Our Irish Chair: Tradition Revisited is a new temporary exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life, Turlough Park, Co. Mayo, opening in October 2021.

The exhibition explores the design and exceptional crafting tradition of a particular type of chair and the creativity it continues to inspire.

The chair is known as both the Sligo chair and the Tuam chair.

This type of chair has three legs, a narrow backrest and a uniquely designed triangular seat-shape. The chair is distinctive and immediately engaging. No nails are used in making the chair.

The chairs of this type in the National Museum of Ireland collections are mainly from the Connaught region of Ireland. The chair could fit well in modern ecclesiastical or church settings, in a tower house, or perhaps in the home of a 19th-century wealthy farmer.  

Read more below about the chairs and themes explored in the exhibition.