Thursday 7 June 2012

Glasnevin Museum wins prestigious award

News has only just reached me that Glasnevin Museum in Dublin has received the Kenneth Hudson Award in the European Museum of the Year 2012 Awards.

The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) was founded in 1977 under the auspices of the Council of Europe and this year's ceremony was held a couple of weeks ago at Penafiel in Portugal.

The Kenneth Hudson Award is presented for the most unusual, daring and, sometimes, controversial achievement that challenges common perceptions of the role of museums in society.

Well, Glasnevin Museum is certainly out of the ordinary — it tells the story of Dublin's first non-denominational cemetery — and this award is not its first.

Since opening in 2010, the haul has included the trophy for Best International Museum at the Museum & Heritage Awards For Excellence in London and the Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement from the Themed Entertainment Association in Burbank, California.

Glasnevin Museum was opened in 2010 by the not-for-profit Glasnevin Trust to enrich visitors’ experience of the cemetery and their knowledge and understanding of Irish history through the lives of the leading public figures buried there.