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The Ulster Folk Museum and the Ulster Transport Museum are situated in
Cultra Cultra ( - ) is an affluent residential neighbourhood near Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is part of Greater Belfast. It is in the Ards and North Down Borough Council area. Cultra is home to the Royal North of Ireland Yacht Cl ...
,
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, about east of the city of
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
. The Folk Museum endeavours to illustrate the way of life and traditions of the people in Northern Ireland, past and present, while the Transport Museum explores and exhibits methods of transport by land, sea and air, past and present. The museums rank among Ireland's foremost visitor attractions and is a former Irish Museum of the Year. The location houses two of four museums included in
National Museums Northern Ireland National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) (formerly ''National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland'') is a museum service in Northern Ireland, consisting of the Ulster American Folk Park, the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and the Ulster M ...
.


History

Created by an
Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...
in 1958, the Folk Museum was created to preserve a rural way of life in danger of disappearing forever due to increasing urbanisation and industrialisation in
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. The site the museum occupies was formally the Estate of Sir Robert Kennedy, and was acquired in 1961, with the museum opening to the public for the first time three years later in 1964. In 1967, the Folk Museum merged with the Belfast Transport Museum (located on Witham Street in the city), to form the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. In 1993, the Transport Museum moved into new Rail and Road Galleries in Cultra, close to the Folk Museum site. The galleries were subsequently expanded in 1996. In 1998, the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum merged with the
Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasure ...
and the
Ulster-American Folk Park The Ulster American Folk Park is an open-air museum just outside Omagh, in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. With more than 30 exhibit buildings to explore, the museum tells the story of three centuries of Irish emigration. Using costumed guides ...
to form the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland, now National Museums Northern Ireland.


Folk Museum

The Folk Museum houses a variety of old buildings and dwellings which have been collected from various parts of Ireland and rebuilt in the grounds of the museum, brick by brick. are devoted to illustrating the rural way of life in the early 20th century, and visitors can stroll through a recreation of the period's countryside complete with farms,
cottages A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...
,
crops A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponics ...
, livestock, and visit a typical
Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...
town of the time called "Ballycultra", featuring shops, churches, and both terraced and larger housing and a Tea room. Regular activities include open hearth cooking,
printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ea ...
,
needlework Needlework is decorative sewing and textile arts handicrafts. Anything that uses a needle for construction can be called needlework. Needlework may include related textile crafts such as crochet, worked with a hook, or tatting, worked with a ...
, and traditional Irish crafts demonstrations. All these new developments have aided UFM in developing a new visitor base and have gained the site international recognition. The museum is the holder of Northern Ireland's main film, photographic, television and sound archives. The museum holds the
BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland ( ga, BBC Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ''BBC Norlin Airlan'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ire ...
archive of radio and television programmes, and also possesses over 2,000 hours of sound material broadcast between 1972 and 2002 by the
Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...
radio station
RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (; "Radio of the Gaeltacht"), abbreviated RnaG, is an Irish language radio station owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the Intern ...
, from its studios in
Derrybeg Doirí Beaga (anglicised as Derrybeg, meaning 'small oak trees'), is a Gaeltacht village and townland in the parish of Gweedore (''Gaoth Dobhair'') in County Donegal, Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in t ...
,
County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...
. The museum also maintains an archive of Ulster
dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...
s, and a large library containing over 15,000 books and periodicals. The archives and library are open to the public during office hours.


