Press release

Kilkenny Castle becomes eighth OPW heritage site to receive prestigious museum standards award by Heritage Council

From: Office of Public Works
Published on: 29 July 2021
Last updated on: 11 April 2025

The Office of Public Works (OPW) is delighted to announce that Kilkenny Castle received full accreditation under the Heritage Council’s Museum Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI) at a virtual awards ceremony earlier this week on Tuesday, 27 July. In the citation read at the ceremony, the team at Kilkenny Castle was praised for “meet[ing] and exceed[ing] the standards required for Full Accreditation status” and was commended for “the scale and quality of restoration work undertaken, the interpretative offer at the Castle and development of a wide-ranging activities programme of the highest standard”.

Kilkenny Castle joins the ranks of seven other OPW heritage sites which already hold full museum accreditation: Farmleigh House was the first OPW site in 2011 to receive the award and maintained its accreditation at yesterday’s event. It was followed by the Pearse Museum and Castletown House in 2012. Dublin Castle State Apartments and Rathfarnham Castle both achieved full accreditation in 2017, which was confirmed again this week. Earlier this year in February, at a separate virtual awards ceremony, Kilmainham Gaol Museum and the Glebe House and Gallery received their awards for achieving full museum standards.

Congratulating Kilkenny Castle as well as the other seven OPW sites that have achieved or maintained their MSPI accreditation over the past decade, Mr. Patrick O’Donovan, T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works said:

“Being honoured by the Heritage Council with full museum accreditation is a great achievement for both the teams involved and the OPW. I commend our staff at our accredited museums as well as the central Collections Management Team in OPW’s Heritage Services, whose leadership, vision and expertise has supported their colleagues to achieve the highest professional standards.”

The purpose of MSPI is to benchmark and promote excellence across the Irish museum sector and the programme assesses all areas, from the care and presentation of museum collections to exhibitions, education programmes, visitor engagement and museum management. The eight successful OPW museums in Dublin, Donegal, Celbridge and Kilkenny have all followed a rigorous process over several years to comply with the set of 34 standards and the result can be seen in the quality of their collections care, visitor experience and collaborations on significant loans and exhibitions.

Minister O’Donovan concluded: “During lockdown, staff found new ways to make their collections relevant and accessible to the public online, but our teams are delighted to be able to welcome visitors in person again this summer. I invite you to discover over the coming weeks the exciting exhibitions and inspiring educational programmes they have developed.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact pressoffice@opw.ie

Notes to Editors

Details on opening times and booking requirements can be found at heritageireland.ie . Admission is free at all OPW heritage sites to year end.

Current exhibitions at OPW heritage sites:

Dublin Castle State Apartments

Exhibition: Vicereines of Ireland: Portraits of Forgotten Women

Dates: open daily, 31 May 2021 – 5 September 2021

Doneraile Court

Exhibition: Conjuring Forms (DCCI Portfolio)

Dates: 30 July – 12 September 2021

Dublin Castle Coach House Gallery

Exhibition: Dante’s Divine Comedy

Dates: open daily, 10 May 2021 – 10 October 2021

Farmleigh Gallery

Exhibition: Passage, Fold & Multipolar: John Noel Smith at Farmleigh Gallery

Dates: Tuesday to Sunday, 18 June – 5 September 2021

Glebe House and Gallery

Exhibition: Turas – Journey (Eargail Arts Festival)

Dates: open daily, 29 May – 31 August 2021

Kilkenny Castle

Exhibition: The Ros Tapestry: A Tale Told in Thread

Dates: open daily from 7 August 2021

Kilkenny Castle Park

Exhibition: Irish Craft Heroes

Dates: open daily, 22 July – 6 October 2021

Kilmainham Gaol Museum

Exhibition: The Forgotten 10

Dates: currently still closed in line with Covid-19 restrictions on indoor guided tours

Pearse Museum

Exhibition: Double Estate: Works from the OPW State Art Collection & Pearse Museum Collection

Dates: open daily

Rathfarnham Castle

Exhibition: Bite the Hand that Feeds You (PhotoIreland Festival 2021)

Dates: open daily, 5 July – 2 August 2021

The Main Guard, Clonmel

Exhibition: 100 Years of Women in Politics and Public Life

Dates: Tuesday to Sunday, 24 June – 23 September 2021