Heritage Week Free Events at Brigit's Garden

What to Expect

Brigit’s Garden runs a free two-Sunday programme for National Heritage Week 2026, with guided walks and workshops led by naturalists and by the garden’s own director. On Sunday 16 August, Jenny Beale leads Nature Restoration in Action from 11am to 12.45pm, an interactive walk through the wildflower meadows, woodland and ponds that explains the restoration work behind them. Three sessions then run in parallel that afternoon from 2pm to 3.45pm: Wonderful Wildflowers, an identification walk across the meadows with Dolores Keegan and Jenny Beale; a Guided Butterfly Walk with ecologist Caitriona Carlin on picking out species on the wing; and a Wildlife Gardening Workshop with Kay Synott covering practical ways to support birds, bees and butterflies at home. The day finishes with an Evening Bat Walk from 9pm to 10.45pm, using bat detectors to pick up the calls overhead, suitable for ages 6 and over.

Sunday 23 August has two sessions. Trees in Irish Culture runs from 11am to 1pm and looks at native trees and shrubs and their place in Irish mythology, with an Ogham craft to take home. From 2pm to 3.45pm the Family Storytelling Workshop brings Irish myths and legends to families with children aged 4 and over, with costumes and creative materials set out under a weatherproof shelter. Booking is required for every session through the garden’s Rezgo booking system. Several sessions were already showing as full when the programme was published: the Guided Butterfly Walk, the Wildlife Gardening Workshop, the Evening Bat Walk, Trees in Irish Culture and the Family Storytelling Workshop.

Good to Know

• Sunday 16 August 2026 and Sunday 23 August 2026, with sessions from 11am through to 10.45pm.
• Venue: Brigit’s Garden, Pollagh, Rosscahill, Co. Galway.
• Every session is free. Donations are welcomed.
• Booking is required for all sessions and several were already full at time of listing, so check availability before travelling.
• Family sessions: the Evening Bat Walk (ages 6 and over) and the Family Storytelling Workshop (ages 4 and over). The wildflower, butterfly, wildlife gardening and tree walks are pitched at adults and interested teenagers.
• The garden and cafe are open daily from 9.30am to 5pm.

Getting There

Brigit’s Garden is at Pollagh near Rosscahill, on the Lough Corrib side of the N59 Galway to Clifden road, roughly a 20 minute drive northwest of Galway city. There is parking on site. Buses on the Galway to Clifden route stop in Rosscahill village, and it is a short taxi or lift from the village to the garden entrance.