Cllr Gilligan asks that new site be identified
THE Jim Kemmy Museum should be moved from its “hideout” location beside King John’s Castle, Cllr John Gilligan told a meeting of Limerick City Council. In labelling the museum as “boring and uninteresting,” he claimed it would prove cost effective to identify a more suitable and more prominent location.
“Realistically, we know we won’t be competing with the Louvre in Paris, but Liverpool has three museums which have international appeal, and the museum in Swansea, which is just medium sized, is also known internationally – I’ve visited it myself and it is very attractive, but these are interactive museums, while we are stuck with old fashioned glass display boxes in our museum.
“Cathedrals, markets and museums are places that people visit – on visiting cities, they like to get a flavour of the city by delving into its history, its architecture and the kind of goods and wares it offers in a market”.
Conceding that the current financial constraints are an impediment to implementing changes and Improvements, Cllr Gilligan added that Limerick once had numerous factories, bakeries, food producers, etc,
“We could draw from that wealth of local indigenous industry and look to see what we can do regarding a museum for the city – by doing so, we would be contributing to the cultural life.
“All of Swansea is pedestrianised and it works wonderfully – we should be looking at and examining how modern, medium-sized cities work”.
Director of services, Pat Dowling, responded that it was apt to raise the issue of the museum’s location
“We have a duty to protect historical artefacts – we are required to seek out and return artefacts that might have left the city.
“However, we are in discussion regarding the museum’s location and the actual type we should have – we are in discussion with Shannon Development on this but let me remind you, our museum is responsible for the €250,000 that has been given by the government for the restoration of the city’s medieval walls and strangely, the numbers of people visiting the museum is up this year”.
Mr Dowling also confirmed that they have been in preliminary discussion with the National Museum of Ireland on establishing a Museum of Sport in the city.
