Name change for Mayo tourist attraction has been 'a success'

A new identity for the Jackie Clarke Collection in Ballina has catapulted the visitor attraction onto the international stage. 

Museum manager Yvonne Corcoran Loftus said that the recent name change to The Clarke Museum of Irish History has already had a huge impact, with history lovers and those fascinated by Irish history actively seeking out the amenity.

Ms Corcoran Loftus told the July meeting of Mayo Co Council's Planning and Corporate Development Strategic Policy Committee (SPC) that the museum has enjoyed significant progress over the last couple of years that has seen it delivering value for the local authority. With a view to strengthening the general offering, she said they have been focusing on raising professional standards, increasing inclusion, expanding services and building on the museum’s contribution to tourism and the local economy, and one of the biggest assets has turned out to be the beautiful walled garden attached to the museum that has become a hugely popular civic space that is accessible and open to all.

She recalled the museum came about following the death in 2000 of Ballina native Jackie Clarke, who had amassed a personal historical collection of 100,000 items spanning more than 400 years of Irish history. In 2005, his wife Anne Clarke gifted the collection to the council and in 2013 the museum was set up. It became the Clarke Museum of Irish History this year.

“When I took up the role of manager, I wanted to imagine how the museum looked through the eyes of a visitor and I recognised we could also tell a story around that. So today, visitors are not just able to see artefacts, but can also gain an understanding of how Ireland is the nation it is today.” 

Changes made include a reimagined exhibition space throughout the museum; new bilingual presentation, with Irish presented first; a clearer narrative of Ireland’s journey to independence; improved accessibility and inclusion, and the introduction of the new museum name.

Explaining that securing future investment is always an ongoing concern, she noted that worthy investments have already been made in staff training, in strengthening collections management and governance, and in introducing the new collections management system, thanks to funding from the Heritage Council and the Irish Museums Association. She also said plans were on hand to offer the museum experience through Irish, English, French German, Spanish and Italian, thus cementing its standing as an international tourist attraction.

She continued: “Our beautiful walled heritage garden is one of our biggest assets and an award-winning space in the heart of Ballina, where people can learn, meet and relax. It supports all of our education programmes activities, cultural activities, events and workshops and brings people in to connect and chat and have their lunch. We have received recognition of nine green flags to date for the garden and also won our first accreditation as a green heritage site last year.” 

In terms of visitors, she said the museum welcomed a total of 3,484 school children and teachers last year, hosted 116 education workshops and attracted almost 30,000 people to community events. She revealed that Heritage Day in Ballina is the busiest day for the museum each year, with easily 9,000 visitors coming inside its doors on the day.

Telling the forum that the small team of three staff at the museum is basically “flat out”, supported by seven Community Employment, Tus and Rural Social Scheme participants and community partners and volunteers, she said the museum has already been recognised as an educational resource and cultural destination that is adding value to Ballina and making an important contribution to tourism in County Mayo. For every visitor that comes along and buys a coffee and snack at the museum or in Ballina town, she said this works out at around €10 a head or so for every visitor, which when added up in terms of annual visitor numbers, contributes over €400,000 to the local economy.

Director of Services Siofra Kilcullen said that even though Ms Corcoran Loftus had only been in the manager role for two years, the collection has advanced so much in that time, as she acknowledged the work of the team there as well as the support of County Librarian Austin Vaughan and Director of Services Joanne Grehan.

Cllr Cyril Burke said the name change is “excellent and certainly includes more of a national aspect to attract visitors internationally”, while Director of Services Joanne Grehan said she thoroughly enjoyed her time working with Yvonne and her team and was “very excited about the new name”.

• Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.