County Museum Dundalk ( ga, Músaem Chontae Dhún Dealgan) is a museum located in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

which documents the history of

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

. The museum is housed in the Carroll Centre at Roden Place in Jocelyn Street, in a restored 18th century warehouse which was once part of

Dundalk Distillery The Dundalk Distillery was an Irish whiskey distillery that operated in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland between 1708 and 1926. It is thought to have been one of the old registered distilleries in Ireland. Two of the distillery buildings, the grain ...

History

The building in which the museum is located was originally the grain store of a distillery established in 1780. The distillery ceased distilling in 1926, and the grain store was subsequently purchased by P.J. Carroll & Co., a tobacco company, for use as a warehouse or bond store. With the decline in cigarette sales, the warehouse was presented to the Dundalk Urban District Council in 1989 on the proviso that it be used as an interpretative centre. The refurbished and restored building was opened in 1994 and is funded by Dundalk Town Council. The museum has won a number of awards, including two Gulbenkian Museum of the Year Awards (1995 and 1999), Gold Award For the Best Commissioned Display (1995) and Interpret Ireland Award (2000). It was also named as the Best Local Authority Museum by Irish Public Sector Magazine Awards 2014.

The collections document the history of County Louth, from the Stone Age to the present, in three permanent exhibition galleries. Some of the objects on display are examples of Irish rock art, and objects relating to Oliver Cromwell. In 2013, the museum incorporated a 'virtual presenter' into the exhibitions, developed by

Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...

. This is believed to be the first of its kind introduced to a European museum. The museum is designated by the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) 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 thre ...

to collect archaeological finds. The museum also hosts a programme of temporary displays, drama presentations, music recitals, lectures and films.

References

External links

Discover Ireland
{{Museums and Galleries in Ireland Buildings and structures in County Louth History of County Louth Local museums in the Republic of Ireland Museums established in 1994 1994 establishments in Ireland

History

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References

External links