Tower Museum
The Tower Museum is a museum on local history in Derry, Northern Ireland.[1]
History
[edit]The museum opened in 1992 in the presence of Ian Paisley and John Hume. The President of the European Commission Jacques Delors was also invited though eventually pulled out.[1] It was funded by the European Development Fund and the International Fund for Ireland.[1] It was constructed as a public-private partnership and was considered by the Northern Ireland Office to be a flagship project to promote tourism. The local press deemed it as "magnificent".[1]
The museum is located in Union Hall Place, within a historic tower just inside the city walls, near the Guildhall. The museum has two permanent exhibits; The Story of Derry which presents the history of Derry from its prehistoric origins to the present, and An Armada Shipwreck – La Trinidad Valencera which details the local shipwreck from the Spanish Armada.[2] The Spanish Armada exhibits were split between the Tower Museum and Ulster Museum in Belfast.[3] The Tower Museum is the home of the Mabel Colhoun collection.[4] The top of the museum has an open air viewing facility, which provides views of the city centre and the River Foyle.[2]
In 2021, a maquette of the Hands Across the Divide was purchased by the Derry and Strabane District Council and they chose to display it at the Tower Museum.[5] The Museum also has temporary exhibits throughout the year. The Tower Museum's record attendance came in 2023 when it had an exhibit on the television programme Derry Girls.[6][7]
Closure
[edit]In 2025, work began on its replacement, the DNA Museum, and Tower Museum public access was reduced.[8]
Recognition
[edit]The Tower Museum has won a number of awards.[2] It has a permanent exhibit that covers the history of the city.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Hooper, Glenn (2018). Heritage at the Interface. University Press of Florida. pp. 177–183. ISBN 9780813052113.
- 1 2 3 "Tower Museum". Discover Northern Ireland. Retrieved 19 August 2014.
- ↑ "Spanish Armada: Wreck's discovery remembered 50 years on". BBC News. 20 February 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
- ↑ Finn, Clodagh (26 December 2020). "Mabel Colhoun, a pioneer who chronicled the 20th century". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
- ↑ "'Hands Across the Divide' sculpture maquette purchased by Derry & Strabane Council". Derry Journal. 8 December 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
- ↑ "Derry Girls Experience draws record Tower Museum numbers". BBC News. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
- ↑ Havard, Zach (10 July 2023). "Exhibition set on hit Netflix show, Derry Girls, to boost tourism in Londonderry". Retrieved 24 April 2025.
- ↑ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj4yqr8v9k2o
- ↑ "Tower Museum". Visit Derry. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
External links
[edit]
