Major accolade for Athy's Shackleton Museum as it gets accreditation from Heritage Council

The Shackleton Museum Athy, is one of 11 museums that has received accreditation under the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI) from the Heritage Council, as the sector prepares a fightback against the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The certificates were presented at a special online ceremony today. Accreditation certificates were awarded in 2020 but last year’s ceremony was delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Selection under MSPI is seen as a major accolade in the sector. The Shackleton Museum Athy achieved a Maintenance of Full Accreditation certificate in 2020 for excellence in caring for its collections; as well as its museum management, visitor services, and education and exhibitions programmes.

The programme is now in its 13th year, and since its inception a total of 43 museums have received full accreditation. In total, 118 certificates have been awarded.

The Shackleton Museum’s Maintenance of Full Accreditation followed an extensive assessment process carried out by an international expert. The rigorous assessment required the Museum to confirm it had maintained 34 internationally recognised MSPI standards across seven areas, including management and governance, collections management, and public or visitor services. 

Frank Taaffe, Chairman, Athy Heritage CLG said: “The Museum Standard Awards is a fitting acknowledgment of the dedicated work of the museum staff and community volunteers, which has allowed the Shackleton Museum to become an important part of the cultural life of South Kildare.

“In the context of a post-COVID Ireland, the museum offers the opportunity to be part of the fundamental building blocks which will shape the cultural interests of the Irish people, especially those interested in polar studies. This will be especially true following the planned development of the museum which, on completion, will give Athy and Ireland a unique place in the international world of polar exploration.”

Commenting on The Shackleton Museum’s achievement, Chief Executive of the Heritage Council, Virginia Teehan said: “I am delighted to congratulate The Shackleton Museum Athy on achieving Maintenance of Full Accreditation and appreciate the level of hard work and dedication required to proactively engage with the MSPI process, and to embrace its core values. Taking part in the Museum Standards Programme is a public promise by each museum to take care of its collection and safeguard it for generations to come. The Shackleton Museum has demonstrated this commitment by continuing to maintain the Full Standards since its Full Accreditation in 2016 as the then Athy Heritage Centre-Museum, and progress on its redevelopment plan to reinvent the museum with a focus on polar explorer Ernest Shackleton.”

The Shackleton Museum Athy, houses the only permanent exhibition in the world dedicated to the explorer Ernest Shackleton. In recommending Maintenance of Full Accreditation for The Shackleton Museum in 2020, MSPI Assessors noted: “During the assessment for Full Accreditation, awarded in 2016, the Museum presented an ambitious plan for redevelopment which would encompass the entire building, make a strategic shift to focus on the association of the polar explorer, Ernest Shackleton, as a native of Athy, and to reinvent the museum accordingly. Since that date and the award of Full Accreditation, the Museum has progressed well in its objective and a very ambitious Project Plan, with major backing from Kildare County Council and other partners, now means that the Museum is poised on the threshold of the promised redevelopment.”

The 11 museums receiving accreditation are:

• The Glebe House and Gallery, OPW, Co Donegal – Full accreditation.
• The IFI Irish Film Archive, Dublin – Full accreditation.
• Kilmainham Gaol Museum, OPW, Dublin – Full accreditation.
• The Little Museum of Dublin - Full accreditation.
• Fota House, The Irish Heritage Trust, Co Cork – Maintenance of full accreditation.
• The Hunt Museum, Limerick city – Maintenance of full accreditation.
• Shackleton Museum, Co Kildare – Maintenance of full accreditation.
• Waterford Treasures: Bishop’s Palace and Medieval Museum – Maintenance of full accreditation.
• Carlow County Museum – Interim accreditation.
• Cork Public Museum – Interim accreditation.
   

For further details on the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland, visit the Heritage Council website.