National Museum of Ireland – Country Life

Social history museum in County Mayo, Ireland

National Museum of Ireland – Country Life

Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann – Saol na Tuaithe

Landlord's old house next to the museum

Location within Ireland

Established| September 2001 (2001-September)
Location| Turlough Park, Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland
Coordinates| 53°53′01″N 9°12′27″W﻿ / ﻿53.883584°N 9.207623°W﻿ / 53.883584; -9.207623
Type| National museum
Visitors| 100,000[1]
Architect| Thomas Newenham Deane, Dublin
Public transit access| Castlebar railway station
Bus Éireann routes: 52, 60, 440, 456
Website| Museum of Country Life website
National Museum of Ireland network

* Archaeology
* Decorative Arts & History
* Country Life
* Natural History

The National Museum of Ireland – Country Life is located in Turlough village, 8 km (5.0 mi) northeast of Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland. Established in 2001, the museum is part of the National Museum of Ireland and is the only national museum outside Dublin.[2] The museum exhibits the way of life of rural Irish people between 1850 and 1950, and is in the grounds of Turlough Park House. There are displays about the home, the natural environment, trades and crafts, communities, and working on the land and on water.

## History[edit]

### Turlough House[edit]

The current Turlough House was designed by Thomas Newenham Deane, who also designed the Kildare Street branch of the National Museum of Ireland.[2] It was built from 1863 to 1867, and was owned by the Fitzgerald family of Turlough.[3]

### Museum[edit]

In 1991, the house and 36 acres were purchased by the Mayo County Council. The house was renovated and an adjacent museum building was constructed in the slope of a hill above a pond. The Country Life Museum opened in September 2001.[2] The upstairs of the original house is used as offices by the museum's small staff, and the downstairs is on show to the public.

Landscape surrounding the Museum of Country Life.

### Gardens[edit]

The original gardens of Turlough House are now maintained by the Office of Public Works and the local authority, Mayo County Council. They include a vinery, a special type of greenhouse for grapevines and other fruiting plants, a number of walks, terraces and a sunken garden, the ruins of the original house (occupied 1722-1786) and a section of the Castlebar River, with an artificial lake with islands, and a round tower.[4]

## Collection[edit]

The National Folklife collection is extensive, comprising around 37,000 items, and only a small part of it is on display at Turlough Park, much of it being in storage there, and the remainder, including large machinery, in the National Museum's storage facility at the former St Conleth's Reformatory School in Daingean, County Offaly, or at the Collections Resource Centre on the edge of Swords near Dublin. There is also a library and archive facility, and access to this, and the unshown items, is available by application.[5]

### Exhibitions[edit]

The museum has both permanent and temporary exhibitions, arranged on a thematic basis over four[6] floors.

Some features have included:

* Michael Davitt Exhibition, an exhibition to commemorate the life of Michael Davitt, the founder of the Irish National Land League.[7]
* The Cross of Cong, a 12th-century processional cross that purportedly contains a piece of the True Cross, and is considered one of Ireland's most important medieval art treasures.[8] The cross was kept at Cong Abbey in County Mayo until 1839 when it was given to the Royal Irish Academy and then the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin.[9][10] In 2010, the cross was returned to County Mayo to be displayed at the Museum of Country Life for one year.[8][11]
* Power and Privilege: Photographs of the Big House in Ireland 1858–1922, an exhibit showing the lives of the gentry and their servants.[12]
* The Coggalbeg hoard, a bronze-age, gold collar and discs that were dug up in a bog near Strokestown in 1945. The hoard had been stored in a Pharmacy safe until the safe was stolen in 2009. The contents of the safe, including the gold objects which were presumably overlooked, were found in a dumpster.[13]

## Facilities[edit]

The museum has its own parking, a shop and a café. The museum opens Sunday and Monday, 1pm - 5pm and Tuesday to Saturday, 10am - 5pm.[14]

## Operations[edit]

The National Museum of Ireland as a whole, which includes the Museum of Country Life, underwent a decrease in funding from €19m in 2008 to less than €12m in 2014. Although there were tentative plans to close some of the museum branches or initiate an entrance fee, as of 2018, these plans have not gone into effect.[15][2]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Mark O'Regan (25 November 2014). "Historic visitor numbers for National Museum". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
2. ^ a b c d Edwin McGreal; Neill O'Neill; Áine Ryan (9 September 2014). "Fears for future of Turlough museum". Mayonews.ie. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
3. ^ "Turlough Park, Turlough, County Mayo: Buildings of Ireland: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage". Buildingsofireland.ie. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
4. ^ "National Museum of Ireland - Country Life - Visitor information - Things to see and do - Explore the grounds". National Museum of Ireland. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
5. ^ "Folklife Research Services". National Museum of Ireland. Retrieved 21 January 2022. "...The bulk of the 37,000 objects in the collections of the Folklife division are housed in purpose-built stores at the National Museum of Ireland - Country Life, Turlough Park ... Many of the larger objects, including early 20th century farm machinery, are housed in NMI's Collections Resource Centre, Swords ... or at the Museum's store in Daingean..."
6. ^ "Museum Floorplan Guide" (PDF). National Museum of Ireland – Country Life. May 2019.
7. ^ Bernie Byron (16 December 2006). "Davitt's Grandson visits special Davitt Exhibition". Castlebar.ie. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
8. ^ a b "Cross of Cong to be transferred to Mayo". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 24 March 2010. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
9. ^ William Robert W. Wilde (1867). Lough Corrib, its shores and islands: with notices of Lough Mask. Dublin: McGlashan and Gill. p. 192. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
10. ^ Hall, Mr; Mrs. S. C. (1843). Ireland: Its Scenery, Character, &c. Vol. III. England: How and Parsons. p. 368.
11. ^ Edwin McGreal (5 April 2010). "Cross of Cong 'a symbol of what we can achieve'". Mayonews.ie. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
12. ^ Ken Sweeney (23 December 2011). "Photo collection reveals contrasting lives in Ireland's real Downton Abbeys". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
13. ^ "Gold hoard thrown in skip displayed". The Irish Independent. 20 October 2011. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
14. ^ "Visitor information". museum.ie. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
15. ^ "Extra €2m funding for State cultural institutions". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2016.

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