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Limerick Museum

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Dr Matthew Potter (talk | contribs) at 14:07, 3 October 2019 (Updating list of exhibitions held in Museum, number of objects and including visitor numbers). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Limerick Museum
Map
Established1907; 117 years ago (1907)
LocationHenry Street, Limerick
Collection sizeOver 60,000 objects

Limerick Museum, previously known as the Jim Kemmy Municipal Museum, is a city museum in Limerick, Ireland.[1]

Foundation

The Limerick Museum was founded in 1907 and in the Carnegie Free Library and Museum building (established by Andrew Carnegie on Pery Square. Limerick Museum opened to the public in 1916 and remained in Pery Square until 1975. In 1979, the Museum relocated to two restored houses in John Square. In 1998 the Museum was on the move again this time to Castle Lane where it opened to the public in 1999. In 2012, the Museum was moved to a temporary location Civic Buildings, Merchant's Quay in due to the refurbishment and expansion of King John's Castle (Limerick). In May 2017, it moved to the present location in the old Franciscans Friary on Henry Street.[2]

The museum is run by Limerick City and County Council. It is fully accessible to all. Opening hours are 10.00 am to 5.00 pm Mondays to Fridays. Entry to the museum is free.

Limerick Museum received national recognition as a museum under the Cultural Institution Act 1997, which allowed it to become a designated museums of the collection of archaeological material. Before 1977 the Limerick city librarian was also the curator. The full-time museum curators included: Larry Walsh – 1977 to 2012.[3]; Brian Hodkinson – 2012 to 2017; Dr Matthew Potter – 2017 to Present.

The mission of Limerick Museum is to collect, preserve and display items relating to the history of Limerick city and county from the Stone Age to the present day. It has a collection of sixty-two thousand objects gathered through donations, purchase and long term loan. In 2004, it became the first local authority in the state to have an online catalogue. In recent years, the number of visitors has increased rapidly from 13,000 in 2017 to 23,000 in 2018.

Exhibitions

The first exhibition ever held in Limerick Museum was in 1940 to commemorate the centenary of the death of Limerick novelist Gerald Griffin. Since then there have been a series of exhibitions on various aspects of Limerick's history and culture. This gives an opportunity for the rotation of objects within the collection by topic. For example in the Retrospective Exhibition (2014) the Charter of the City signed by King Charles II of England, a sword given to the city by Queen Elizabeth I of England as well as many other interesting items relating to civic life in the city were on display. One of the most important exhibitions ever held in Limerick Museum was the Treasures of Thomond exhibition held in 1980 to mark the reopening of Limerick Museum in Saint John's Square. The centre piece of was the O'Dea mitre and crozier on loan from the Diocese of Limerick. These are now on display in the Hunt Museum.

Following the move of the Limerick Museum to the Franciscans, Henry Street, in 2017 the following exhibitions have been held.[4]

Since Limerick Museum moved to the Franciscans, Henry Street, in 2017, a series of exhibitions have been held (the following were all held in Limerick Museum, unless otherwise stated).

  • Autumn/Winter 2017: Exhibition of Richard Harris memorabilia in association with the Richard Harris Film Festival.
  • March 2018: John McCarthy Circus Bar Exhibition of Limerick-related circus memorabilia to mark the 250 anniversary of the first modern circus, in association with Tony McCarthy.
  • April/May 2018: Art Exhibition by Sam Walsh May-June 2018: Righteous Among the Nations, exhibition on Poles who helped their Jewish compatriots during the Second World War, in association with the Limerick Polish community, held in Glazed Street, Limerick City and County Council, Merchant's Quay, Limerick City
  • June 2018: Photography exhibition by Joseph Lennon of castles in County Limerick
  • July 2018: Art exhibition by Maurice Quillinan
  • August 2018:Art exhibition by Mick O'Dea
  • August 2018: Amazing Lace Exhibition of Limerick lace in association with the Friends of Lace, held in CB1 Gallery, O'Connell Street, Limerick City
  • September/October 2018: Art exhibition by Cindy Fogarty
  • October-November 2018: Exhibition of Richard Harris memorabilia in association with the Richard Harris Film Festival, held in the Glazed Street, Limerick City and County Council, Merchant's Quay, Limerick City
  • November/December 2018: Art exhibition by Trish Taylor-Thompson
  • December 2018: Pictures at an Exhibition, end of year show.
  • January-March 2019: Visible Reminders of Invisible Light, in association with the Hunt Museum and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Limerick
  • January-March 2019: Women in Politics and Public Life 1919-2019, exhibition by the Department of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht curated by Sinead McCoole, held in Istabraq Hall, Limerick City and County Council, Merchant's Quay, Limerick City
  • January-March 2019: Living in the Bronze Age by Ingrid Hess, in association with the Hunt Museum
  • April 2019: Art exhibition by Ralph Gelbert
  • April/May 2019: Centenary of Limerick Soviet Exhibition, in association with the Limerick Council of Trade Unions, held in Istabraq Hall, Limerick City and County Council, Merchant's Quay, Limerick City
  • May 2019: Art exhibition by Stephen Lawlor
  • June 2019: Art exhibition by Croi artists group
  • June 2019: O'Malley Family in Public Life, in association with the O'Malley Clan Association, held in Istabraq Hall, Limerick City and County Council, Merchant's Quay, Limerick City
  • July 2019: Art exhibition by Robert P Ryan
  • August 2019: Photography exhibition by Kieran Kelly
  • August 2019: Amazing Lace Exhibition of Limerick lace in association with the Friends of Lace, held in St Mary's Cathedral, Limerick City
  • August 2019: John McCarthy Circus Bar Exhibition, in association with Tony McCarthy, held in Cappamore Community Centre, Cappamore, County Limerick.
  • September 2019: Art exhibition by Sheila Richardson
  • September 2019: Limerick's Military Tradition, in association with the Organisation of National Ex-Servicemen and Women, Royal British Legion, Irish Naval Association and Irish UN Veterans Association, held in the Glazed Street, Limerick City and County Council, Merchant's Quay, Limerick City
  • September 2019:John McCarthy Circus Bar Exhibition, in association with Tony McCarthy, held in Parkway Shopping Centre, Limerick City
  • October 2019: Art exhibition by Helen G Blake

Noted Items in the Collection

See also

References

  1. ^ "Limerick City Museum Online Catalogue". Limerick City Council. Archived from the original on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011.
  2. ^ https://www.limerick.ie/council/services/community-and-leisure/museum/limerick-museum
  3. ^ Spellissy, Sean 'The History of Limerick', Limerick 1993. ISBN 0953468313
  4. ^ https://www.limerick.ie/limerick-museum
  5. ^ The Guinness Book of Answers (3rd ed.). Enfield: Guinness Superlatives. 1980. p. 29. ISBN 0-85112-202-7.
  6. ^ http://museum.limerick.ie/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/8460
  7. ^ http://museum.limerick.ie/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/375
  8. ^ http://museum.limerick.ie/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/6214

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