NEWS ARCHIVE

Muckross House
Achieves National Recognition

The Trustees of Muckross House were honoured at a ceremony in the House of Lords, Bank of Ireland, College Green, Dublin, on Wednesday 7th November 2007 when Mr. John Gormley, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government formally launched the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland.


Patricia O'Hare of Muckross Research Library accepting the Museum Standards Accreditation certificate from Mr. John Gormley, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government on Wednesday Nov 7th, 2007.

The Trustees have successfully participated in the Museum Standards Programme and, having submitted three separate applications in respect of Muckross House, Muckross Traditional Farms and Muckross Research Library, the Trustees have now secured full accreditation for all three areas. The only other institution in the country to have secured full accreditation is the National Gallery of Ireland. In other words three out of the four awards have been won by the Trustees of Muckross House.

“This is a tremendous achievement,” said Michael Gleeson, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Muckross House “particularly in view of the fact that the Trustees are a not-for-profit voluntary body - without access to the level of resources available to the National Cultural Institutions”. He went on to compliment the Board of Governors, Director and staff of the National Gallery of Ireland on their success in achieving full accreditation. He stated “It is a very proud day indeed for Muckross House, for Killarney and for Kerry that a modest, voluntary museum in the South West of Ireland can stand shoulder to shoulder with a National Institution of the calibre of the National Gallery of Ireland.”

He continued “Everyone associated with Muckross House since it was first opened to the public in 1964 – particularly those men and women who gave of their time voluntarily to serve as Trustees – will rejoice at this fantastic achievement. It is the culmination of many years of dedicated work and perseverance and is proof, if proof were needed, of the prescience and wisdom of the then Minister for Finance, Dr. Jim Ryan, when he invited the Trustees to take on the task, on behalf of the State, of opening Muckross House to the public and developing a Folk Museum for Kerry.”

The Chairman paid tribute to the management and staff at Muckross House, Muckross Traditional Farms and Muckross Research Library. “Under the direction of our C.E.O., Pat Dawson, the team effort was led by Patricia O’Hare, Research & Education Officer, with the assistance of Bookbinder and Paper Conservator Paul Curtis, Traditional Farms Manager Toddy Doyle, Supervisor Guide Ann Tangney and the combined staff in the House, on the Traditional Farms and in the Research Library.”

The Museum Standards Programme for Ireland was developed by the Heritage Council, initially through a pilot phase, in consultation with the Irish museums sector and in keeping with best international practice. The programme, which is voluntary, aims to raise standards across a wide range of areas and to promote the care and welfare of collections. In 2006 the Heritage Council established an Advisory Group to oversee the delivery of the programme.

There are currently twenty-four museums participating, at various stages, in the programme, including:
- Butler Gallery, Kilkenny
- Cavan County Museum
- Chester Beatty Library, Dublin
- Clare Museum, Ennis
- County Museum, Dundalk
- Donaghmore Famine Workhouse and Agricultural
- Museum, Portlaoise
- Donegal County Museum, Letterkenny
- GAA Museum, Croke Park, Dublin
- Hunt Museum, Limerick
- Irish Agricultural Museum, Wexford
- James Joyce Museum, Dublin
- Knock Museum, Knock, Co. Mayo
- Lewis Glucksman Gallery, Cork
- Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick
- Model Arts and Niland Gallery, Sligo
- Monaghan County Museum, Monaghan
- Muckross House, Traditional Farms and Research
- Library, Killarney
- Múseum Chorca Dhuibhne, Baile and Fheirtéaraigh,
- Co. Chiarraí
- National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
- National Print Museum, Dublin
- Rothe House, Kilkenny
- South Tipperary County Museum, Clonmel
- Transport Museum Society of Ireland, Dublin
- Waterford Museum of Treasures, Waterford

The programme identifies thirty-four standards across the broad range of museum practice – including:
- Constitution and Policies
- Museum Management
- Caring for the Collections
- Documenting the Collections
- Exhibitions
- Education
- Visitor Care
- Access

Participation in the programme requires both enthusiasm and a commitment of time by museum staff and those in charge of the collections. However, the benefits of participation in the programme have been well recognised and include improved professionalism, a boost in staff morale and a commitment to deliverable standards in keeping with the best in museum practice internationally.

