10 Museums awarded under the Museums Standards Programme for Ireland

Ten museums across Ireland received accreditation under the prestigious Museum Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI), coordinated by The Heritage Council. The certificates were presented at a special online ceremony on 27 July 2021.

Established by the Council to benchmark and promote professional standards, selection under the MSPI is seen as a major accolade in the sector, setting the benchmark for ‘excellence’ across a range of areas.

Now in its 16^th year, since its inception, a total of 47 museums have gone through a rigorous process to achieve full accreditation. In total, 128 certificates have been awarded.

The accreditation process requires each museum to reach 34 minimum standards across seven areas, including management and governance, collections management, and public or visitor services. Factors taken into account include how museums care for their collections and visitors, as well as governance and management standards, and their education and exhibition programmes.

The museums receiving full accreditation are:

• Crawford Art Gallery, Cork
• Kilkenny Castle, OPW
• Museum of Free Derry
• The Thomas MacDonagh Museum, Tipperary

Receiving maintenance of accreditation are:

• Dublin Castle State Apartments, OPW
• Farmleigh, Dublin OPW
• The GAA Museum, Dublin
• Galway City Museum
• Highlanes Gallery, Drogheda, Co Louth
• Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin OPW

For further details on the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland, visit the Heritage Council website or click here to view the online award ceremony.

A podcast has been recorded to celebrate the event with Lesley-Ann Hayden, MSPI coordinator, and Brian Crowley, curator of collections at Kilmainham Gaol Museum,