Thomas MacDonagh Museum in Cloughjordan celebrates its 10th anniversary on 5th May

An evening of celebration is planned in Cloughjordan Co Tipperary to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of Thomas MacDonagh Museum.  The anniversary celebrations will include a reception on Friday 5th May from 7-9pm in the Museum for invited guests.

Thomas MacDonagh Museum honours and promotes the life of the poet and patriot Thomas MacDonagh, who was a native of Cloughjordan, County Tipperary. The Museum does this by collecting, safeguarding, exhibiting and interpreting material associated with Thomas MacDonagh, his family, his activities, his times and his legacy. 

Highlights of the 2023 programme include:

●      A special event during Heritage Week, August 12-20, 2023, titled ‘Cloughjordan in the Time of MacDonagh’, during which the Museum will invite the people of Cloughjordan and environs to bring items they think may be of historic local value for documentation and evaluation.

●      Two Poetry as pop Commemoration Creative Writing Workshops in association with Poetry Ireland and UCD on 14 & 21 September. 

●      A History Beats and Poetry Rhymes Weekend on 22-24 September in association with Poetry Ireland.

●      The launch of The Cloughjordan Collection, a new permanent exhibition in the upstairs Seomra Roche in October.

●      The launch of Cloughjordan in the Time of MacDonagh online and in person exhibition in October

Speaking of the Museum’s plans, Director Tori McMorran said: “The Museum’s current goals include demonstrating the importance of the Thomas MacDonagh Museum to key stakeholders in the heritage and tourism sectors. We are investing in exhibitions, events, education, and digitisation to reach new audiences, while at the same time building our internal capacity, leveraging our Museum Standards of Ireland status and expanding core funding.

Speaking about the 10th anniversary, Director Brenda Ainsworth expressed “gratitude to the dozens of local volunteers who have given – and continue to give - their time and their enthusiasm to honour Cloughjordan’s native son Thomas MacDonagh. The Museum provides a unique experience of the rich history and heritage of Cloughjordan and the MacDonagh family during the period 1850-1950 and our volunteers bring it to life for our visitors.”

The Thomas MacDonagh Museum was developed from the Tipperary County Council 2005 Integrated Village Plan for Cloughjordan, which identified that the development of a museum in the one-time home of the MacDonagh family had potential to be a considerable attraction, and source of pride to the people of Cloughjordan.

Thanks to the efforts of the Cloughjordan Community Development Company, the Cloughjordan Heritage Group, North Tipperary County Council, North Tipperary Leader and a number of dedicated and interested individuals and donors, the Thomas MacDonagh Heritage Centre was opened by Jimmy Deenihan, then Minister for the Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht Affairs on 5 May 2013, the anniversary of MacDonagh’s execution. Thomas MacDonagh Museum achieved accreditation as a Museum through the Heritage Council’s Museum Standards Programme in Ireland in 2021.

Other upcoming events at the Thomas MacDonagh Museum include:

●    Cineclub returns for a new season of monthly independent film screenings in the Museum. Cineclub kicks off on Sunday 7th May at 8pm with the screening of Dream Horse. Based on a true story and starring Toni Collette and Damien Lewis, Dream Alliance is an unlikely racehorse bred by small-town Welsh bartender Jan Vokes. With no experience, Jan convinces her neighbours to chip in their meagre earnings to help raise Dream in the hopes he can compete with the racing elites. All are welcome. Tickets €7.

●      Music in the Museum will be a series of concerts featuring local supergroup Airs & Graces playing traditional and contemporary music and songs. The suggested donation will include light refreshments.

●      Cloughjordan Library will reopen in the coming weeks and the Museum warmly welcomes the return of Library services to the community.

More details about activities can be found at this link:

https://macdonaghmuseum.ie/      or by emailing info@macdonaghmuseum.ie