Surveys of museums that have participated in the programme to date have indicated that the programme:

Promotes a sense of support and collegiality between the participating museums.

Provides an opportunity for critical review of museum procedures and activities.

Improves staff confidence, job satisfaction and professionalism.

Offers quality assurance to members of the public, Government and sponsors.

This achievement, (full accreditation in the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland), by the Trustees at Muckross House is the latest in a series of significant awards in recent years.

The Trustees have always been conscious of the need to focus on their primary objective – i.e. the delivery of a first-class museum service to the people of Kerry and to the many visitors to the County – and have invested considerable resources, over many years, towards achieving the highest standards in keeping with best international practice.

The policies set by the Board of Trustees, and implemented by the management team and staff, have resulted in national and international recognition for their museum activities at Muckross – including the following awards:

Gulbenkian Foundation Museum of the Year Award 2001
In 2001 the Muckross Research Library won a prestigious award in that year’s Museum of the Year Awards. The awards were organised by the Northern Ireland Museums Council and were sponsored by the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Heritage Council of Ireland. Mr Michael McGimpsey, Northern Ireland’s then Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, presented the awards on Wednesday 28th November, to six outstanding museums from throughout Ireland. Over one hundred museum and heritage representatives gathered to hear the winners announced at a ceremony held at Parliament Buildings, Stormont.

In their citation the judges stated that Muckross Research Library “houses a rich variety of printed ephemera and constitutes an important archive.” In addition, the judges noted that care of the library collections has now been supplemented by a splendid bindery and paper conservation workshop, under the management of Mr Paul Curtis”.

Interpret Ireland Award 2002
In 2002 the Muckross House website, www.muckross-house.ie, received an award in the Interpret Ireland Awards for 2002. In January of 2003 Mr John Iddon, the Awards Secretary, presented certificates to the winners from 2001 and 2002. Apart from Muckross House, the winners included the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery of Modern Art, Dublin, Museum of Country Life, Turlough Park, Co. Mayo and Mount Stewart House and Gardens, Co. Down.

The assessor considered the Muckross website to be ‘one of the most extensive and well designed websites’ he had seen. He continued: "The assessor particularly enjoyed the section on Mary Balfour, the nineteenth century member of the Herbert family who was a magnificent water-colourist, and whose paintings, depicting the estate and its surroundings, are a uniquely pleasurable feature of the house’s history."

Sandford Award for Heritage Education 2003
In 2003 the UK based Heritage Education Trust awarded Muckross Traditional Farms a Sandford Award for Féile Chultúir Chiarraí (Festival of Kerry Culture). The Féile, which has now become an annual event, consists of a series of ‘hands on’ workshop opportunities for primary school children. The Féile usually takes places in May and all primary schools within the county are circularised about the event in early spring. Schools are accommodated on a ’first come first served basis’ and the event is usually booked up within a number of days. The workshops are based in the traditional farm dwellings. They include butter-making, traditional bread making, traditional music, an introduction to the traditional farm dwelling and its furnishings, and a working horse demonstration. The use of the Irish language is encouraged throughout the event.

Since 1982, the UK Heritage Education Trust has recognised and promoted the excellence of educational services offered at historic sites. The Trust favours educational programmes that encourage children to get out and about exploring their heritage, away from a classroom setting.

This was the first time that the Heritage Education Trust made an award to a site outside of the UK.

At the formal launch ceremony in the House of Lords, Bank of Ireland, College Green, Dublin on Wednesday 7th November, Muckross House were represented, among others, by: Mr. Michael O’Shea, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees, (deputising for the Chairman Michael Gleeson); Canon Brian Lougheed, Secretary to the Board of Trustees; Senator Paul Coghlan, Trustee; Mr. Paddy MacMonagle, Trustee; Mr. Pat Dawson, C.E.O.; Ms. Patricia O’Hare, Research and Education Officer; Mr. Toddy Doyle, Traditional Farms Manager; Mr. Paul Curtis, Bookbinder and Paper Conservator and Ms. Ann Tangney, Supervisor Guide.

 

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