Museums in Ireland
CARLOW COUNTY MUSEUM
Carlow is one of thirteen County/City Museums in Ireland. The Museum already contains a growing collection of over 5,000 artefacts which represents a wide range of periods and topics. The building is in a prime town centre location and is part of a complex that already houses the County Library, Archive and the Tourist Office. The vision is to create a central cultural complex in Carlow town that provides easy access to cultural amenities. The role of Carlow County Museum is to collect, preserve, conserve, document and display the history and material culture of the county.
The Museum gives a snapshot of the wonderful history and heritage of the county. View the famous and magnificent 19th century hand carved pulpit from Carlow Cathedral. The pulpit has been included in the Irish Times newspaper list ‘A History of Ireland in 100 Objects’, these are the top one hundred objects related to Irish history to view in our museums and galleries around Ireland. Also on view is the original gallows trapdoor from the Carlow Gaol sees the smoking pipe of Captain Myles Keogh, killed at the Battle of Little Big Horn read about the great 19th century scientist John Tyndall who was the first man to discover the greenhouse effect.
CHESTER BEATTY LIBRARY
The Chester Beatty Library was established in Dublin in 1950 to house the collections of mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. The present library, on the grounds of Dublin Castle, opened on February 7th 2000, the 125th anniversary of Sir Alfred's birth and was named European Museum of the Year in 2002.
The Library's exhibitions open a window on the artistic treasures of the great cultures and religions of the world. The rich collection from countries across Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe offers visitors a visual feast. The Library's collections are displayed in two collections: "Sacred Traditions" and "Artistic Traditions". Both displays exhibit manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and some decorative arts from the Islamic, East Asian and Western Collections. The Library is one of the premier sources for scholarship in both the Old and New Testaments and is home to one of the most significant collections of Islamic and Far Eastern artefacts. The museum also offers numerous temporary exhibitions, many of which include works of art on loan from foreign institutions and collections. The museum contains a number of priceless objects, including one of the surviving volumes of the first illustrated Life of the Prophet and the Gospel of Mani believed to be the last remaining artefact from Manichaeism.
The library regularly holds specialist workshops, exhibitions and talks on everything from origami to calligraphy, and admission is free. It's easy to escape from the rigours of Western life on the serene rooftop Japanese garden or at the Silk Road Café on the ground floor, which serves delicious Middle Eastern cuisine.
CORK CITY GAOL & RADIO MUSEUM EXPERIENCE
Step back in time to see what 19th/early 20th century life was like in Cork - inside and outside prison walls. Amazingly lifelike figures, furnished cells, sound effects and fascinating exhibitions allow the visitor to experience day to day life for prisoners and gaoler.
Situated in the unlikely setting of the former Governor's House the "Radio Museum Experience" deals not alone with the early days of Irish & international radio broadcasting but with the impact of its invention on all our lives. Stepping inside visitors are taken back in time to the 19th century wandering through the wings of the goal. The atmosphere suggests you are accompanied by the shuffling feet of inmates, each representing their particular period in Irish history from pre-famine times to the foundation of the state. The cells are furnished with amazing life like wax figures: original graffiti on cell walls tell the visual tells the innermost feelings of some inmates while a very spectacular audio visual and social history and contrasting lifestyles of the 19th Co.