Inishowen Maritime Museum ‘delighted’ after receiving €232,000 for complete redesign

The Inishowen Maritime Museum has announced a major upgrade of its facilities after being awarded  €232,000 under the Shared Island Coast-to-Coast Capital Investment Scheme.

The funding from the Shared Island Coast-to-Coast Capital Investment Scheme will go towards the installation of a new planetarium projector system, the creation of new bespoke shows and a complete redesign of the museum, which is housed in the old coast guard station overlooking Greencastle harbour.

The coast guard station was purchased from the Office of Public Works thanks to local fundraising and donations.

The new shows will feature regional stories and aurora visuals over local landmarks along with interactive screens, multilingual tours, and holograms to enhance visitor engagement.

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The board and staff of the museum, which was opened in 1994, said they were delighted at receiving the funding, which is 80% of the overall cost of the project.

The museum staff and board have spent three years developing the plan and have been improving the overall infrastructure to ensure that its implementation would be possible, the museum said in a statement online.

During the planning stages of the project, the museum has been working closely with and continues to work with the National Monuments Services, the Heritage Council, National Museums of Northern Ireland, The Marine Institute, The Tower Museum in Derry, Spanish Armada Ireland, The Ulster American Folk Park and Mellon Centre for Migration Studies in Co Tyrone, Donegal County Museum, Armagh Planetarium and various other organisations. 

“We are very grateful for their continued support. In particular we would like to acknowledge the support and advice from Failte Ireland and Mirador Media in the creation of this project,” the museum said.

The project,which is due to be completed by the end of this year, will be carried out in two phases so that the museum can operate during the summer season. 

“In the creation of the plan, great emphasis was placed on the original aims and objectives of the museum and planetarium which was to provide a community museum and planetarium to preserve and celebrate the rich maritime history of Inishowen and to provide an educational facility for both locals and visitors. The plan has a strong focus on education and curriculum based activities to facilitate schools, from pre-school to University level, locally, regionally and nationally.

“The project was advertised through the E-tender platform, and the winning contractor was appointed at a board meeting on Friday 19th December. The company appointed to carry out the project is Mirador Media Ltd which was formed in 2015 by then Creative Director Marc Roosli. The team has multidisciplinary expertise in education, communication and exhibition design, and is frequently consulted by organisations in Ireland's heritage sector.

“Mirador Media Ltd has extensive experience in the planning, design, manufacture and installation of visitor attractions. The company also has a proven track record in researching core subject matters and matching the findings to clear outcomes and visitor expectations in innovative and entertaining ways which directly result in increased visitor numbers and visitor satisfaction.

“We would like to emphasise how important the support of the community has been since the establishment of the museum and we would ask for continued support to help us meet the 20% match funding which is required to complete the project.”