Carlow Town Council appoints BAM Building Ltd to construct the new Carlow County Museum premises

The Museum will help cater for the cultural and educational needs of the community and provide a much needed indoor heritage tourism amenity for the county. The Museum already contains a growing collection of over 5,000 artifacts. The collection represents a wide range of periods and topics including natural history specimens, stone and bronze age archaeological objects, coins, medals, stamps, religious objects, military and police artefacts and memorabilia, agricultural implements, trade, craft and industrial items, sporting memorabilia and a large collection of photographs and archival material. It is a good representative collection of the county, containing many interesting objects some of which are of national and international importance.

The new development involves the restoration of the former Presentation Convent on College Street, Carlow Town. Speaking in the Town Hall at the contract signing Cllr. Des Hurley, Cathaoirleach of Carlow Town Council welcomed the development stating that 'the building is in a prime town centre location and is part of a complex that already houses the Co. Library, Archive and the Tourist Office'.

Carlow County Museum is being developed in association with the Carlow Historical & Archaeological Society (CHAS). The Society, founded in 1946, opened a museum in 1974 and it was relocated in 1979 to the former Theatre of the Town Hall, a space provided by Carlow Town Council. Dan Carbery President of CHAS said that 'the Society operated the Museum on a voluntary basis and the redevelopment of the Museum by the Town Council is a source of pride for both the Society and its members'. The Society will retain a role in the development of the County Museum, through the medium of a Museum Board devise the County Museum's policies. The Board comprises seven members, three from the Town Council: Chairman Cllr. Walter Lacey, Cllr. John Cassin, Cllr. Rody Kelly & Joe Watters, Town Clerk is the County Manager's nominee.

The Carlow Historical & Archaeological Society is represented by three of their members, Ms Noreen Whelan, Seamus Murphy & Martin Nevin. Dermot Mulligan, Museum Curator said that 'the role of Carlow County Museum is to collect, preserve, conserve, document and display the history of the county. County/ City Museums are significant in that they are a home for a county's many historic treasures and maintain high standards of collections care'. Currently there are twelve County Museums in Ireland. Carlow is now the second County Museum in Leinster, the other being in Co. Louth.

Carlow County Museum works closely with the National Museum of Ireland, particularly in the area of Archaeological Finds. The National Museum of Ireland is the authority responsible for the care of all archaeological artefacts. Significantly when the Museum reopens archaeological artifacts found in Co. Carlow can finally be displayed in the county in which they were found. Also under the Designation Status Carlow County Museum will be able to request archaeological artifacts previously sent to the National Museum to be returned to the County Museum for display. Joe Watters, Town Clerk said that 'today is an historic occasion and the culmination of a shared vision by the Town Council and CHAS to secure the future of Carlow's many historical objects'.

The Museum Construction Design Team is made up of Ivor Bowe, Bowe Consulting Engineers, Andy Quinn of McCullagh Lupton Quinn quantity surveyors, Eddie Doyle of Doyle Environmental and representing the Town Council are Joe Watters, Town Clerk, Tim Madden, Clerk of Works and Dermot Mulligan Museum Curator. The Museum will be opened in the former Presentation Convent in mid 2011 which is also the 200th anniversary of the Order's arrival to Carlow Town.