We are thrilled to announce that the Jackie Clarke Collection has been awarded the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Award for 2025! 🏆 This prestigious recognition places us in the top 10% of attractions worldwide on TripAdvisor, a true testament to the quality of our visitor experience, hospitality, and service. The Travellers’ Choice Award celebrates businesses that consistently earn outstanding reviews and ratings from visitors over a 12-month period. It’s determined by the volume and quality of feedback shared by travellers on the TripAdvisor platform, and we are incredibly proud to have achieved this. A heartfelt thank you to every individual, couple, family, group, school teacher, principal, and organisation who took the time to leave us a review and share their experience. Your kind words and honest feedback mean the world to us. We also want to acknowledge our fantastic team here at Jackie Clarke Collection. This award is a reflection of your dedication and passion. Thank you for making us the best visitor attraction in Ballina! #TravellersChoice2025 #tripadvisorawards2025 #thankyou

Today the Jackie Clarke Collection are preparing to say goodbye to our two wonderful intern students from Villanova University who have spent the last eight weeks with us here at the collection. Riley Nelson and Julia Reagan have spent the summer with us, discovering and researching Jackie’s collection and collating two amazing new exhibitions, recreating the Anne Clarke Community Room and the Jackie Clarke, Genius Collector/AV room. They have worked incredibly hard and made a tremendous contribution in the short time they have been with us! During that time we have also been able to show them just some of the wonderful attractions our County has to offer, including the Céide Fields, Doom Brushca, @mountfalcon , @nationalmuseumofireland - Museum of Country Life, Foxford Woollen Mill and ending today with a visit to our friends at the @michaeldavittmuseum . It’s been a wonderful opportunity for them to experience other historical and cultural organisations and for us here at the Collection to promote some of the other exciting tourism sites our region has to offer. We would like to take this opportunity to wish them safe travel back to the US and sincerely hope they have enjoyed their time with us, we are sad to see them go but wish them every success with their studies in the future! Please come back and visit us soon!

#OTD On this day in 1803, Robert Emmet, Irish Republican, orator and rebel leader, led a failed insurrection against British rule in Ireland. Emmet was born in Dublin in 1778, the youngest son of the state physician, Dr Robert Emmet and the younger brother of Thomas Emmet, one of the United Irishmen. Robert Emmet was enrolled in Trinity College Dublin, but his vocal and fiery orations against the British treatment of the Irish and his refusal to swear allegiance to the British Crown, led him to be expelled. Robert, like his brother before him, joined the United Irishmen. The United Irishmen were a revolutionary group of Protestant and Catholic radicals, who sought an end to British rule in Ireland. Having witnessed the suppression of the 1798 Rebellion, Emmet decided to organise his own insurrection, using his own funds to purchase explosives and weapons. Support for Emmet was woeful to say the least, most of the men he had managed to enlist for the rising were untrained and little better than a mob, disruptive and unruly. On the evening of 23rd July 1803, Emmet arranged to meet his men at Thomas Street, Dublin. Emmet was expecting close to a thousand men to turn up, but only around eighty arrived, despite this Emmet decided to proceed with the revolt. The uprising was quickly crushed, with Emmet and his men soon overrun by British Forces. Emmet escaped but declined to leave the country, such was his love of his fiancée Sarah Curran, who he refused to leave without. Emmet was ultimately captured, tried for high treason and sentenced to death. Robert Emmet was executed on September 20th, 1803, at the age of 25. Emmet remained defiant to the end, when he was asked if he had anything to say following his sentence, Emmet gave one of the most legendary speeches of all time, called the “Speech from the dock.” Emmet’s powerful speech ended with the words….. "When my country takes her place among the nations of the earth, then, and not till then, let my epitaph be written", epitomize his unwavering commitment to the cause of Irish independence."

The Jackie Clarke Collection presents its third article celebrating the lives and achievements of the lesser known women in our great nation’s history. Today we are looking at the life of Cumman na mBan Member, IRA Paymaster General and Markswomen during the 1916 Rising, Margaret Skinnider. Margaret Skinnider was born in Scotland in 1893 to an Irish Father and Scottish Mother. Margaret was a qualified teacher but left her job to join the planned 1916 Rising in Ireland. Margaret already a member of the Scottish branch of the Cumman na mBan in Glasgow, was passionate about women’s suffrage and wholeheartedly supported the ideals of equality, for men and women, in a new independent Irish Republic. Margaret had been trained to use a gun and was a formidable shot; this valuable skill would be put to the test during the conflict. Initially Margaret acted as a messenger, using just a bicycle to relay messages to and from the various outposts. Later she was positioned on the roof of the Royal College of Surgeons as a sniper, where she was reported to have taken out a number of British Soldiers. Margaret was shot and badly injured during the conflict, and was taken to Hospital where she lay gravely ill for many weeks. After her recovery Margaret travelled to the US to raise awareness and funds for the Republican cause. Margaret wrote a book about her experiences during the 1916 Rising, called “Doing my bit for Ireland” the proceeds of which she donated to the cause. Margaret returned to Ireland and became quartermaster general of the IRA. She was arrested for her part in the WOI and imprisoned in Mountjoy Gaol, after her release she went back to teaching and become president of the Irish National Teachers Association. Margaret retired in 1961 and died in 1971, she is buried in Glasnevin Cemetery. Margaret Skinnider was a true revolutionary, whose courage and conviction helped to change the course of Irish history, her commitment to a free Ireland, served as the inspiration for so many. Here at the JCC we have an original 1917 copy of Margaret’s book “Doing my bit for Ireland” just one of the many rare books Jackie collected in his lifetime.

Well, as the Ballina Salmon Festival comes to a close today, we just wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated in our Pandora’s Box events at the Jackie Clarke Collection this week. We kicked the week off with the brilliant Irish Model T Ford Club's annual “All Ireland Vintage Car Rally” such a beautiful collection of vintage vehicles thanks to them it was a great way to start our week of celebrations! Thanks to Ballina Costume Company for running their ever popular series of children’s workshops, all the children had a fabulous time! Thanks to the very generous Mount Falcon Estate for sponsoring the incredible Birds of Prey Display, always a firm favourite with our visitors on Heritage Day. Thanks go to all those who entertained us this week, the very talented dancers from the Moffatt School of Irish Dancing and the brilliant young musicians from The Core Mayo and the Mayo Comhaltas Cuimsiú Session and not forgetting Pat Boyle who kept up the party atmosphere on Heritage Day! A big shout out to Óglaigh na hÉireann / Irish Defence Forces for joining us again this year, with the Military Vehicles and a special exhibition of militaria, as always their personnel were amazing, so helpful and knowledgeable, a real credit to their unit. Thanks to Ballina Manor Hotel for their joint sponsorship of this event. Thanks also to Edward Gaughan, an old friend of the collection, for sharing his passion and knowledge about his collection of “tobacciana” and enthralling visitors with his stories of life in Ballina throughout the years. Last, but certainly not least, the biggest thank you to our incredible staff and volunteers. As we are sure you can imagine, these events take a huge amount of organisation and an awful lot of hard work and without the dedication and commitment of the wonderful team at the JCC it would simply not be possible. We really hope everyone who came out to support us had a wonderful time and we will leave you with a few images of a truly memorable week!

What better way to wrap up our Pandora's Box Event Week for the Ballina Salmon Festival - Mayo then with a brilliant sing-a-long with the talented musicians from the Cuimsiú Session. Its been a truly amazing week, full of fun and laughter, thanks to everyone who came along and supported us here at the Jackie Clarke Collection, you are all incredible, Go raibh maith agat!