It's Culture Night in Dublin and many of our museums and galleries are open late. Marie Bourkecelebrates what they have to offer and lists the challenges they face.
Irish museums are repositories containing objects that are considered unique, precious and significant, that tell the story of this island and of its people. This is important because people care about their heritage as never before.
The notion of the museum is rooted in even the most revolutionary of societies because it embodies the idea that all people have freedom of access to objects that are possessed of value in their own right. Museums help people to make sense of our world just as the collections remind us why wonder and enlightenment are among the most enduring human responses to the physical universe.
Museums and galleries matter - for their extraordinary artefacts and the fine buildings that house them, for their research, exhibiting and interpreting endeavours, but more so for their ability, when managed creatively, to engage the public, celebrate their achievements and transform people's lives.
How could anyone not be affected after experiencing the impact of conflict at the Pearse Museum or Soldiers and Chiefs, the military history exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland in Collins Barracks? How could communities not want to engage with the multicultural galleries at the Chester Beatty Library? Doesn't everybody celebrate the wonders of human achievement when gazing at paintings by Paul Henry at the Ulster Museum, Lucian Freud at the Irish Museum of Modern Art, Vermeer at the National Gallery of Ireland or a Séamus Murphy sculpture at the Crawford Art Gallery in Cork?
These museums matter to our quality of life; they have links to their local communities, within which they play an economic, educational and social role. The Irish Museums' Association fosters a vision of museums that connect with people to become a reality.
It raises the issue of what affects Irish museums at a time when radical changes have taken place over a short period. These include the pace of modern society, which is presenting a challenge to the cultural sector as fresh audiences emerge, the outcome of an improved economy, immigrant populations, free education, an increasingly mobile public seeking new experiences and the effect of heritage tourism.
The museum sector needs to get its act together and build on opportunities at a time when there is genuine cause for optimism. People should be experiencing a significant difference in our museums and, while many are, it is not equal across Ireland. When decision-makers ask, "what is the outcome of funding heritage venues?", museums big and small need to assess their service to the public critically.
This service has an impact right across the board, starting with well-designed signage and front-of-house visitor information - including floor plans in several languages and a programme of events.
Museums need to publicise their events using a well-maintained website in conjunction with e-mail, while also developing a relationship with both local and national press and media. Audio guides, audiovisual presentations and interactive visitor information should be used wherever possible, such as that provided at Kilmainham Gaol.
This article is not the whole story, of course; it is only a snapshot of issues. These are relevant to Irish society as multiculturalism, gender equity and reconciliation are revealing museums to be inclusive institutions that are part of a country seeking to accommodate shared futures together.
The circumstances of today are the most favourable for Irish museums to provide "pleasure through enlightenment" by exposing the public to the cultural capital that lies in the collections of our great Irish heritage institutions.
Marie Bourke is chairwoman of the Irish Museums' Association; www.irishmuseums.org