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.