Join Me and The Moon at Kerry County Museum this festive season and get crafty! All Christmas arts and crafts workshops take place Saturdays from 11am to 4pm, are drop-in and included in the general admission fee: €5 per adult; children go free as part of our family admission offer.
Kerry County Museum is delighted to host ‘Mixing Moments’, a unique integration exhibition and film which will run from 11 November 2023 until 5 January 2024. A heart-warming showcase of creative work developed by Kerry LCYP and the Kerry Education and Training Board with wonderful partners across Kerry, Mixing Moments is the culmination of a series of workshops which took place throughout the year. The project provided space for people to meet across Kerry in a safe and creative environment, away from the busyness of life to catch a break, human to human, just being creative together. Out of it came connection, community, a sense of caring for each other and supporting each other. It seems to be the small things in life that in the end give meaning and comfort. Mixing Moments welcomed 112 younger and older Ukrainian, Irish, African-French, Indian-Irish and English families in a series of workshops where music, art and sound offered a structure to meet. It was a unique moment in time, a time to explore, be imaginative, express pain, joy, and beauty. A chance to mix, to make new friends and to share each other’s laughter and sadness.
The Kerry Young Historian Award is an annual initiative open to all Kerry secondary schools and all Kerry students aged 12 to 19. It is a joint project of the erry Archaeological and Historical Society, Kerry County Museum and Kerry County Council and kindly supported by The Education Centre Tralee and The History Teachers’ Association of Ireland, Kerry branch.
The purpose of the award is to encourage participants to research and write about a local history topic in a personal, interesting and critical way with a special focus on some of Kerry’s untold stories. The award aims to encourage and produce the historians of the future as well as engaging young people in local history, archaeology and heritage.
Award Prize: Winning essays will be published in The Kerry Magazine, an annual publication by The Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society. Each participating school will receive a voucher from Kerry County Museum for a free visit or outreach visit to the school. Prize winning schools in the Junior and Senior categories will be guaranteed a free living history workshop as part of the Architecture Kerry Festival in September 2024.
Competition opens: October 2023
Deadline for submissions of essays: March 2024
Contact: education@kerryhistory.ie
Heritage Hunters is an award-winning local heritage competition open to all Kerry primary schools. Kerry County Museum has teamed up with Radio Kerry, the Kerry Archaeological & Historical Society, Kerry County Counci, the Education Centre Tralee and the Heritage in Schools Programme by the Heritage Council of Ireland for this exciting opportunity to showcase all the amazing heritage projects that are underway in primary schools across Kerry. So how does it work? Simply send an email to education@kerryhistory.ie and we will send you a simple starter-guide. Deadline for submission of finished projects is the end of March 2024.
Join Me and The Moon at Kerry County Museum on Sat 28 and Sun 29 October to celebrate Oíche Sahmhna. You can create your own spooky haunted house at this creative construction workshop. The event is drop-in, no booking necessary and included in the general admission fee: €5 per adult; children go free as part of our family admission offer. We also have a lovely Halloween activity booklet, trail and spooky colouring for you from 20 October until 6 November as part of your museum visit.
October Bank holiday opening hours:
Sat 28 October: 9:30am – 5pm (last admission at 4pm)
Sun 29 October: 10am – 5pm (last admission at 4pm)
Mon 30 October: 10am – 5pm (last admission at 4pm)
In a joint event by Kerry County Museum, Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society and Kerry County Council as part of Architecture Kerry 2023, Kieran Cahill, a graduate of CBS, Tralee was presented with the overall Kerry Young Historian Award by Jimmy Deenihan at Kerry County Museum on 27 September. Awards were also presented in the junior, senior and highly commended categories to Anna O’ Mahony, Scoil Phobail Sliabh Luachra, Rathmore, Aaron Harty, Mercy Mounthawk, Lauren Coffey, Presentation Secondary School, Castleisland, Rory O’ Flaherty, Mercy Mounthawk, Niamh O’ Donnell, Presentation Secondary School, Castleisland, Siobhan Griffin, Mercy Mounthawk, Edel O’ Donoghue, Presentation Seconday School, Castleisland and Adam Lucid, Castleisland Community College (absent). Also in the photo are Claudia Kohler, Kerry County Museum, Victoria McCarthy, Kerry County Council, Tony Bergin and Edel Codd from Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society. The award ceremony is followed by a gallery talk, display and demonstration by archaeologist and historical advisor Dave Swift of Claíomh who will investigate the material culture of 1916 and the Irish Revolutionary Era. Photos: Pauline Dennigan
Photo: Pauline Dennigan
Join material heritage expert Dave Swift of Cláiomh at Kerry County Museum for a drop-in living history demonstration showcasing the material culture of the Irish revolutionary era. This event is suitable for all and all are welcome to this interactive workshop as part of Architecture Kerry 2023.
For full event programme please have a look here:
We are delighted to announce that Kerry County Museum is hosting a series of free evening events this autumn. Our varied programme of events will showcase Kerry’s rich history and heritage through gallery talks, discussions, interactive demonstrations, life music and storytelling. This series of events is funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media through their After Hours at the Museum Scheme 2023 #NTE23
The 18th edition of Culture Night will take place on Friday 22 September 2023 and we are going to throw our doors open at 6pm so you can experience the Museum after dark. Explore our vibrant historical and cultural exhibitions, engage in hands-on activities for all the family. Kicking off Culture Night at 6pm are the dynamic Skills for Life students, who will launch their new music video BRAVE at 6pm: “This year’s music will show the world that you should give no matter how we struggle we should everything a go! Say what you want to say!”
A special treat for families awaits – the fabulous medieval re-enactment group THE LAST PRINCE is back by popular demand and will populate the streets of Medieval Tralee so you can take your fun pictures, join in the fun and games of times gone by and celebrate Culture Night medieval style! You can also look forward to a permormance by the Kerry Ukrainian choir and join members of our MUSEUM CULTURE CLUB for a dazzling culture sharing dance performance in partnership with Siamsa Tire, the National Folk Theatre.
Culture Night / Oíche Chultúir is brought to you by the Arts Council and we would like to thank our local Kerry Arts Office for all their support in making Culture Night one of our flagship events every year. We also also like to acknowledge the financial support of the event by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media through their After Hours at the Museum Scheme 2023 #NTE23
Events at a Glance:
6pm-10pm: Welcome to the Museum After Dark – all exhibitions are open!
6pm-10pm: Living history group THE LAST PRINCE will populate the Medieval Experience for the enjoyment of all.
6pm: Premiere show of Skills for Life’s new music video “Brave” – Be ready to be inspired!
6pm-7pm: Learn a Ukrainian dance with our Museum Culture Club, a culture and heritage-sharing initiative for everyone in the local community.
7pm-7.45pm: We are delighted to welcome the Kerry Ukraine Choir for a special performance at Kerry County Museum!
All are welcome!
A list of all events in Kerry can be found here: https://culturenight.ie/events/?_sft_location=kerry
Join poet John W. Sexton and Kerry County Museum curator Helen O’Carroll for two unique creative writing workshops on Saturday 2 and 9 September from 11am – 1pm.
Guided by writer John W. Sexton, participants are invited to respond creatively to a selection of War of Independence & Civil War artefacts from the Kerry County Museum collection.
Poems composed during the workshops will be collected and preserved in a special Poetry as Commemoration archive housed in UCD Special Collections. Participants who have family stories or materials relating to the revolutionary period are invited to share these, but no family connection is necessary and all are welcome.
Please note that participants should attend both workshops. One ticket allows access to both workshops on 2 and 9 September. This is a free event but booking via Eventbrite is necessary: Book Now
