Galway City Museum
Established | 2006 |
---|---|
Location | Spanish Arch, Galway, Ireland |
Type | Local Authority Museum |
Visitors | 161,558 (2011) |
Director | Brendán Ó hEaghra |
Website | Galway City Museum |
Galway City Museum (
History
Origin
Galway City Museum was founded in 1976. It was originally located in Comerford House, which prior to this had been the home of artist Clare Sheridan. The museum began as a residual collection of medieval stones from the city, acquired by Sheridan. Curated by Etienne Ryan, Michael Keaney, Bill Scanlan and Jim Higgins the museum built up a general folklife, industrial and militia collection.[1]
Comerford House
Comerford House is a historic property that was donated to the Galway City Council by the Comerford family for the intention of community care and purpose. The house was built c. 1800 as a private house, originally lived in by the Comerford family and later by the Greenwood family. Clare Consuelo Sheridan (1885–1970), sculptor, journalist, writer and first cousin of Sir Winston Churchill, lived at Comerford House between the years 1948 and 1954.[2]
The building became part of Galway Corporation's administration offices for a period, before Galway City Museum was founded in 1976. This museum closed in 2004.
New museum building
In April 2007 a new purpose built museum building was opened, behind the site of the old museum at Comerford House. The new Galway City Museum project was the initiative of Galway City Council to advance the cultural and heritage life of Galway City. The building was designed by Ciaran O’Connor and Ger Harvey, architects with the Office of Public Works, who were contracted by the Galway City Council. The new museum is located along the River Corrib beside the Spanish Arch, a protected monument which formed part of the defensive medieval wall that once surrounded the city of Galway. The design of the building creates a plaza or square between the museum and the Spanish Arch; a public space which is at times used for civic events.
The plan of the museum is composed in an 'L' shape and was restricted to three levels in order to maintain the scale of the surrounding buildings. The project was completed in 2006 and resulted in a space of 2,100 metres squared with a final cost of €6,890,000. The architects of the building won the Bank of Ireland Opus Architectural Award for their design in 2006.[3]
Museum collection
Galway City Museum collects, preserves and displays materials relating to the history of Galway City;
In April 2007 the new purpose built museum building was opened, located behind the site of Comerford House. The new building houses the collections of the previous city museum, as well as objects acquired for the new facility, although the majority of the collection is that which was inherited from Comerford House. The Comerford House collection includes almost 1,000 objects relating to various periods in history, collected over a period of about thirty years.[4]
Permanent collection
- DJ Murphy Collection:
Consists of over three hundred mainly farm and industrial implements, mainly from
- Medieval Stone Collection:
Various carvings and architectural fragments which date mainly to the 16th and 17th century Galway City. It includes chimney pieces,
- One of the fireplaces dates to 1615 and is from the Slate House Nunery, Kirwins Lane. The second, also from the 17th century, bears the arms from the Lynch and Henry families and originates from a house in High Street.
Many pieces in this collection pertain to buildings which are no longer in existence and are associated with families of the Tribes of Galway.
- Galway Militia Artefacts:
Objects relating to the
- Claddagh Collection:
A collection relating to the history of the Claddagh, in particular the Claddagh apron and shawl. It also includes a model of the layout of the Claddagh village in the early 20th century.
- Maritime Collection:
A selection of fishing boats, navigation books, an
- 19th and 20th Century Galway:
A collection of objects relating to 19th and 20th century shops,
- Derek Biddulph Photographic Collection:
A series of photographs from Galway-based artist Derek Biddulph which document the city from the 1950s onwards
- Art Collection:
Tiger Lillies, a painting, and a carving of the
There are approximately 1,000 items in the total permanent collection.[5]
Collections on loan
In addition to the permanent collection, Galway City Museum also retains on loan from a number of sources;
- Civic Collection:
The Civic Sword and
The Daly Collection, which includes a twenty-four paintings and four sculptures on loan to Galway City Council from the estate of the late Peter Francis Daly. It includes works from artists such as
.A rare copy of the 1651 pictorial map, printed by the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society in 1901.
A statue of Pádraic Ó Conaire (1882–1928), carved by Albert Power. The statue was relocated to the museum from its previous location of Eyre Square, Galway.
Royal Arms of George III, dated to the early 19th century, it was formerly in the Town Court House, now the Town Hall Theatre, Galway.
- National Museum of Ireland:
A collection of objects primarily from the Galway City Excavations Project 1987–98. The loan includes 9 coins (Philip II Spanish; two Elizabeth I Irish 1601 pennies; James II Irish gun money 1s or 6d; William III Irish 1696 half penny; George III Irish 1805 half penny; James II Irish gun money 1690; half penny token Dominick French 1664; George II Irish 1741 half penny); pottery (Saintonge, Portuguese faience and Meridia Ware); wine bottles and artillery (cannonball and musket shot).
- Dominican Order of Nuns, Galway:
Consists of a collection of church silverware and textiles from the 18th century, which includes chalices, candlesticks, a host box, an
- Sisters of Mercy, Galway:
A
- Others:
A variety of objects on loan from individual members of the public
- The total loan collection of Galway City Museum is approximately 90 items.[6]
Exhibitions
The museum today hosts a variety of permanent and touring exhibitions. The permanent exhibitions include; Routes to the Past (Pre-Historic Galway); Galway Within the Walls (Medieval Galway);
National Museum of Ireland designation
In February 2010 Galway City Museum received the designated status under the National Cultural Institutions Act, 1997, joining the eleven other Irish local authority museums already designated. This status entitles the museum to retain archaeological objects for and behalf of the Irish State.[8]
References
- ^ "Galway City Council - General News". Archived from the original on 25 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- ^ "Galway City Council - General News". Archived from the original on 25 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- ^ "The Galway City Museum, Office of Public Works | Galway | Ireland". Mimoa. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
- ^ "Collections – 1916 Rising, War of Independence and Civil War – Galway City Museum". www.galwaycitymuseum.ie. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
- ^ "Collections – 1916 Rising, War of Independence and Civil War – Galway City Museum". www.galwaycitymuseum.ie. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
- ^ "Collections – 1916 Rising, War of Independence and Civil War – Galway City Museum". www.galwaycitymuseum.ie. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
- ^ "Current Exhibitions – Galway City Museum". www.galwaycitymuseum.ie. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
- ^ "Collections – 1916 Rising, War of Independence and Civil War – Galway City Museum". www.galwaycitymuseum.ie. Retrieved 17 September 2018.