The Centre was founded and opened by Tessa O'Connor in 1986 as a volunteer-run non-profit organisation, which it remains today.
Here we invite you to read our story, and to become part of it.
This is not a museum so much as a meeting place of Today and Yesterday, of You and Us. No reverent hush - but a hubbub of lively conversation as people describe and compare their own histories and lifestyles.
Discover things to do, places to go, more people to meet, and each other.
The Centre is housed in the former Knightstown National School, which was built in 1861, extended in 1911, and closed in 1976. There are three main display rooms: The School-Room; Island and Harbour; and The Transatlantic Telegraph. See what's on view in each room on the Exhibits page, and click on the links at the top of each page for more information on our activities and facilities.
In our ever more crowded, busy world, Valentia still offers a haven to the traveller, a tranquil, easy-going pace of life, a small, welcoming community which invites you to share its own special place.
Come and stay ... get to know us!