Limerick Museum, previously known as the Jim Kemmy Municipal Museum, is a city museum in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, Ireland.

Foundation

The Limerick Museum was founded in 1907 and in the Carnegie Free Library and Museum building (established by

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

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) King John's Castle ( ga, Caisleán Luimnigh) 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 I ...

. In May 2017, it moved to the present location in the old Franciscans Friary on Henry Street. The museum is run by

Limerick City and County Council Limerick City and County Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach agus Contae Luimnigh) is the authority responsible for Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government in the Limerick, City of Limerick and County Limerick in Republic of ...

. 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. The full-time museum curators included: Larry Walsh – 1977 to 2012.; Brian Hodkinson – 2012 to 2017; Dr

Matthew Potter Matthew Potter is an Irish academic who serves as the current curator of Limerick Museum. He is a published historian with a primary focus on governmental history and is an Honorary Fellow of the Department of History of the University of Lim ...

– 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.

Exhibitions

The first exhibition was in 1940 to commemorate the centenary of the death of Limerick novelist

Gerald Griffin Gerald Griffin ( ga, Gearóid Ó Gríofa; 12 December 1803 – 12 June 1840) was an Irish novelist, poet and playwright. His novel ''The Collegians'' was the basis of Dion Boucicault's play The Colleen Bawn. Feeling he was "wasting his time" wr ...

. 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 Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of King of England, England, Scotland and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II ...

, a sword given to the city by

Queen Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

as well as many other interesting items relating to civic life in the city were on display.

Noted Items in the Collection

* The largest

meteorite A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the atmosphere to reach the surface of a planet or Natural satellite, moon. When the ...

ever to fall on the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

lands at Adare, County Limerick * A rare intact

Codd-neck bottle A Codd-neck bottle (more commonly known as a Codd bottle or a marble bottle) is a type of bottle used for carbonated drinks. It has a closing design based on a glass marble which is held against a rubber seal, which sits within a recess in the lip ...

* Largest collection of

Limerick lace Limerick lace is a specific class of lace originating in Limerick, Ireland, which was later produced throughout the country. It evolved from the invention of a machine which made net in 1808. Until John Heathcoat invented a net-making machine in D ...

* Selection of 18th and 19th Century Limerick Silver * Scabbard used by

Lord Edward Fitzgerald Lord Edward FitzGerald (15 October 1763 – 4 June 1798) was an Irish aristocrat who abandoned his prospects as a distinguished veteran of British service in the American War of Independence, and as an Irish Parliamentarian, to embrace the caus ...

at his arrest in 1798 * Three

Blunderbuss The blunderbuss is a firearm with a short, large caliber barrel which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity or caliber. The blunderbuss is commonly consid ...

firearms *

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

and

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

Archaeological finds * A range of clothing including a gentleman's suit c.1706

References

External links

Limerick Museum website

{{authority control Museums established in 1906 Museums in County Limerick

Local museums in the Republic of Ireland Art museums and galleries in the Republic of Ireland Education in Limerick (city) History of Limerick (city) 1906 establishments in Ireland Limerick (city) Culture in Limerick (city)

Foundation

Exhibitions

Noted Items in the Collection

See also

References

External links