Museum of Country Life

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MissRibena

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Hi everyone

The Museum of Country Life, located a couple of miles outside Castlebar on the grounds of a (modest) country house estate, is designed to record/showcase traditional rural life and is part of the National Museum of Ireland network and is closely affiliated to the Museum of Decorative Arts at Collins Barracks.

I like my heritage and am a fan of museums and as a culchie with a farming background, I was interested in this venture. But I have a couple of gripes;

Firstly, the museum is closed on Mondays. Every Monday. Including Bank Holiday Monday. This is clearly daft. It's the same at Collins Barracks. I complained about this when I first visited (3 years ago?, I think) but it hasn't changed. So beware anyone thinking of visiting these museums. When I complained I was told that it was a "union thing" but maybe it is but surely a different day of the week could be swopped instead of a Monday. Even a Friday wouldn't be so crazy. Whoever heard of a tourist attraction on a major holiday route closed on the June Bank Holiday weeekend?! Why does the government (and us) tolerate this kind of silliness?

The second problem I have is a much more fundamental issue to me and I'd be interested to know if any other visitors noticed this. The country house in the grounds has been restored and the (fairly empty) rooms are roped off so that visitors can look in. No problems there; we've seen landlords' houses restored with varying degrees of success by the dozen around where I live. The actual museum is located to the rear of this house and is underground in what appeared to my novice eye like a concrete bunker. I couldn't believe that the people with their turf cutters, bawneen jackets, St Brigid's crosses and dressers were relegated to servants' quarters, out of sight of the "big house". I couldn't believe my eyes at the time and (however foolishly/sentamentally) felt it was a horrible insult to "my people" and mentioned it to a curator but didn't get any safisfactory answer. I think he said something about preserving the look of the estate but when I asked why they couldn't have put the artefacts of the locals into the rooms of the big house (or anything but a bunker) there was no real answer.

I know this is a fairly obscure rant but it has been bugging me for ages and every time I hear the ad on the radio, it starts my blood boiling again.

Rebecca
 
Rebecca - I'm not sure which time-period the displays you've mentioned refer to. Sobering and uncomfortable as it may now be we did live in the cellars of the houses of English and Scottish landlords/owners and there was nothing heroic or dignified about the starvation and poverty. From the time of the Great Hunger up to 1900 and through Parnell's efforts for Home Rule the alternatives for the Irish as far as accommodation was concerned was the draughty stone cottage usually full of smoke from the peat-fire or if they were very very fortunate - dormitory in the basement or top floor of the local Big House.

Perhaps the accident of 'having no space' is ironically true to the facts!
 
Aren't most museums closed on Mondays and not just in Ireland. I first noticed the Monday thing in Stockholm and then again in Oslo.
Also noticed it (on Monday) at the museum house thing on Fitzwilliam street.
 
Hi Marie

I'm aware that country people lived in "cellars" but the point of the museum is to celebrate and record the traditions (skills, crafts, tools etc) of rural Ireland, not to re-enact the living accomodation. There are servants tunnels preserved at other country houses. In any case, this is not a stone cottage, it is a 3 (or 4 storey) concrete, rectangular modern building, with one storey above ground and the rest below, which is definitely not true to our traditions. I think all four do see the light of day at one narrow end because of a slope. If they had recreated tenants' cottages and done it that way, that would have been much better but as it is, it feels like the displays are "not worthy" somehow. I think it a real shame and missed opportunity because these skills and the way of life deserve to be celebrated.

Maybe you are right about the Monday thing Cahir and I just don't go to museums on Mondays that often. When I complained nobody mentioned that it was the norm. It's definitely not the norm with art galleries. Mind you, I probably tend to go to major ones that are open every day. So I suppose I can cool down about that complaint even if it still seems a bit daft :)

Rebecca
 
If the house itself is of historic/architectural merit, there would be serious planning and conservation issues were it to be adapted to house the museum exhibits.

The idea of recreating tenants' cottages was probably prohibitive from a cost viewpoint. This has already been done with great success in Bunratty and Omagh and the market may not be big enough for another one. For a start, having all the exhibits in one building would be more efficient from a staffing/security viewpoint.

Museums all over Europe are generally closed on Monday - probably because the staff work on Saturdays and/or Sundays.
 
I still think it's a major disappointment and falls far short of doing the whole notion any justice.

