Armagh Robinson Library, No 5 Vicars’ Hill and St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral will be open over the weekend of Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2026 for the annual European Heritage Open Days (EHOD), which celebrate architecture, history and culture .
The theme for EHOD this year is ‘Heritage at Risk: Revive, Resist, Reimagine’. The buildings open for this annual event will show the traditions and skills applied in their construction. It will also show how the built heritage needs to be protected for the future. More than 500 buildings and venues throughout Northern Ireland will be open for EHOD. In the City of Armagh alone, 11 buildings will be open, including churches and museums, and the Hill of Armagh sits well within those categories.
The Library will have on display the 1770 original drawings of the Library building by the architect Thomas Cooley whose work is also known elsewhere in Armagh. Indeed, the Library’s second building at No 5 Vicars’ Hill is also a Cooley design. From the outside, No 5 looks like a modest dwelling house, and visitors are often surprised when they actually enter the building. 18th century craftsmanship is shown off well in both buildings.
Both the Library and No 5 Vicars’ Hill will be open for visitors on Saturday 12 September from 11.00am to 5.00pm and on Sunday afternoon, from 2.00pm to 5.00pm.
St Patrick’s Church of Ireland Cathedral, Armagh will be open for EHOD on the Saturday from 10.00am to 5.00pm and will be open for services on Sunday, but not for EHOD. Visitors may view the architecture and gain that sense of stepping back in time over many centuries on the ancient sacred site that is the Hill of Armagh.
The Very Revd Shane Forster, who is both the Dean of Armagh and Keeper of Armagh Robinson Library and No 5, said, “All three buildings on the Hill of Armagh, which I am a custodian of, tell the story of how our predecessors lived, learned and prayed. Yet they are not museums that simply look back to the past but are architectural gems which are still open to the public today, very much loved and relevant in the current age. Come, explore and walk in the steps of St Patrick, High King Brian Boru and Archbishop Richard Robinson.”
For more information, please go to:
https://discovernorthernireland.com/european-heritage-open-days/