Ballyshannon has long been regarded as 'Irelands oldest town' and the museum has artefacts and memorabilia stretching back from the recent past to 10,000 BC.

The museum features many aspects of the local area and covers such topics as the railways, the Erne River detailing its history as one of Europe's richest salmon rivers to the building of the hydro-electric Dam and its effects.

There is a military room detailing Ballyshannon's extremlely strategic location and its long association with military life from earliest times through to the Battle of Ballyshannon 1597 to World War 1 and its local connections. Also featuring the famous WW2 Donegal Air Corridor. The museum also contains memorabilia and pictures covering a vast array of subjects such as art, music, sport, crafts, fishing and local media. There is also a re-construction of the local workhouse during famine times and features the story of the local orphan girls transported to Australia during those terrible times.

During the year, different specialised exhibitions take place to coincide with local events and this year a special World War 1 exhibition commemorating the huge local connection will take place.

There is a coffee shop available and a lift provides wheelchair access and toilets are available. There is ample free car and bus parking immediately outside the entrance. The museum is located on the second floor of Slevins Department Store.

Guided tours of the museum are available free and a guided tour of historic Ballyshannon is also available for the outlay of a Small fee. The founding and opening of the museum featured on the TV programme 'Local Heroes' (available on Youtube search Ballyshannon Local Heroes). The museum is a community based not for profit project and is staffed entirely by local volunteers and is open daily, Monday to Saturday (including bank holidays), from 10 am to 6 pm and admission is free.