A day out on the farm in the heart of Clonmel
Collaboration between Tipperary Museum and Clonel Agricultural Show
Tipperary Museum hosted Clonmel’s eleventh traditional mini farm in association with Clonmel Agricultural Show.
Back in 2015, the Clonmel Agricultural Show celebrated its 150th Anniversary. To celebrate the landmark anniversary, the Show Committee joined forces with Museum Curator Marie McMahon and Julia Walsh Education Officer, to develop a range of commemorative initiatives.
The committee has a huge membership and there were many third and fourth-generation committee members, who had a myriad of historical material at their fingertips. They decided to catalogue, digitise, and use this important material and create a 150-year retrospective exhibition of the show’s history.
The exhibition was a tremendous success and brought new audiences into the venue, but importantly, it also brought an awareness of the show’s long past and value to Clonmel and its environs since 1865.
Another progressive move by the two institutions was to develop a Mini Farm Day, which would highlight traditional farming animals, traditional crafts & skills, and to bring a farm into the heart of the town and community. This is the prelude to the notorious Clonmel Agriculture Show held in the Clonmel Racecourse annually on Sunday 5th July 2026.
The chosen location for the Mini Farm Day is Clonmel, Kickham Green, on Kickham Street adjacent to the Crescent Shop, CBS Clonmel Highschool, Community Resource Centre and SS. Peters & Pauls Primary School.
Since 2015, the Mini Farm Day has grown from strength to strength. This year they celebrated their 11th Anniversary of the Mini Farm Day on Friday, 22nd May 2026.
Marie McMahon Curator, spoke of her “pride in the annual event and praise for the Museums Education Officer Julia Walsh for coordinating and developing the day through a new heritage and biodiversity lens.
The day was fabulous and could not have happened without the support of the Museum Team’s, the outdoor lads from the Clonmel District, and the ongoing support from the Clonmel Agricultural Show Committee.
This mini farm is a huge opportunity for our local community and schools to visit a farm in the centre of Clonmel. It’s so lovely to see young children enjoying the antics of farm animals and learning about them. We have many older students curious about the event and then deciding to pop in to feed the horses and sheep. The day is pure innocence and joy in equal measure; it’s one of the highlights of our annual schools programme.”
Over 850+ students from a 10km radius are bused by O’Donoghue’s to the Kickham Green space, a green oasis in Clonmel, enjoying an action-packed day. Children met calves, puppies, sheep, horses, donkeys, Traditional Irish Crafters; Joe Channon Farrier, Kathleen Hogg Spinner, Sonia Cadwell Straw Craft, Tommy O’Rourke Thatcher, Philip Quinn Stone Mason and Will O’Connell Specialist Carpendar.
A special word of thanks to the public, Clonmel Youth Centre, Clonmel Resource Centre and schools who visited the Traditional Town Farm last Friday, especially: St Marys Primary School, St. Peter &Pauls Primary School, Highschool Secondary School, Presentation Primary School, St. Marys Parochial School, Kilsheelan Primary School, Killusty NS, Lisronagh NS, Rathkeevan NS, Killurney NS, Gael Scoil Chluain Meala, Ballyneale NS and St. Olivers Primary School.
This project was proudly supported by the Clonmel Agricultural Show, Tipperary County Council, and the Heritage Council, with the Museums’ new Heritage Stewardship Project “Hands of Heritage” which will be rolled out across the summer months. Stay tuned for further details as they are announced across social media Facebook @Tipperarymuseum and Instagram @tipperarymuseum