The Irish Museums Association (IMA) is an

all-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) is a term used to describe organisations and events whose interests extend over the entire island of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Irelan ...

professional membership body dedicated to the promotion and development of

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

Purpose and activities

The IMA aims to support the Irish museum sector through activities that highlight the value of collections and the contribution of museums to society as places of learning, conservation, research, and interpretation. Their programme, funded by the Heritage Council and the

Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport () is a department of the Government of Ireland. The mission of the department is to promote and develop Ireland's tourism, culture, and art; and to advance the use of the Irish language, incl ...

, includes professional development, advocacy, research and dissemination strands: annual conferences, publications such as the sectoral journal '' Museum Ireland'' (), relevant training, and original research.

History

The Irish Museums Association grew out of the Ireland branch of the

International Council of Museums The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to museums, maintaining formal relations with UNESCO and having a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Founded in 1946, ...

in 1977, established by a voluntary executive committee led by James White, director of the

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...

(1964–80), to protect the interests of Irish museums. In 2004, it registered as a operating as a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

company limited by guarantee A company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of company where the liability of members in the event the company is wound up is limited to a (typically very small) amount listed in the company's articles or constitution. Most have no share ca ...

and hired its first member of staff.

Leadership

Audrey Whitty, Director of the

National Library of Ireland The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ) is Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is "To collect, preserve, promote and make accessible the ...

and previously Deputy Director and Head of Collections and Learning at the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland () is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin, the arch ...

, is the current chair of the governing board of directors, succeeding William Blair, Director of Collections at National Museums NI in 2020. Former chairs also include Brian Crowley, museum curator at

Kilmainham Gaol Kilmainham Gaol () is a former prison in Kilmainham, Dublin. It is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Government of Ireland. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising (Patrick Pea ...

(2013-2017), Paul Doyle, registrar at the

(2011-2013) and Dr Marie Bourke, keeper and head of education at the

(2006-2011).

Conferences

The main annual conference takes place each year in a different venue with an overarching theme for the proceedings: * 2021 ''Decolonising the Catalogues''. Online, 19 to 30 November. Contributors included: Dr

Dan Hicks (archaeologist) Dan Hicks, (born 1972) is a British archaeologist and anthropologist. He is Professor of Contemporary Archaeology at the University of Oxford, Curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum, and a Fellow of St Cross College, Oxford. His research is focu ...

, Ananda Rutherford, research associate, provisional semantics,

Tate Tate is an institution that houses, in a network of four art galleries, the United Kingdom's national collection of British art, and international modern and contemporary art. It is not a government institution, but its main sponsor is the UK ...

, Oein DeBhairduin, and Miranda Lowe. * 2020 ''Transforming Museums''. Athlone, 21 to 22 February. Contributors included: Dr Patrick J. Greene (director of EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum), David Anderson (director general, Amgueddfa Cymru), and Simon O'Connor (director of

Museum of Literature Ireland The Museum of Literature Ireland (), branded MoLI in an homage to Molly Bloom, is a literary museum in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It opened in September 2019. The museum is a partnership between the National Library of Ireland and Un ...

). * 2019 ''We are all Engagers''. Cork, 01 to 02 March. Contributors included: Dr Graham Black (professor, School of Arts & Humanities at

Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...

), Lynn Scarff (director of the

), and Dr Gillian O'Brien, (reader in Modern Irish history at

Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool John Moores University (abbreviated LJMU) is a public university, public research university in the city of Liverpool, England. The university can trace its origins to the Liverpool Mechanics' School of Arts, established in 1823. This ...

). * 2018 ''Collecting the ‘now’''. Dublin, 10 to 11 May. Contributors included: Finbarr Whooley (director of content at

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

), Kassandra O'Connell (head of the Irish Film Archive at the

Irish Film Institute The Irish Film Institute (IFI; ), formerly the Irish Film Centre, is both an arthouse cinema and a national body that supports Irish film heritage. The IFI presents film festivals, retrospectives and curated seasons, along with independent, I ...

), Corinna Gardner (senior curator of design and digital at the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

). * 2017 ''Cultural Tourism and the Contemporary Museum''. Galway, 3 to 4 March. Contributors included: John Concannon (director of Creative Ireland), Michael Day (chief executive of Historic Royal Palaces), Lee Jolliffe (professor of hospitality and tourism at

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English language, English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universiti ...

, Canada). * 2016 ''Museums for Society: Towards a Cultural Democracy''. Dublin, 26 to 28 February. Contributors included: Nazia Ali (curator of Collecting Birmingham,

Birmingham Museums Trust Birmingham Museums Trust is the largest independent charitable trust of museums in the United Kingdom. It runs nine museum sites across the city of Birmingham, including Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (BMAG) and Thinktank, Birmingham Scien ...

), Ciarán Benson (professor emeritus of psychology,

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

), Dr. Marie Bourke (museum professional and former keeper and head of education,

). * 2015 ''Museums in Society: Navigating Public Policy''. Belfast, 27 February to 1 March. Contributors included: David Anderson (director general, Amgueddfa Cymru), Rebecca Blake (regeneration and community partnerships coordinator,

Tate Britain Tate Britain, known from 1897 to 1932 as the National Gallery of British Art and from 1932 to 2000 as the Tate Gallery, is an art museum on Millbank in the City of Westminster in London, England. It is part of the Tate network of galleries in En ...

), Siebe Weide (director general, Museumvereniging). *2014 ''Museums & Memory: Challenging Histories''. Waterford, 21 to 23 February. Contributors included: Dr Guido Gryseels (director,

Royal Museum of Central Africa The Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA) (; ; ), communicating under the name AfricaMuseum since 2018, is an ethnography and natural history museum situated in Tervuren in Flemish Brabant, Belgium, just outside Brussels. It was originally bui ...

), Catriona Crowe (senior archivist and head of special projects, National Archives of Ireland), Dr Roisin Higgins (senior lecturer in history,

Teesside University Teesside University is a public university with its main campus in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire in North East England. It was officially opened as ''Constantine Technical College'' in 1930, before becoming a polytechnic in 1969, and finally g ...

). *2013 ''The Porous Museum: Building Partnerships - Making Connections''. Kilkenny, 22 to 23 February. Contributors included: Dr Brian Kennedy (director,

Toledo Museum of Art The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo, Ohio. It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects. With 45 galleries, it covers 280,000 square feet and is currently in th ...

), Dr Vicki Porter (head of discovery and engagement, The Wellcome Trust), Mark Taylor (director, Museums Association UK). *2012 ''Rising to the Challenge''. Limerick, 24 to 26 February. Contributors included: Julien Anfruns (director general,

), Michael Starrett (chief executive officer, Heritage Council), Chris Bailey (director, Northern Ireland Museums Council).

References

External links