Explore & Learn at Thomas MacDonagh Museum
Thomas MacDonagh was a teacher and a poet who devoted himself to both professions throughout his life. The Museum offers a fantastic opportunity for students to learn about the life and times of Thomas MacDonagh and his family during the period of the Gaelic Revival, the influences leading to the 1916 Easter Rising and the formative years of the Irish State, spanning the period 1840-1940.
Our aim is to give an understanding of beliefs, motivations and actions of various groups of that time.
The Museum supports life-long learning, and regularly hosts group visits from national and secondary schools, colleges and universities and adult education groups. We have hosted international students from Canada and the USA.
Our volunteer team work with teachers to meet the relevant strands in the Primary and Secondary Curriculum while ensuring that the presentation and materials are relevant and enjoyable to all levels of interest and comprehension.
The material within the Museum’s Collection is rare and important and supports an awareness of local heritage and Irish culture – art, language, literature, music, and history – and creates a space for the Irish Language by its presence visually and aurally, giving a sense of personal and national identity.
The Museum is in the process of digitising the Collection thanks to generous funding from the Heritage Council in 2022. Digitisation facilitates online access to the Museum’s unique collection, safeguards the objects for the future, supports research, adds meaning and context, and encourage collaboration on platforms where audiences engage with us.
Theme based online exhibitions support a wide range of learning styles and collaborations.
GROUP TOURS
Further Information. School groups and Group Tours are always welcome, however pre-booking is necessary. Please complete this short online booking request form so we can meet your needs.
Cloughjordan Heritage Keepers.
Discover Your Place: Become A Heritage Keeper. The Heritage
Keeper Programme is run in partnership with Burrenbeo Trust.
‘Heritage Keepers’ is a fun place-based programme for schools and communities where together we explore the biodiversity and built, natural and cultural heritage of a local place. The group focusses on creating a sense of stewardship.
Heritage covers a wide range of tangible elements from buildings and objects to plants and animals. The intangible side of heritage is hidden within these elements and is found within memory, folklore and mythology of local places.
Together we explore the culture and heritage of community and examine what has shaped our identity. The aim of the programme is to create a culture of stewardship protecting and providing resilience for our heritage in light of challenging times.
Cloughjordan Heritage Keepers is supported by training and grant aid from Burren Beo Ltd and is undertaking a range of activities with school and community groups in Cloughjordan.
Further information or if you would like to get involved, contact us at info@macdonaghmuseum.ie and https://burrenbeo.com/hk/
Research Collaboration
Thomas MacDonagh Museum welcomes and facilitates researchers. We are a volunteer run Museum and providing levels of support can be challenging however we recognise the valuable contribution that researchers provide to us. We welcome collaborative projects with academics and partnerships with institutions.
Venue Hire
Thomas MacDonagh Museum hosts art exhibitions, wellness classes, seminars,
workshops, music performances, film screenings, launches and community meetings.
We have two rooms available for hire. The larger room is a bright, modern Gallery space – An Dánlann – with access to a private garden. This is a multifunctional, flexible space. The second – Seomra Roche – is a smaller, upstairs room. Room hire rates are variable and depend on:
- Day of the week
- Time of day
- Duration
- Frequency
- Type of Company
- Room Requirements
Further Information
Further information – please download our rate card here and contact us by completing the short online booking form. If you have questions please call us on 0505-42785 from 10am-4pm Tu-Fri and 2pm-4pm Sa-Su.
