.6590500°N 7.3347306°WCoordinates: 54°39′32.58″N 7°20′5.03″W / 54.6590500°N 7.3347306°W |
| Visitors | 165,000 between April 2007 and March 2008 |
| Website | www.folkpark.com |
The Ulster American Folk Park is an open-air museum just outside Omagh, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. With more than 30 exhibit buildings to explore, the museum tells the story of three centuries of Irish emigration. Using costumed guides and displays of traditional crafts, the museum focuses on those who left Ulster for America in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The museum is part of National Museums Northern Ireland.
Within the museum there are many restored, original buildings with connections to local families. The park was developed around the Mellon House, the birthplace of Irish-American banker and lawyer Thomas Mellon, founding father of the Mellon banking dynasty. This house and its outbuildings remain in their original location. Visitors can taste samples of traditional Irish and pioneer American foods including freshly baked soda bread and pumpkin pie all made on the hearths and griddles of the exhibit buildings. The museum also includes agricultural displays and an array of farm animals.
The park is open throughout the year, excluding some public holidays.
The demonstrations that take place showcase the day-to-day tasks and skills of those who lived in the era such as blacksmithing, candle-dipping, embroidery, spinning, printing, and open hearth cooking. The museum runs a lively programme of events and exhibitions that connect to their collections. The museum's current temporary exhibition, Titanic: Window on Emigration looks at the stories of some of the Irish emigrants that travelled on Titanic, and incorporates a recreation of a third class cabin. The museum has also hosted many international exhibitions in recent years including Fighting Irishmen from the Irish Arts Center in New York which showcased the influence of Irish emigrants in the sport of boxing, and Warriors of the Plains from the British Museum, which explored Native North American Indians. Special events mark the culture of both the New World and the Old World, such as U.S. Independence Day, Halloween, Easter and of course Saint Patrick's Day. The melting pot of emigrant music is celebrated with a three-day Bluegrass Music Festival every September.
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