Kerry County Museum
Príomh-Mhúsaem Chiarraí | |
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  Kerry County Museum Location within County Kerry | |
| Established | 1992 |
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| Location | Tralee,County Kerry,Ireland |
| Coordinates | 52°16′01″N9°42′21″W/ 52.2669°N 9.7059°W |
| Type | Countymuseum |
| Public transit access | Tralee railway station |
| Website | kerrymuseum |
Kerry County Museum(Irish:Príomh-Mhúsaem Chiarraí) is amuseumlocated inTralee,County Kerry,Ireland. The museum is based in theAshe Memorial Hall,formerly also known as theUrban Council Chambers[1]in the centre of Tralee. The aim of the museum is to collect, record, preserve and display the material heritage of County Kerry.
History[edit]
BeforeWorld War I,Kerry County Councilwas based in a purpose-built building on Godfrey Place; however the building was set on fire by theBlack and Tansduring theSiege of Traleeof November 1920.[2]In the mid-1920s, it was agreed to new commission a new municipal meeting for use by both Kerry County Council and Tralee Urban District Council.[3]The site they selected had formed part of the estate of Henry Clements-Finnerty which incorporated the ruins of a 17th century castle built for the Denny family.[4]
A new building, which was dedicated to the memory of the republicanThomas Ashe,was designed by Thomas Joseph Cullen in theNeo-Georgian style,built inashlarstone at a cost of £32,480, and was opened in 1928.[5][6][7]The design involved a symmetrical main frontage of 13 bays facing onto Denny Street. The central section of five bays, which was slightly projected forward, featured a doorway with a rectangularfanlightflanked by a moulded surround andbracketssupporting anentablature.The building was fenestrated by pivot windows with paintedwindow sillson two floors. The central section featured an attic level with small rectangular windows. There was aparapetand a hipped roof above.[8]
After the county council moved toCounty Hall,and the urban district council moved to purpose-built offices in Prince's Street,[9]the building fell empty in January 1989.[10]Kerry County Museum was established in the early 1990s as an initiative of the urban district council to exhibit the material heritage of County Kerry.[11]In the early years the museum focused on exhibited Kerry's archaeological treasures as part of its "medieval experience".[11]
Exhibits[edit]
Exhibits include an earlymedievalbrooch, duelling pistols used byDaniel O'Connellin the early nineteenth century, and an exhibition dedicated to Antarctic explorerTom Crean.[12]
References[edit]
- ^The Empire Municipal Directory and Year Book.Municipal Engineering and the Sanitary Record. 1932. p. 125.
- ^Barrington, T J (1999) [1976].Discovering Kerry. Its History, Heritage and Topgraphy(2 ed.). Cork: The Collins Press. p. 127.ISBN1-898256-71-3.
- ^Potter, Matthew (2011).The Municipal Revolution in Ireland: A Handbook of Urban Government in Ireland Since 1800.Irish Academic Press. p. 328.ISBN978-0716530824.
- ^"Tralee Town Park".Kingdom of Kerry. 8 April 2020.Retrieved30 October2023.
- ^McCarthy, Victoria (1 January 2021)."Thomas Ashe Memorial Hall".Gems of Architecture.Retrieved30 October2023.
- ^"1925 – Ashe Memorial Hall, Tralee, Co, Kerry".Archiseek.Retrieved1 November2019.
- ^"Local Authorities".Oireachtas. 26 May 1982.Retrieved26 October2019.
- ^"Ashe Memorial Hall, Town Park, Denny Street, Tralee, County Kerry".National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.Retrieved30 October2023.
- ^"Councillors Say Maybe to Proposed Move to Ashe Hall".Tralee Town. 5 March 2001.Retrieved30 October2023.
- ^O'Shea, Owen; Revington, Gordon (2018).Century of Politics in the Kingdom: A County Kerry Compendium.Merrion Press.ISBN978-1785372018.
- ^ab"We collect the material heritage of Kerry, but it belongs to the people".The Kerryman. 12 May 2018.Retrieved1 November2019.
- ^"Kerry County Museum".Discover Ireland.Retrieved1 November2019.
External links[edit]
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