The Lár na Páirce GAA Museum, located in Thurles town, latter the birthplace of the GAA, is home to Ireland’s first and oldest collection of Gaelic Games sporting heritage and to be brutally honest if you have not visited this venue at least once since it opened in 1994, regardless of which Irish county you support, you are not really a true dedicated and passionate GAA fan.
Our video hereunder shows just a sample of some of the delights that this venue, at Slievenamon Road, Thurles, has to offer.
Recently refurbished, Lár na Páirce GAA Museum houses an impressive collection of memorabilia by any standards – including hurleys, footballs, jerseys, trophies, medals, programmes, publications and banners – which brings to life the development of Gaelic Games from ancient times to the present day as well as showing its unique role in Irish history.
Same is part of what we are, a valuable and treasured expression of our heritage – a storehouse of the culture and traditions of our most popular national pastimes. The venue now features a state of the art audio-visual system to enhance the visitor’s experience at key points throughout the tour.
Lár na Páirce is now a multi-faceted, sophisticated, fully automated experience with the centre-piece of the museum remaining the rare Sam Melbourne collection and is, as our video shows, visited daily by schools at all levels, together with Retirement Groups and visitors from every country under the sun.
The Sam Melbourne Collection
The late Mr Sam Melbourne, a native of Horse & Jockey, Thurles, started collecting GAA material in the 1930s. In 1989, Tipperary GAA Board purchased this unique collection and gave it a permanent home at Lár na Páirce. Over the years the collection had grown in importance and size and remains a unique experience for the visitor.
Museum Site: Lár na Páirce GAA Museum is located at Slievenamon Road, close to the junction with Liberty Square, in the Thurles town centre and for more information on this “state of the art” visitor attraction visit Treasures In Lár Na Páirce Museum.
Very interesting history