People's History Talk in Museum This Saturday

A scene from the Galway Races in the 1940s... part of an presentation from students of the NUIG History Department, which will be on show in the Museum for Saturday's talk as a part of the People's History of Galway project.

As part of the 'People's History of Galway' weekend celebrations, this coming Saturday, 4^th June, Galway City Museum will host a lunchtime 'show and talk' session to discuss some of the Museum's upcoming exhibitions - focusing mainly on the history of film in Galway and Dancing in Seapoint!

The event will be will also include an exhibition of history panels that take a look at the first 100 years of the Galway Races – an exhibition which was put together by students of NUIG history department especially for the People's History of Galway Project.

The talk forms part of a month-long celebration of local history events from the Museum, Galway Arts Centre and the Town Hall Theatre. The Museum lunchtime talk will start at 1pm and is free of charge.

A Penchant for Olives and Dishes From Devon - Pottery Expert Casts Further Light...

Helen Bermingham (left) from Galway City Museum, holding a 1600/1700s serving dish which was imported from England,with Pottery expert, Roseanne Meenan.

We were delighted to have Pottery Expert, Roseanne Meenan, with us this week - to cast further light on some of the remarkable artefacts which have been loaned to us by the National Museum and which will form a key part of our groundfloor medieval exhibition when we reopen in mid June.  From Roseanne's observations we learned that some of the shards of pottery related to olive dishes from Spain (yes medieval Galwegians ate Olives!), chaffing dishes that were used to keep food warm while on the table, and a whole host of other great information.  The example shown in the pic above is part of a 'serving dish' of Devonware, imported into Galway from England in the 1600/1700s... 

Gifting Panels to Claddagh School...

Children to the fore - adults, Mayors and Kings to the back!  The children of the Claddagh celebrate the donation of Historical Panels from the Museum to the school, along with the Mayor of Galway, the King of the Claddagh and the teachers and Principal of St. Nicholas' National School...

The Mayor of Galway City, Cllr. Michael Crowe, and the King of the Claddagh, Michael Lynskey, were both present at the handover of a donation of Museum panels to  Claddagh National School this week, in the first outreach gift of its kind from our Museum to a city school, earlier this week...

The panels, which cover themes such as the traditional thatched houses, the custom of having it's own village King and the demise of the Irish language in the Claddagh, were welcomed by the Principal of St. Nicholas' National School, who described the donation as a 'very significant gift' that they were 'very proud to receive'. 

The panels were originally part of an exhibition in Galway City Museum which looked at the origins and traditions of the Claddagh.  The exhibition itself proved extremely popular and is a topic the Museum intends to cover in other ways in the years ahead.  This donation was possible due to the redevelopment work currently taking place in Galway City Museum – where each floor will be transformed with new exhibitions that will be ready this summer.

Here's what the Mayor had to say about the donation:

“These are extremely valuable educational tools,' said Mayor Crowe, 'and will no doubt enhance the learning experience for all of the children attending the school.  In these difficult times it is essential that we provide our children with the best available learning tools, and historical panels such as these, which cost thousands of euros to design, research and produce, would normally be beyond the reach of primary schools budgets – for this the Museum must be heartily commended.”

City Manager Welcomes New Showcases!

Our own James Reynolds, placing a medieval pot - most like a storage vessel, possibly for grain, into one of our brand new showcases!

Galway City Manager, Mr. Joe O'Neill, has today welcomed the delivery of 13 new high quality showcases from specialist UK company Click Netherfield to Galway City Museum, on foot of a grant received from the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism, marking this as yet another major step in the Museum's redevelopment programme.

The cases will occupy the ground floor of the Museum and are specially built to hold valuable artefacts of a delicate nature; such as those that relate to prehistoric and medieval Galway, which are coming on loan from the National Museum of Ireland.

According to Mr. O’Neill:

“These showcases will help to transform the Museum, and bring Galway's prehistoric and medieval past alive.  We are very grateful to the Department of Arts, Sports and Tourism for a significant grant which allowed us to purchase these cases.  The redevelopment of the Museum will be a major boost to Galway – something which is extremely welcome at this time.”

Showcases such as these are very much specialist items and conform to stringent standards for the storage and presentation of priceless artefacts. They are securely alarmed and the climate within the case can be controlled to suit the object being stored within. 

Amongst the objects earmarked for these showcases are:  flint, axeheads and swords excavated from the River Corrib in the early 1980s which date back to prehistoric times, as wine bottles, glass and other objects relating to Galway's medieval past, which were excavated in the City Centre in the 1980s and 1990s.  Many of these finds serve to highlight Galway's trading history during a time when the 'Tribes of Galway' were very much in the ascendancy.