About Garvagh Museum
Garvagh Museum sits in the walled garden of Garvagh House, once the seat of the Canning family. The town itself was founded in the early 17th century by George Canning of Warwickshire, agent for the Ironmongers' Company of London, and grew into a market town under the family.
The walled garden has links to Denis Hempson (Donnchadh Ó Hámsaigh), the blind harper born in 1695 who died in 1807, said to have lived across three centuries. George Canning and others bought Hempson's first harp while he lived in Garvagh, and a granite memorial pillar to him now stands at the museum entrance.
Today the museum holds almost 2,000 artefacts tracing the Bann Valley from 3000 BC to the early 20th century, and is described as the largest private rural folk museum in Ireland.