Overview
For one Sunday in late June, this quiet village north of Galway swells to many times its normal size. The Corrandulla Show is one of the biggest agricultural shows in the country, and it lands on the fourth Sunday of the month. The rest of the year Corrandulla is a small place, under 400 people at the last census, sitting on free-draining limestone in the parish of Annaghdown, about 15 km north of Galway city and a few kilometres east of Lough Corrib. Come outside show weekend and the draw is quieter: the old watermills along the river, and the lanes and lakeshore nearby.
The Corrandulla Show
The show has run since 1977 and grown into a proper day out. The organisers reckon it now draws over 10,000 people to a 40-acre site, pairing serious livestock judging with the full country-fair works. The horse classes are the centrepiece, including the Kenny Motors-sponsored Connacht Grand Prix show jumping and a Puissance. Cattle run to Friesian and Aberdeen Angus classes; the sheep section stretches from pedigree breeds to a fancy-dress pet-lamb competition. Inside the main hall are the baking, home produce and arts-and-crafts displays, plus the Bonny Baby and Little Miss and Mister pageants.
For families there’s free children’s entertainment, a funfair and a music marquee with live dancing from midday, and a big screen showing the GAA. Market stalls sell food and crafts through the day.
Entry has been €15 for adults, free for children and €5 for students and OAPs, though it’s worth checking the current prices and times on the show website before you go. The 2026 show is on Sunday 28 June, running from morning to early evening. Competitors in the horse, cattle, sheep and poultry sections must pre-enter, with deadlines around mid-June; forms and the full programme are at corrandullashow.com.
The watermills
Corrandulla’s older interest is its milling past, and most of it can be seen from the roadside. The pick is Cregg Mill, powered by the Cregg river, which ground wheat and oats for Cregg Castle and the surrounding tenants. Cregg Castle itself was built in 1648 by the Kirwan family. During the Great Famine the mill became a relief centre, feeding the local poor. It’s a private house now, but the waterwheel, millstones and millrace are still clearly visible from the road.
A short drive away, Kilroe Mills is a quieter example, built as a flax mill, later switched to flour, and working until the 1960s, with a Georgian miller’s house linked to the mill by a stone bridge. Both mills are private and closed to the public inside, but they photograph well and give a real sense of 18th-century rural industry.
Above the fields stands the ruin of Castlecreevy Castle, a 14th-century tower house said to have been built by a woman named Creeven A Bourke (Craoibhín a’ Búrca). Little of its story is firm, but the shell still holds the skyline.
Around the village
Corrandulla keeps a creative streak: artist Emer MacDermott runs small painting classes in a countryside studio overlooking a turlough, the kind of seasonal lake that fills and empties with the water table. The village pubs run to traditional music sessions, and the nearby Lough Corrib shore is within easy reach for kayaking, paddleboarding and angling, with operators along the water hiring gear and running trips.
Practical information
- Getting there: Corrandulla is about 15 km north of Galway city and 20 km from Tuam, reached off the N17 Galway–Tuam road and the N84. There’s free roadside parking at the showgrounds and near the mills.
- Buses: Bus Éireann links the village to Galway and Tuam, but services are limited on Sundays, so check current timetables, especially around show day.
- Accessibility: the village and showgrounds are largely level, but the mill sites and castle ruin are on uneven ground and not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs.
- When to go: June for the show; the mills, castle and lakeside roads are there year-round, with late spring and early autumn the most comfortable for walking.
Nearby
- Ashford Castle – a grand estate on Lough Corrib with guided tours, falconry and lakeside activities.
- Aughnanure Castle – a well-preserved 16th-century tower house in a riverside park.
- Ballynahinch Castle – a country-house hotel and estate with walking trails and fishing on Ballynahinch Lake.
If you can, plan around the June show for the liveliest day; otherwise a weekday drive through the mill-lined valley and along the lake shows why this corner of Galway has kept its character. Either way, book accommodation early for show weekend, as local B&Bs and Galway hotels go quickly.