Michael Cusack Heritage Centre

01/09/2026

🎉 CUSACK DAY 2026 — COME CELEBRATE WITH US! 🎉

Join us on Sunday, 20th September, from 12–3pm as we celebrate the birthday of a truly remarkable Clare man — Michael Cusack, founder of the GAA, educator, writer, sportsman and passionate cultural revivalist.

And this year, there’s even more to celebrate! 🥳

We’re marking the 20th Anniversary of the opening of the Michael Cusack Heritage Centre Exhibition Centre — two decades of telling the story of the man, his legacy and the place where it all began.

So, come along, soak up the history, enjoy the craic and help us raise a toast to The Founder! ☘️🏑

📍 Michael Cusack Heritage Centre
Poulaphuca, Carron, Co. Clare
V95 XT95

Everyone is welcome — come and celebrate with us!




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24/08/2026

Examining the contents of the moth trap at this weekend’s wonderful “ Moths & Butterfly Workshop” with Jesmond Harding supported by Barry O Loughlin Clare County Council Biodiversity Officer at the iconic Michael Cusack Heritage Centre as part of National Heritage Week.@ ClareCountyCouncil@ VisitClare GAA Clare

24/08/2026

Delighted to host National Heritage Week’s “ Moth & Butterfly Workshop” at the Michael Cusack Heritage Centre on Saturday with Jesmond Harding and funded by Barry O’ Loughlin Clare County Councils Biodiversity Officer. Photos focus on examining the contents of the moth traps.
Visit ClareClare County CouncilGAA Clare

18/08/2026

Our beautiful and talented Rose of Clare. Méabh, we are so proud of you! An Clár Abú!💛💙

17/08/2026

What a fantastic morning at today’s Antiques Rockshow! 🪨✨

We had a wonderful gathering of curious minds, fascinating specimens and some truly amazing fossils, each one offering a little glimpse into the ancient story written beneath our feet.

From treasures brought along for identification to incredible discoveries from the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark, there was plenty to marvel at. (National Heritage Week⁠)

A brilliant reminder that around here, you don’t always have to dig very deep to find something extraordinary! 🌿🦴

16/08/2026

Delighted to speak today in the Pavilion Lisdoonvarna on “Michael Cusack, Cricket and the History of the GAA”, as part of the Rekindle Festival and to kickstart Heritage Week 2026.
Wonderful engagement with our Cricketers from Kilrush and North Clare and Hugh Kelly of Cricket Munster. Great thanks to Peter Casey of Clare GAA Coaching Team for bringing his underage academy to share their hurling skills with the two cricket teams.
From the healing waters of Lisdoonvarna to the hurling fields of Kilmoon and the cricket ground at the Pavilion, the Burren shaped a sporting culture that influenced generations.
Michael Cusack athlete, cricketer, hurler and founder of the GAA, moved through this landscape at a time when Ireland’s sporting identity was still being formed.
Rekindle invites us to rediscover that shared heritage.
Thanks to Conor Mahon of Clare Local Sports Partnership and to Councillor Joe Garrihy and to Marie and to Sheena of Lisdoonvarna Fáilte and to Aoife Hammond of Common Knowledge for powerful Festival coordination.
Wonderful support as always from my colleague Martin (Pele) Molloy. 👏👏👏Common Knowledge; Clare Sports Partnership; cricket; Lisdoonvarna Fáilte CLG - North Clare Sports & Amenity Park

11/08/2026

Delighted to be part of the Rekindling Festival this Sunday

10/08/2026

Come along to the Michael Cusack Heritage Centre in Carron for a proper rockin’ morning with Dr Eamon Doyle, Geologist with the Burren & Cliffs of Moher Geopark.
Dr Eamon will be digging into the ancient stories written in the rocks of the Burren ... Sure where else would you find a rock show with no guitars, no tickets, and millions of years of stories?

📅 Monday, 17th August 2026
⏰ 11am – 1pm
📍 Michael Cusack Heritage Centre, Carron, V95 XT95

Come along, and if you like, why not bring some of your own rocks, have the chats, learn a thing or two.
No need to be a geologist, just bring yourself, your curiosity, and an appreciation for a good old rock. It'd be a pity to take it for granite😉

🇮🇪 Part of National Heritage Week 2026

A wonderful opportunity to bring along fossils for discussion and identification, while also viewing some of the latest discoveries from the Burren and Cliffs o...

07/08/2026

Every time a county fills Croke Park for an All-Ireland final, every time children pick up a hurley in a parish field, they owe a debt to one determined, fiery Clare man. 🏑 Michael Cusack, founder of the GAA.

Born in County Clare in 1847, Cusack was a teacher who watched with dismay as Ireland's own traditional games faded and foreign sports took their place. He believed passionately that a nation's games were part of its very soul, and that reviving hurling and Gaelic football would help revive Irish pride and identity themselves. In 1884, he gathered a small group in a billiard room in Thurles, County Tipperary, and founded the Gaelic Athletic Association. From that modest meeting grew one of the greatest amateur sporting movements in the world, an organisation woven into the life of every parish in Ireland, run by volunteers, fiercely local and fiercely loved.

He was a stubborn, difficult, magnificent man with a vision far bigger than himself. 💚 James Joyce even put a version of him in Ulysses, but his real monument is every packed stand and every young hurler carrying on the games he saved.