General Industry

Medieval Museum Opens in Waterford City

By Publications Checkout
Medieval Museum Opens in Waterford City

Taoiseach Enda Kenny officially opened the new Medieval Museum in Waterford City late last month. The Medieval Museum sits at the heart of the Viking Triangle, Waterford City’s cultural and historic quarter, and this opening completes the trilogy of museums that include Reginald’s Tower and the Bishop’s Palace, and is the last in the complex of museums that trace the history and archaeology of Waterford from its foundations by Viking pirates in 914 up to the present day. “Waterford has much to offer visitors, with its rich history and heritage, its vibrant city culture and beautiful county landscape.The Medieval Museum is a great addition to its tourism offering in this, the year of the Gathering 2013. For the Government’s part, we see tourism as contributing significantly to Ireland’s economic recovery, and we will continue to implement strategies to grow visitor numbers and build on the attractions of locations like Waterford,” said Kenny. The Medieval Museum is already ranked as the number-one visitor attraction in Waterford by the popular traveller website TripAdvisor.com, and it was recently announced that the Medieval Museum has been shortlisted for the prestigious ‘Museums & Heritage Awards 2013’ in the international category, the winner of which will be announced in May. Director of Waterford Museum of Treasures Eamon McEneaney stated, “Though less than nine months in its construction, this museum is the culmination of over twenty years of planning and conservation, together with historical and archaeological research.There is no better place in Ireland where you can enjoy an understanding of medieval Ireland.” The Medieval Museum is unique in that it is the first purpose-built medieval museum in Ireland and is the first modern building to incorporate a medieval building.The great sweep of Dundry stone that creates the dramatic facade was sourced at the stone quarry near Bristol, the same quarry that 800 years ago was used to build the atmospheric thirteenth-century Chorister’s Hall that sits beneath the museum.

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