Colouring the Past: Children's Art Competition at Corlea Trackway

What to Expect

Colouring the Past is a drop-in colouring competition for children aged four to twelve, running for the full nine days of National Heritage Week at Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre. The theme is myths and the bogs, so the sheets draw on Irish mythology and on the bog landscape that surrounds the centre. Children work on site and leave their entry in.

It is designed to sit alongside a visit rather than replace one. Corlea’s permanent exhibition is built around an 18 metre stretch of Iron Age oak roadway, felled in 148 BC and laid across the bog by hand, now preserved indoors in a humidified hall. Access to the trackway is by guided tour, and the tour is pitched so that younger visitors get something out of it. There is also an audio-visual show and picnic areas outside.

Entries close at 5:00 PM on the final Sunday, 23 August, which is also the busiest day of the programme with a bog walk at midday, an uilleann pipes and harp talk at 2:00 PM and a harp and pipes recital at 4:00 PM.

Good to Know

• Saturday 15 August to Sunday 23 August 2026, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily.
• Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre, Keenagh, Co. Longford, N39 XT18.
• Ages 4 to 12.
• Entries must be submitted by 5:00 PM on Sunday 23 August 2026.
• Admission was listed as to be confirmed. General entry to Corlea Trackway is free during the 2026 season.
• Queries to corlea@opw.ie or 043 332 2386, daily 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
• Other family events in the same programme include a heritage quilt art workshop on 19 August and a Wild Child bog explorers session on 22 August.

Getting There

Corlea Trackway Visitor Centre lies about 15 kilometres south of Longford town, on the bog road west of Keenagh village. Drivers from Longford should take the R397 or R392 towards Keenagh, then follow the brown heritage signs. From Ballymahon it is a ten minute run north on the R392, and from Athlone take the N55 north and turn off at Ballymahon.

Parking is free and there is space for the whole family car and a buggy. The centre has accessible toilets and level access, and the picnic area outside makes it easy to build a half day around the visit. There is no scheduled bus to the trackway itself, so driving or booking Local Link ahead is the practical option.