The Irish American Heritage Museum is a museum in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

. The museum describes their educational mission as "To preserve and tell the story of the contributions of the Irish people and their culture in America, inspiring individuals to examine the importance of their own

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physica ...

as part of the American cultural mosaic."

History

The museum was organized in 1986 by the New York State American-Irish Legislators Society and was initially financed by the State Natural Heritage Trust, the State Council on the Arts, and numerous private donations. The first physical location opened on June 16, 1990 on the grounds of the Irish Culture and Sports Center in

East Durham, New York East Durham is a hamlet (and census-designated place) within the town of Durham, which is located in the U.S. state of New York, approximately above sea level, in Greene County. It has the ZIP Code 12423 and the area code 518. Attractions ...

. In 1992, the museum was permanently chartered by the Board of Regents of the State of New York as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. In an effort to increase visitor traffic, the museum was relocated to downtown Albany in 2012. The 3,250 square foot space opened on January 17, 2012 and includes the Paul O'Dwyer Library and the Ancient Order of Hibernians' archives.

Exhibits

Exhibits at the museum have included: "Irish in the Civil War", which looked at

Irish-Americans in the American Civil War Irish-American Catholics served on both sides of the American Civil War (1861–1865) as officers, volunteers and draftees. Immigration due to the Irish Great Famine (1845–1852) had provided many thousands of men as potential recruits although ...

; "The Irish and the Erie Canal", which highlighted the contributions of the Irish in all phases of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

construction; and "Dublin: Then and Now", which included photographs of the streets of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Visiting the Museum

The museum is currently a member of The North American Reciprocal Museum (NARM) Association. The Irish American Heritage Museum is located at 21 Quackenbush Square in downtown Albany. Parking is available on the street and in parking lots behind the museum. The museum is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 11 am to 4 pm, Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon to 4 pm, and closed on Monday and Tuesday.

References

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External links

Irish American Heritage Museum (official site)
History museums in New York (state) Museums in Albany, New York Ethnic museums in New York (state) Irish-American museums Irish-American culture in New York (state)