National Famine Museum & Strokestown Park (Irish Heritage Trust)

Strokestown Park is a unique property that includes the National Famine Museum, a beautiful Palladian house and stunning gardens.

Owned by the Pakenham Mahon family for over 300 years, this evocative estate is a time capsule and a window into life in a big house and estate during some of our most tumultuous times, through the lives and experiences of the people who lived and worked here.

The story of the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s has particular resonance as Strokestown. Tenants on the estate were hugely impacted, many emigrated or died, and a previous owner of the house and local landlord, Major Denis Mahon was assassinated in November 1847 at the height of the famine. It is fitting that the National Famine Museum was established at Strokestown Park in 1994 using the unique Archive of original documents which came to light during the restoration of the House.