Current Exhibition

Under the Hawthorn Tree

Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh

A powerful story of hardship, loss and survival, this exhibition brings to life Marita Conlon-McKenna’s much-loved children’s novel, Under the Hawthorn Tree.

A familiar tale often first read in school, Under the Hawthorn Tree explores the Great Famine through the eyes of siblings Eily, Michael and Peggy O’Driscoll. In the novel, the three siblings are left alone during the famine and set out on a perilous journey to find their great-aunts, desperate to avoid the workhouse. Along the way, they encounter many obstacles, from a frenzied dog attack to an epic thunderstorm, and witness death, disease, destruction and injustice.

The exhibition uses objects, sounds, smells, interactives and illustrations to tell the story, inviting visitors, young and old, to experience the story in a new and immersive way. In the centre of the exhibition, there will be a full-size hand-crafted hawthorn tree made by Bob Johnston, the resident willow weaver at our sister museum, the Ulster Folk Museum, which is located in Cultra, outside Belfast.

See rarely displayed objects from the National Museum NI’s collections, including a potato basket used to gather potatoes from the Ulster Folk Museum's collection, as well as a selection of creatures from the Ulster Museum's Natural Sciences collection. A shawl from the Ulster American Folk Park's collection is also featured, given the importance of this everyday piece of clothing as a source of comfort, warmth and support.

HOYFM.DB.1323.4

Kettle

HOYFM.DB.1367.13

cooking pot

HOYFM.1291.1970

saucepan

HOYFM.DB.1519.1

Bowl

HOYFM.DB.2219.20

Frying pan

HOYFM.71.1984

Scales

BELUM.Lg5373

BIRD; Blue Tit

HOYFM.DB.916.18

Saucepan

OMAFP.1976.102

Stool

HOYFM.DB.1225.17

Brush

HOYFM.412.1972

Ladle, wooden

HOYFM.2.2000

teacher's classroom pointer

OMAFP.1983.284

baking dish

OMAFP.1983.487

ladle

HOYFM.281.1975A

Spoon

HOYFM.281.1975D

Spoon

HOYFM.SCH2014.415

cup

BELUM.Lh566

OMAFP.1983.388C

jar

OMAFP.1983.388D

Jar

OMAFP.1983.388E

Jar

OMAFP.1983.389B

Jar

OMAFP.1985.30

confectionery jar

OMAFP.TMP727

washbowl

HOYFM.287.1966

Spade

OMAFP.1999.63

jar

BELUM.Lh709

BELUM.Lh736

OMAFP.TMP5264

Chest

HOYFM.4.1965

Pestle

OMAFP.1985.681

fireplace tongs

OMAFP.1985.269.13

saucer

BELUM.Lh818

OMAFP.1995.521

Pot

HOYFM.SCH2016.9

bottle

BELUM.Lh825

OMAFP.1996.773

teapot

OMAFP.1977.10

jar

OMAFP.1983.30D

mug

OMAFP.1983.30F

mug

OMAFP.1983.30G

mug

OMAFP.1996.644

Pot

HOYFM.301.1981

Egg basket

OMAFP.1990.161A

jar

OMAFP.1990.161B

jar

OMAFP.1990.161E

jar

OMAFP.1990.161H

Jar

HOYFM.317.1982

Christening robe

HOYFM.712.1990

Basket

OMAFP.TMP4176

fireplace tongs

OMAFP.TMP4177

fireplace tongs

OMAFP.TMP4178

fireplace tongs