One Floor Open - Two More to Go!!

Brendan and James preparing one of the cases for the 'Dancehall Days' exhibition

Reaction to our new groundfloor exhibitions has been overwhelmingly positive since reopening this week - and we're delighted that the public can once again enter the main body of the Museum and view exhibitions on Prehistoric and Medieval Galway (not to mention our favourite son, Pádraic Ó Conaire!).  But while we may be outwardly serene, work continues at a frantic pace behind the scenes as we prepare to open the next two floors in time for next Tuesday (12th July!).  These floors will host exhibitions on:  Dancing in Salthill, Cinema in Galway, the Arts in Galway, Galway and the Wars of Empire (as we had it before closure), as well as two flagship exhibitions for the arts festival:  Lamb in Connemara (an exhibition of painting by Charles Lamb) and Modern Languages, (an exhibition of craft material).  Our opening hours are Tuesday - Saturday, 10am - 5pm, and, of course, it's all free admission!

World Premiere of Pádraic Ó Conaire Animation!

The children of 3rd Class, Claddagh National School, with teacher Seán Leonard, Brendan McGowan of GCM, and Edith Pieperhoff animation artist who helped the children to produce a short animated film based on Pádraic Ó Conaire's famous story, M'asal Beag Dubh.  Click on to this youtube link to view the short film: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RO0lDX-Z4yU

This week saw the 'world premiere' of an animation based on Pádraic Ó Conaire's short story M'Asal Beag Dubh (My Little Black Donkey). The animation was the result of a joint project between Galway City Museum and Claddagh National School.

As part of the Museum's People's History of Galway initiative the children of third class were asked to re-imagine and retell Ó Conaire's much-celebrated, comic tale about the author's first encounter with his long-time travelling companion – a little black donkey – purchased at a fair in Kinvara.

Galway City Musuem worked with sound recorder, Maud Hand, and animator, Edith Pieperhoff, to record and pull together the children's unscripted, and often rambling, retelling. The resulting 5 minute video now forms part of a new exhibition around the Ó Conaire monument. It may also be viewed online via youtube:

We're Open Again!

James Reynolds of Galway City Museum, with Noeline Kavanagh of Macnas, and of course, the Macnas Boy Explorer, who will form part of our upcoming exhibition on the arts -  planned for our second phase of redevelopment, opening on July 12th!

• 15ft Macnas Boy will form part of second phase redevelopment

We reopened our ground floor yesterday, with exhibitions on Prehistoric Galway, Medieval Galway and a fresh look at Pádraic Ó Conaire... and now we're working on phase two of our redevelopment, and welcoming a very special boy indeed....

He's 15ft tall, cute as a button, and has walked the length and breath of Ireland to find amazing ideas from the country's children. Now the Macnas Boy Explorer has come to settle with us here in Galway City Museum for the rest of the summer!

The Boy will represent the street performance group Macnas in our upcoming exhibition on the arts in Galway – an exhibition which is due to open on July 12^th, as part of the our second phase of redevelopment.

Our second phase of redevelopment will feature exhibitions on Cinema in Galway, Dances in Salthill, a major exhibition of art by Charles Lamb and an exhibition of craft which will feature as part of the Galway Arts Festival programme in July.

We will also be retaining our 'Galway and the Wars of Empire' exhibition, which looks at the input that Galwegians have had in the many wars of Empire from the 18^th century up until the First World War.

The Museum is free of charge, and is open Tuesday – Saturdays, 10am – 5p

National Museum Crew Come to Galway - Getting Close Now!

Carol Smith (NMI), Karen Wilson (NMI), James Reynolds (Galway City Museum), Mary Cahill (NMI) and Helen Bermingham, (Galway City Museum), working on the new ground floor 'Medieval Galway' exhibition, which is due to open next week!

'A significant event for both the National Museum of Ireland and for Galway City Museum', is how Mary Cahill, Assistant Keeper with the NMI described the loan of prehistoric and medieval artefacts, which were put on display in Galway City Museum a few days ago by the staff of Galway City Museum, with the aid of National Museum crew.

The collection, which is made up of objects discovered on archaeological digs throughout the 1980s and 1990s in and around Galway City, as well as some more recent finds accruing from the NRA development of the M6 roadway, constitutes a significant loan to a regional Museum from the National Museum in Dublin.

Among the many highlights of the upcoming prehistoric display will be Neolithic (4000-2000BC) polished stone axe heads, Bronze Age Spearheads dating to 1300-1000BC, found in the River Corrib during the 1980s and Bronze Age pottery dating back to approximately 2000 - 1800 BC. The array of stone tools of flint and chert, such as scrapers and blades give a fascinating insight into prehistoric humans and their existence in Galway - many of the tools would have been used to hunt and skin animals, cut meat and even to do some woodworking. One of the earliest objects on display will be a magnificent Mesolithic stone spearhead, which may have been used to catch fish, and dates back to approximately 6000BC!

Galway's glorious medieval past will also be represented with samples of ceramics from Ireland, England and all over Europe, as well as coinage and of course wine bottles and drinking glasses galore! The medieval collection will draw attention to Galway's trading past and an age when the so-called 'Tribes of Galway' ruled the waters off the west coast of Ireland.

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.”