The location of the building itself was no doubt assisted by the Flynn's influence in Fianna Fail because I could list dozens of alternative buildings which could have been restored and used to house the artefacts AND be in a more central/accessible and still rural location. It's just a pity that the lobbying didn't extend to the building/display. The location of the building underground does little to showcase the estate house (which is modest as these things go) or grounds and the artificial lighting isn't very well thought out inside either. I've studied a small bit on theories of display and the success or otherwise of evoking a time through display of artefacts (such as the original conception of the Musee d'Orsay in Paris) and what's been done in Castlebar seems to be contrary to what I've studied and I cannot understand why professional curators would go for this design in any circumstances.

There are plenty of European museums open 7 days but I take the point that it's a norm for museums. Still though, very few heritage tourist attractions are closed on Bank Holiday Mondays. I'm thinking of things like Clonmacnoise, the Corlea Trackway, Knowth/Newgrange etc. I suppose the Museum of Country Life straddles the two types of attraction.

I would have been a lot happier to keep the artefacts in Collins Barracks (where they were) rather than have this ham-fisted effort. Why spend a lot of money exchanging one unsatisfactory method of disply for another?

Rebecca
 
The Museum of Country Life was opened in 2001. I doubt if the Flynns had much influence on the decision to site it where it is. Padraig Flynn has not been involved in local or national politics since being appointed EU commissioner in 1993 and his daughter Beverley, because of her largely chequered past, has been hardly the most influential politician in Mayo, let alone nationally, in the meantime.

I can't comment on the Museum as I have never visited it but it seems to be modelled on the same lines as the highly successful (and privately owned) Strokestown House & Famine Museum.
 
In fairness, the people of Castlebar (not just Fianna Fail) credit the Flynns with much of the growth in the town and surrounding areas (rightly or wrongly). I don't know when the original plans were drawn up for the Museum of Country Life but with the wheels turning so slowly in this country I wouldn't be surprised if the whole project originates in a much earlier period. That said, this aspect is not something that worries me all that much.

Strokestown House and Famine Museum is a much smaller scale affair than the Castlebar Museum. It's inception was driven by the local community and the house owners and it is not part of the National Museum, so it really is a different kettle of fish. I live less than 20 miles from Strokestown and visit the house and grounds pretty regularly and the conservation of the desmesne has been a long-running struggle in Strokestown (and County Roscommon in general) and goes back at least 20 years (that I remember personally).

It's hard to understand why the estate house at Castlebar was chosen to be restored over more respresentative buildings associated with "country life" particularly when there are already good examples of estate houses restored relatively closeby albeit not necessarily state owned. The famine museum is much much smaller than The Museum of Country Life but even so it is housed in part of the buildings belonging to the old house and is certainly not in a modern concrete bunker. Strokestown house serves to commemorate the famine but also showcase the house and gardens (in particular), so why the State would use this as a foundation for traditional Irish country life is a bit strange as there isn't much correlation. In fact, they are almost in competition with one another being only 50 or so apart on the same Dublin - Mayo route.

It would be interesting to hear the opinions of people who have actually visited the museum.

Rebecca
 
Hi Rebecca
We went to the MOCL for the first time last winter and I found it utterly lovely. I love the modern design of the new building set against the old. I think it is set in a lovely place and easy to get to.
No doubt politics had some bearing on the national museums choice of location ... but I for one am delighted to see it in the west ... hell or connaght springs to mind.
Stokestown house can stand on it´s own merit ... I feel there is more to irish country life than the history of the famine.
 
Strokestown house serves to commemorate the famine but also showcase the house and gardens (in particular), so why the State would use this as a foundation for traditional Irish country life is a bit strange as there isn't much correlation.
Click to expand...

The State had and has no policy input into the concept of Strokestown House as it is privately owned.
 
Sorry that's not what I meant, foundation was a poor choice of words. I was referring to your comment that the Museum of Country Life was modelled on Strokestown.

Henny Penny, maybe it's just me so. Basically I like the idea, just not the execution/embodiment of it.

Rebecca
 
ubiquitous said:
I can't comment on the Museum as I have never visited it but it seems to be modelled on the same lines as the highly successful (and privately owned) Strokestown House & Famine Museum.
Click to expand...

See above.

I'm not interested in some juvenile nit-picking semantic rubbish. I think there's a forum on the Oxford Dictionary website if that's your bag. Maybe once you've visited the museum we could have a more meaningful discussion on the topic.

Rebecca
 
Hi Rebecca

Sorry of my contributions to this discussion weren't up to your expectations. Up until your last post, the entire discussion had proceeded on friendly and civil terms. I'm surprised and disappointed that it didn't stay that way.

That's all I have to say on the matter.

best regards

ubiquitous
 
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