About
Limerick Museum is dedicated to bringing the history of Limerick to life. They try and achieve this goal by telling the story of Limerick city and county through its exhibitions and projects with different community groups.
The museum maintains a strong online presence, with its twitter and facebook feeds posting about interesting historical objects on a daily basis.
The Museum’s catalogue is an expansive online tool that can be used to search for and examine all of the artefacts that make up its collection. The catalogue is available online here.
Donating and Collecting
Limerick Museum accepts new objects or donations from members of the public into the museum collection, and does its best to have it accessible and viewed on its catalogue as quickly as possible. They have a specific policy on donations and collecting, which can be viewed here
History
The Museum was founded in 1907 and was opened to the public in 1916. Its original location was in the City Library, which was then in the Carnegie Building in Pery Square and the librarian of the day was its curator.
The Museum was closed to the public between 1974 and 1979, it reopened in new premises in St. John’s Square, where it remained for 20 years. In 1998 the Museum was on the move again this time to Castle Lane before taking up residence in Istabraq Hall in Merchant’s Quay.
On the 30th May 2017 the Limerick Museum moved to its new home in the former Franciscan Friary on Henry Street in the heart of the city centre.
Limerick Museum is dedicated to the memory of Jim Kemmy, the former Democratic Socialist Party and Labour Party TD for Limerick East and two-time Mayor of Limerick.
The story of the city and county is presented through its objects, from Stone Age axes to medieval coins, from the civic sword of Queen Elizabeth I to medals presented to veterans of the 1916 Rising.
Among the more unusual items include:
Ireton’s Cat, a mummified cat found on Nicholas Street in the 1890’s; a fragment of the largest meteorite that ever fall in Ireland in 1813 and two World War II gas-masks, that fortunately never had to be used.
