- National Museum of Ireland
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National Museum of Ireland Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann
Logo of the MuseumEstablished 14 August 1877 Location Dublin and Castlebar, Ireland Type National museum Collection size Almost 4,000,000 items Visitor figures All branches: 783,278 (2009) Director Dr Patrick F. Wallace Website museum.ie National Museum of Ireland network Archaeology · Decorative Arts & History · Country Life · Natural History The National Museum of Ireland (Irish: Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is the national museum in Ireland. It has three branches in Dublin and one in County Mayo, with a strong emphasis on Irish art, culture and natural history.
Contents
Archaeology
See also Category:Collection of the National Museum of Ireland
The Archaeology section on Kildare Street has displays on prehistoric Ireland, including early work in gold, church treasures and the Viking and medieval periods. There are special displays of items from Egypt, Cyprus and the Roman world, and special exhibitions are regularly mounted.
This section includes famous examples of early medieval Celtic metalwork in Ireland such as the Ardagh Chalice, Tara Brooch, and the Derrynaflan Hoard. Prehistoric pieces include the Iron Age Broighter Gold and over 50 gold lunulas (not all on display), and other Bronze Age jewellery. Many of these pieces were found in the 19th century by peasants or agricultural labourers, when population expansion led to cultivation of land which had not been touched since the Middle Ages. Indeed, only for the intervention of George Petrie of the Royal Irish Academy, and like-minded individuals from the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, most of the metalwork would have been melted down for the intrinsic value of its materials, as did frequently happen despite their efforts. Contemporary Irish are more tuned to their heritage, as can be seen in the example of the Irish Bog Psalter, which was discovered and reported by an alert machine operator in July 2006.
The Museums of both the above-mentioned institutions formed the basis for the Archaeology and History section of the Museum at Kildare Street. This is the original site opened in 1890 as the Dublin Museum of Science and Art in the building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane and his son, Thomas Manly Deane. Until 1922, this site also included Leinster House, now the home of the Oireachtas.
More information can be found at [1]
Decorative Arts and History
Decorative Arts and History, including the Great Seal of the Irish Free State, is the part of the collection kept at the Collins Barracks site, a former military barracks named after Michael Collins in 1922. This site, opened in 1997 and also holds the Museum's administrative centre, a shop and a coffee shop.
This section has displays of furniture, silver, ceramics and glassware, as well as examples of folk life and costume, and money and weapons. A Chinese porcelain vase from about 1300 AD, the Fonthill vase, is one of the features. Special exhibitions are mounted regularly, in summer 2007, for example, one of Irish High Crosses.
The Soldiers & Chiefs exhibition features military artefacts and memorabilia tracing Ireland's military history from 1550 to the present.
Country Life
Country Life is the most recent part of the museum to be opened. It is located just outside Turlough Village, on the N5 eight kilometres east of Castlebar, in County Mayo, and was opened in 2001.
The museum is focused on ordinary life from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, with much of the material coming from rural Ireland in the 1930s. There are displays on the home, the natural environment, communities and forces for change.
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum, which is part of the National Museum, although often thought of as distinct, is on Merrion Street in Dublin and houses specimens of animals from around the world. Its collection and Victorian appearance have not changed significantly since the early 20th century.
Notes
Selected references
- Short Histories of Irish Barracks by Patrick Denis O'Donnell, in An Cosantoir (Journal of the Irish Defence Forces), 1969–1973.
- Dublin’s Collins Barracks over the years, by Patrick Denis O'Donnell in Hollybough, December 1994.
- Dublin Barracks — A Brief History of Collins Barracks, by Mairead Dunleavy, National Museum of Ireland, 2002 (largely based on work by PD O'Donnell, as acknowledged in Preface and Acknowledgements).
External links
Museums and Galleries in the Republic of Ireland An Post Museum · Craggaunowen · Chester Beatty Library · Cobh Heritage Centre · Connemara Heritage and History Centre · Crawford Municipal Art Gallery · Donegal County Museum · Donegal Railway Centre · The Douglas Hyde Gallery · Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane · Dublin Writers Museum · Galway City Museum · Hunt Museum · Irish Jewish Museum · Irish Museum of Modern Art · James Joyce Centre · James Joyce Tower and Museum · Kerry County Museum · Kilmainham Gaol · Marsh's Library · Museum of Country Life · National Gallery of Ireland · National Leprechaun Museum · National Library of Ireland · National Maritime Museum of Ireland · National Museum of Ireland · National Photographic Archive · National Print Museum of Ireland · National Transport Museum of Ireland · National Wax Museum · Natural History Museum · Pearse Museum · Science Gallery · State Heraldic Museum · Temple Bar Gallery and Studios · Waterford Museum of Treasures
National Cultural Institutions of Ireland Chester Beatty Library · Irish Museum of Modern Art · National Archives of Ireland · National Concert Hall · National Gallery of Ireland · National Library of Ireland · National Museum of Ireland
Categories:- History museums in the Republic of Ireland
- Natural history museums in the Republic of Ireland
- National museums of the Republic of Ireland
- Museums in Dublin (city)
- Decorative arts museums
- Egyptological collections in the Republic of Ireland
- Fashion museums
- Numismatic museums
- Military museums in the Republic of Ireland
- Archaeology museums in the Republic of Ireland
- Collection of the National Museum of Ireland
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