National award from the Heritage Council

The Glucksman was among 13 museums to achieve official accreditation under the Heritage Council’s Museum Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI). Established to promote professional standards in museums, selection under the MSPI is a major accolade with accredited museums considered to have attained excellence across a range of areas.

The Glucksman received a ‘maintenance of full accreditation’ award. The assessor praised in particular a new initiative entitled The Art Library which features a dedicated group of items from the UCC art collection that is shared with local communities in venues as schools, healthcare centres and community hubs.  

Lawrence O'Hana, Chair of The Glucksman Board of Directors, and Fiona Kearney, Director of The Glucksman, travelled to Kilkenny to receive the award in person at a special ceremony in Kilkenny Castle. Factors taken into account during the assessment process include how museums care for their collections and visitors, as well as governance and management standards, and their education and exhibition programmes. Since its inception in 2006, the Irish museum sector has continued to embrace the programme with participation growing from 12 museum sites to 73 in 2023.