Transport Museum

The Transport Museum houses an extensive transport collection, and endeavours to tell the story of transport in Ireland, from its early history to the
modern era The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...
. It is the largest railway collection in Ireland. The Irish Railway Collection tells the story of over 150 years of railway history.
Steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
, passenger carriages and goods wagons are combined with extensive railway memorabilia, interactive displays and visitor facilities. One of the collection's main attractions is
Great Southern Railways The Great Southern Railways Company (often Great Southern Railways, or GSR) was an Irish company that from 1925 until 1945 owned and operated all railways that lay wholly within the Irish Free State (the present-day Republic of Ireland). The p ...
Class 800 locomotive No. 800 ''Maeḋḃ'', one of the three largest and most powerful steam locomotives ever to be built and run in Ireland. The new Road Transport Galleries boast a large collection of vehicles ranging from cycles and motorcycles to trams, buses, and cars. One of its most famous attractions is a
DMC DeLorean The DMC DeLorean is a rear-engine two-passenger sports car manufactured and marketed by John DeLorean's DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) for the American market from 1981 until 1983—ultimately the only car brought to market by the fledgling comp ...
car, the model made famous by ''
Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, ...
'', and manufactured by the
DeLorean Motor Company The DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) was an American automobile manufacturer formed by automobile industry executive John DeLorean in 1975. It is remembered for the one model it produced—the stainless steel DeLorean sports car featuring gull- ...
in Belfast. The museum boasts a permanent ''
Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
'' exhibition, documenting the construction, voyage, and eventual sinking of the ill-fated vessel. The ship has long been associated with Northern Ireland, as it was constructed in the
Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff is a British shipbuilding company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It specialises in ship repair, shipbuilding and offshore construction. Harland & Wolff is famous for having built the majority of the ocean liners for the W ...
shipyards, just a few miles from the museum. The newly refurbished ''Titanic'' exhibition, tying in with the Folk museum's 'Titanic Trail' is titled ''TITANICa''. Also on display at the museum is the Shorts manufactured
Short SC.1 The Short SC.1 was the first British fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) jet aircraft. It was developed by Short Brothers. It was powered by an arrangement of five Rolls-Royce RB.108 turbojets, four of which were used for vertical ...
, an experimental vertical take-off aeroplane, only two of which were ever produced. The example in the museum, XG905, crashed in 1963, ending up upside down and killing its pilot. It was, however, repaired and flown again before eventually being preserved by the museum. There is the 120 ton steel schooner ''Result''. Recent additions to the collection include a full set of
Stanley Woods Stanley Woods (1903 – 28 July 1993) was an Irish motorcycle racer famous for 29 motorcycle Grand Prix wins in the 1920s and 1930s, winning the Isle of Man TT races ten times in his career, plus wins at Assen and elsewhere. He was also a skill ...
racing memorabilia, and two of his bikes. Also on display is a
Rex McCandless Rex McCandless (1915–1992) was a former motorcycle racer, designer and constructor from Northern Ireland. Born in Hillsborough, County Down, McCandless had been a successful motorcycle racer prior to the Second World War. During the war ...
vehicle and an early
Formula 1 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
racing car. A little known fact is that the
pogo stick A pogo stick is a device for jumping off the ground in a standing position, through the aid of a spring, or new high performance technologies, often used as a toy, exercise equipment or extreme sports instrument. It led to an extreme sport named ...
, of which there are examples in the museum, was invented in
Comber Comber ( , , locally ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies south of Newtownards, at the northern end of Strangford Lough. It is situated in the townland of Town Parks, the civil parish of Comber and the historic barony of Cast ...
,
County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
. Previously used by local potato farmers to make holes for planting their seed it was later developed by local inventor Archibald Springer who saw potential for its use as a mode of transport and sporting novelty.


Railway and tramway vehicles


Railway connection for visitors

Cultra railway station Cultra railway station is a railway station in the townland of Ballycultra in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. It serves the Cultra residential area and the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum. History The Belfast, Holywood and Bangor Rai ...
on the Belfast-Bangor railway line provides connections to
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...
, Belfast Central and Great Victoria Street,
Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...
and in one direction and to Bangor in the other direction.


See also

*
History of rail transport in Ireland The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than that of Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland had 3,500 route miles (5,630 km). The current status is less than half that amount, with a large unserviced area arou ...
*
History of Ireland (1801–1923) Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1801 to 1922. For almost all of this period, the island was governed by the UK Parliament in London through its Dublin Castle administration in Ireland. Ireland underwent c ...
*
Culture of Northern Ireland The culture of Northern Ireland relates to the traditions of Northern Ireland. Elements of the Culture of Ulster and the Culture of the United Kingdom are to be found. Heritage Since 1998, the Ulster Museum, Armagh Museum, Ulster Folk and Tra ...
*
Culture of Ireland The culture of Ireland includes language, literature, music, art, folklore, cuisine, and sport associated with Ireland and the Irish people. For most of its recorded history, Irish culture has been primarily Gaelic (see Gaelic Ireland). It has ...
*
National Museums Northern Ireland National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI) (formerly ''National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland'') is a museum service in Northern Ireland, consisting of the Ulster American Folk Park, the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum and the Ulster M ...


Other museums

*
Beamish Museum Beamish Museum is the first regional open-air museum, in England, located at Beamish, near the town of Stanley, in County Durham, England. Beamish pioneered the concept of a living museum. By displaying duplicates or replaceable items, it wa ...
– County Durham, England *
Black Country Living Museum The Black Country Living Museum (formerly the Black Country Museum) is an open-air museum of rebuilt historic buildings in Dudley, West Midlands, England.List of transport museums A transport museum is a museum that holds collections of transport items, which are often limited to land transport (road and rail)—including old cars, motorcycles, trucks, trains, trams/streetcars, buses, trolleybuses and coaches—but can a ...
*
Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasure ...
– Belfast *
St Fagans National History Museum St Fagans National Museum of History ( ; cy, Sain Ffagan: Amgueddfa Werin Cymru, links=no), commonly referred to as St Fagans St Fagans ( ; cy, Sain Ffagan) is a village and community in the west of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales. I ...
– Museum of Welsh Life, Cardiff, Wales.


Notes


External links


Ulster Folk and Transport Museum official web site

The Northern Ireland Guide – Ulster Folk and Transport Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulster Folk And Transport Museums National Museums Northern Ireland Museums established in 1958 Museums established in 1964 Education in County Down Railway museums in Northern Ireland Heritage railways in Northern Ireland Folk museums in the United Kingdom Archives in Northern Ireland Museums in County Down Open-air museums in Northern Ireland Transport museums in Northern Ireland Rural history museums in Northern Ireland 1958 establishments in Northern Ireland