One man's dedication to the history of his area has led to the creation of one of the most interesting museums in the country, with more than 7,000 items on display.
The Castlepollard Museum, Co Westmeath, is full of interesting objects collected over 40 years by a local farmer, Mr Paddy Corrigan. He is extremely reluctant to claim credit for the huge collection which is now housed in a building which is owned by the local Catholic church.
"The museum is a complete community effort because many of the items here were donated by the people of the area who wanted to see their local history preserved," he said.
"I have been collecting bits and pieces for more than 40 years, and people used to give me items, but now we have somewhere to put them so the people of the area can see them."
That was made possible when the late Father P.J. Regan, the local parish priest, allowed the collection to be moved into a building in the village.
"As time moved on, more and more people began to donate items, and there are now over 7,000 things to be seen here. It's a great tribute to the community," he said.
Mr Corrigan listed some of the items to be seen at the museum. They are as diverse as tools used in ancient crafts to ancient firearms and old farm machinery.
"We have one saw here which is 400 years old. It is called a pit saw because it was operated by one man standing on the trunk of a tree and another in a pit underneath him.
"In this way the workers were able to turn a tree trunk into planks, something which happens in seconds in Irish sawmills every day. The saw is a relic of a craft long gone."
He said one of his favourite items is "an orchard gun". It does not look like a gun but was used to frighten away birds and those who might rob orchards.
"We also have a series of other old guns, including a double-barrelled powder gun which, I am told, is a very rare piece," said Mr Corrigan, who is the museum's chairman.
Also in the museum is a large pair of antlers which was found when the local Moortown river was drained some years ago. The antlers are near the museum's bottle collection.
"I have always collected bottles, and there are now 1,600 or so of them in all shapes and size from all parts of the country and from different periods of our history," said Mr Corrigan.
The museum also has a complete blacksmith's forge with all the tools the smith would have used. Nearby is a horse-cart which has been beautifully restored.
Ancient tools which were used in agricultural work around the area are on display.
Mr Corrigan and the committee hope one day the museum will be open all year round and attract tourists to the area. "There is a great interest in the area in the museum, and local people come to it very often. We would like to bring the material in it to a wider audience and see it remain open all year round."
He said the museum now closes in the winter, but arrangements could be made to view the exhibits by contacting the committee in the off-season.