Company Info
- Thomas MacDonagh Heritage Centre opened under the auspices of Cloughjordan Community Development Committee on 05/05/2013
- Thomas MacDonagh Museum (CLG) Incorporated on 10/04/2017. Company No. 602167.
- The Company was granted Charitable Tax Exemption by Revenue under Section 207 of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 - CHY 22115 on 05/04/2018.
- The Museum is registered with the Charities Regulator: Registered Charity Number (RCN) 20158590.
- The Museum was approved for the Charitable Donations Scheme on 21/05/2020.
Thomas MacDonagh Museum CLG
Directors
Brenda Ainsworth
With over 25 years’ experience working at management level in public service, Brenda has worked in numerous roles including community services, HR training, Health and Safety and customer service.
She is a firm believer in the value of the museum as an accessible opportunity for ongoing education, for the preservation of local and national history as well as a key resource for the community. Brenda has been volunteering with the museum since its opening in 2013 and has been a Director since June 2020.
Brendan Hogan
Brendan Hogan is a Chartered Accountant living in Dublin and working for an investment and technology group.
Both of his parents were born in Cloughjordan and he is pleased to be involved in helping the museum to maintain its financial procedures and governance. Brendan is a Director of Thomas MacDonagh Museum since December 2021.
Una Johnston
Una Johnston is a Director of Artsada Ltd, a music and events company that supports for-profit, nonprofit and public sector companies and individual freelancers around the UK and Ireland to achieve their business goals through participation in Conferences, Concerts and Festivals.
She is a BA Hons graduate from Limerick Institute of Technology and has 40 years’ experience as an event manager and business development professional. Una is a Director of Thomas MacDonagh Museum since December 2020.
Tori Mcmorran
With nearly 30 years working in heritage and tourism, Tori McMorran has a BA and MA in archaeology and worked as an archaeologist for over 20 years. More recently she returned to college and completed a PGDip in Museum Management and Practice with Ulster University.
Tori worked at The Hunt Museum, Limerick co-ordinating collection care and managing the Europeana Archaeology Project.
Working with a range of cultural heritage agencies across Europe she has shared skills to create online collections and exhibitions. She specialises in collection care and museum documentation, particularly in facilitating digital resources and improving standards of care. She is passionate about assisting communities develop resilient and sustainable enterprises using their cultural heritage assets. Tori began volunteering with the Thomas MacDonagh Museum in the early planning stages and became a Director in June 2020.
Museum Timeline
The Cloughjordan Community Development Committee (CCDC) was founded in 1996 and regenerated in 2005 as a not-for-profit community organisation and registered charity. The main aims are to protect and enhance the positive aspects of Cloughjordan village and to work towards providing opportunities for the social, economic and cultural development of the community.
Tipperary County Council facilitated the completion of an Integrated Village Plan for Cloughjordan in 2005, the aim of which was to establish a framework for the planned, co-ordinated and sustainable development of Cloughjordan, and for the conservation and enhancement of its natural and built environment. The plan also identified that the development of a museum in the one-time home of the MacDonagh family had potential to be a considerable attraction, and source of pride to the people of Cloughjordan. As a result the CCDC, the Heritage Group and a number of dedicated/interested individuals came together to secure funding and restore the home of Thomas MacDonagh into a Museum
Following a successful application, funding was secured from the North Tipperary Leader Partnership to renovate and extend the building into a Museum.
Construction and renovation work on the Thomas MacDonagh Heritage Centre began in early 2012. Undertaken by the Cloughjordan Heritage Group in association with the Cloughjordan Community Development Committee, it was financially supported by the North Tipperary Leader Partnership, voluntary contributions from the local community and expatriate local people. While the Heritage Group continued to play an active part in fundraising, a management board was formed to look after the day-to-day running of the centre.
Official launch of the Thomas MacDonagh Heritage Centre was made by Jimmy Deenihan, Minister for the Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs on 5 May 2013, the anniversary of MacDonagh’s execution.
Thomas MacDonagh Heritage Centre was accepted into the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI) in December 2014. This is a five year programme which aims to benchmark and promote professional standards in collections and care and to recognise the achievement of these standards within the Irish Museum sector.
The Thomas MacDonagh Heritage Centre marked the centenary of the 1916 Rising. It was one of seven designated centres taking a central role in the National 1916 commemoration celebrations. A statue of Thomas MacDonagh was unveiled at the top of Main Street.
The Museum was incorporated as Thomas MacDonagh Museum, a company limited by guarantee, on 10 April 2017, with its own constitution. All funds and loans were transferred into the ownership of the company, and the transfer of property from the trustees and collection from the CCDC was completed on 16 November 2017.
Charitable status was granted on 29 March 2018. The Thomas MacDonagh Museum was awarded a Certificate of Interim Accreditation under the Museum Standard Programme for Ireland (MSPI) at a ceremony hosted by the Heritage Council in Kilkenny Castle in July 2018.
The Museum was awarded full accreditation with the Heritage Council’s Museum Standards Programme of Ireland (MSPI), following a seven year process of training, improvement and evaluation. Due to the pandemic, the award presentation ceremony was held online on 27 July 2021.
The Museum was awarded full accreditation with the Heritage Council’s Museum Standards Programme of Ireland (MSPI), following a seven year process of training, improvement and evaluation. Due to the pandemic, the award presentation ceremony was held online on 27 July 2021.
Covid Policy
All COVID-19 restrictions have ended (citizen’s information.ie)
Visitors: The Thomas MacDonagh Museum will continue to provide and use sanitisers. If you would like to wear a mask while visiting us, you are more than welcome to do so. Your safety is our priority!
Staff and volunteers: You should take an antigen or pcr test if you have symptoms of COVID-19, and isolate if you test positive. Inform your museum contact.
COVID-19 symptoms can be like symptoms of cold, flu or hay fever. If your symptoms are not relieved by the usual remedies, you may have Covid. You can catch covid even if you are fully vaccinated and / or have had covid already.
The most common symptoms of COVID-19 (coronavirus) are:
- fever (high temperature – 38 degrees Celsius or above)– including having chills
- dry cough
- fatigue (tiredness)
