‘An Olympic Journey’ - The Olympics go on display in Donegal County Museum

Ahead of the 2024 Olympic games, Donegal County Museum in Letterkenny is running an exhibition of beautiful and rare Olympic posters from 1896 to 2024. 

This superb collection of Olympic Games posters is generously on loan from Paul Foley’s private collection. This is the only exhibition of its kind in Ireland.

Olympic posters are not only a piece of art but they provide us with a unique visual record of the world, documenting sport, art, geography, politics and culture. Since 1912 each Olympic host city has commissioned one or more posters to celebrate the hosting of the Games and every poster has a story to tell.

Occurring every four years—provided there is no global war or pandemic—the Summer Olympic Games brings together athletes from across the world to compete for the love of country and sport.

While some of events have changed over the years, with sports regularly being added and removed, the popular sports persist—including gymnastics, swimming, and athletics. The makeup of the participants has also evolved in response to social and national changes, offering a snapshot of geopolitics, a shift in women’s rights and the state of global affairs, leading to Games that reflect the state of the world, the global reach of sports and diversity.

These posters are not only a memento of the Olympic Games but they celebrate physical and sporting achievement and offer inspiration to the Olympians of tomorrow. Many of the posters are iconic designs from the 1936 Berlin games, Tokyo 1964 to the 1980 Moscow Games. 

In addition, there is the Olympic collection of Danny McDaid from Letterkenny, a two-time Irish Olympic athlete. He was a pioneer of athletics in Donegal and is currently a member of Letterkenny Athletic Club. He competed for Ireland at two Olympic Games, Munich 1972 and Montreal 1976. He was the first Irishman to cross the finish line at the 1972 games.  

The exhibition runs to until the end of June. Admission is free and all are welcome. 
Opening Hours:
Monday – Friday 10am – 4.30pm
Saturday 1- 4.30pm
Donegal County Museum, High Road, Letterkenny, Co Donegal  F92K123