 Front façade of the Limerick Museum | |
  Location within Ireland | |
Former name | Jim Kemmy Municipal Museum |
|---|---|
| Established | 1907 |
| Location | Henry Street, Limerick |
| Coordinates | 52°39′51″N8°37′44″W / 52.6641°N 8.6288°W |
| Collection size | Over 60,000 objects |
| Website | http://museum.limerick.ie/ |
Limerick Museum, previously known as the Jim Kemmy Municipal Museum, is a city museum in Limerick, Ireland. [1]
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 moved 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 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.
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. Since then, the full-time museum curators included: Larry Walsh – 1977 to 2012, [3] Brian Hodkinson – 2012 to 2017 and Dr Matthew Potter – 2017 to present.
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 from 13,000 in 2017 to 23,000 in 2018.
The first exhibition 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.
Limerick is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 102,287 at the 2022 census, Limerick is the third-most populous urban area in the Republic of Ireland, and the fourth-most populous city on the island of Ireland. It was founded by Scandinavian settlers in 812, during the Viking Age.
County Limerick is a western county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. It is named after the city of Limerick. Limerick City and County Council is the local council for the county. The county's population at the 2016 census was 194,899 of whom 94,192 lived in Limerick City, the county capital.
Penn Museum, formerly known as The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City neighborhood of Philadelphia, at the intersection of 33rd and South Streets. Housing over 1.3 million artifacts, the museum features one of the most comprehensive collections of middle and near-eastern art in the world.
The National Museum of Ireland is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin, the archaeology and natural history museums adjacent on Kildare Street and Merrion Square, and a newer Decorative Arts and History branch at the former Collins Barracks, and the Country Life museum in County Mayo.
King John's Castle also known as Limerick Castle is a 13th-century castle located on King's Island in Limerick, Ireland, next to the River Shannon. Although the site dates back to 922 when the Vikings lived on the Island, the castle itself was built on the orders of King John of England in 1200. One of the best preserved Norman castles in Europe, the walls, towers and fortifications remain today and are visitor attractions. The remains of a Viking settlement were uncovered during archaeological excavations at the site in 1900.
King's Island is an area of central Limerick, Ireland. The area is often referred to colloquially as The Island and consists of two distinct areas, Englishtown and St Mary's Park. The historical city of Limerick known as Englishtown is located on the southern end and St Mary's Park; a local authority housing estate is located on the northern end.
As with other cities in Ireland, Limerick has a history of great architecture. A 1574 document prepared for the Spanish ambassador attests to its wealth and fine architecture:
The architecture of Ireland is one of the most visible features in the Irish countryside – with remains from all eras since the Stone Age abounding. Ireland is famous for its ruined and intact Norman and Anglo-Irish castles, small whitewashed thatched cottages and Georgian urban buildings. What are unaccountably somewhat less famous are the still complete Palladian and Rococo country houses which can be favourably compared to anything similar in northern Europe, and the country's many Gothic and neo-Gothic cathedrals and buildings.
Seán Keating was an Irish romantic-realist painter who painted some iconic images of the Irish War of Independence and of the early industrialization of Ireland. He spent two weeks or so each year during the late summer on the Aran Islands and his many portraits of island people depicted them as rugged heroic figures. However, he ceased to visit the Aran Islands in 1965.
Guildford Museum is the main museum in the town of Guildford, Surrey, England. The museum is on Quarry Street, a narrow road lined by pre-1900 cottages running just off the pedestrianised High Street. This main site of the museum forms the gatehouse and annex of Guildford Castle, which the staff help to run. It is run by Guildford Borough Council and has free entry between 11am and 4:45pm on Monday to Saturday. It is closed on Sundays and on Christmas Day.
The Museum of Vancouver (MOV) is a civic history museum located in Vanier Park, Vancouver, British Columbia. The MOV is the largest civic museum in Canada and the oldest museum in Vancouver. The museum was founded in 1894 and went through a number of iterations before being rebranded as the Museum of Vancouver in 2009. It creates Vancouver-focused exhibitions and programs that encourage conversations about what was, is, and can be Vancouver. It shares an entrance and foyer with the H. R. MacMillan Space Centre but the MOV is much larger and occupies the vast majority of the space in the building complex where both organisations sit as well as separate collections storage facilities in another building.
Galway City Museum is a museum in Galway City, County Galway, Ireland. It was founded on 29 July 2006, and is located beside the Spanish Arch.
The Yorkshire Museum is a museum in York, England. It was opened in 1830, and has five permanent collections, covering biology, geology, archaeology, numismatics and astronomy.
Limerick City Gallery of Art is an art museum in the city of Limerick, Ireland. It is run by Limerick City Council and is located in Pery Square, in the Newtown Pery area of the city.
Newtown Pery is an area of central Limerick, Ireland, and forms the main city centre of the city. The district is known for its Georgian architectural heritage and is the core area of Limerick's Georgian Quarter. It is one of the three towns that make up modern-day Limerick City Centre, the other two being the older Englishtown and Irishtown, which date from the medieval period. Newtown Pery houses the largest collection of Georgian townhouses in Ireland outside of Dublin. In 1837, Samuel Lewis in his Topographical Dictionary of Ireland described Newtown Pery as "one of the handsomest towns in Ireland".
Pery Square is a Georgian Terrace located in the Newtown Pery area of Limerick city, Ireland. The terrace was constructed as a speculative development by the Pery Square Tontine Company between 1835 and 1838. The square was named in honour of the politician Edmund Sexton Pery. The terrace is notable as one of the finest examples of late Georgian architecture in Limerick and Ireland.
EVA International is a large-scale contemporary art exhibition that takes place every two years in the city of Limerick, Republic of Ireland. It is known as Ireland's biennial, and is held in even-numbered years.
The People's Museum of Limerick is a local history museum in Limerick, Ireland.
The Limerick Civic Trust is an environmental, architectural conservation and educational organisation founded in 1982 that works to identify, record, preserve and publicise Limerick's culture, history, environment and architectural heritage. Although the trust works in conjunction with local authorities, state agencies and various commercial and professional entities, it remains an independent organisation and is entirely self-funded.