The new Local Authority Museums Network (LAMN) Strategy 2016-2019 ‘Preserving the Past – Shaping the Future’, has been launched by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys.
LAMN represents the twelve local authority museums across Ireland, which play a vital role in the social, cultural and economic life of regions across Ireland.
Highlights of this strategy include:
Examining ways to exploit the opportunities presented by technology to promote collections and reach out to new audiences;
Working collectively to play a distinct role in the Decade of Centenaries;
Exploring opportunities for collaboration through the new EU funding programmes;
Continuing to strengthen and develop partnerships with key stakeholder in order to deliver on the LAMN’s key mission.
Minister Humphreys said, “Local authorities throughout Ireland play a vital and proactive role in promoting and preserving culture and heritage, ensuring the best possible quality of life for their communities. Through their museum services they strengthen local communities by underpinning a sense of identity and pride of place. In this way, these museums contribute to the development of sustainable economic activity in local areas.
“The 12 local authority museums serve a population of over 1.8 million people, attracting over half a million direct visitors each year. They work with local schools and other groups, and also play a significant role in driving local and regional tourism by supporting the cultural identity and image of Ireland to overseas visitors. The local museum network has shown great resilience in recent years. Now, through this strategy, the local museum sector is planning ahead for the future with confidence. This strategy will help to cement the local museum network as a vital component of growing local communities.”
Mr John Rattigan, curator of Clare Museum and chairperson of LAMN said, “The local authority museums’ rich collections include some of the most inspiring and unique examples of Ireland’s archaeological and historic heritage all of which can be experienced in a diversity of ways. The wide and imaginative range of exhibitions and events provided by local authority museums nationwide demonstrates the catalytic impact of how local museums create social cohesion in their communities.”
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.