No National Transport Museum !

Silvera

I have often thought how much of disgrace it is that Ireland does not have a dedicated (i.e. purpose-built) National Transport Museum ! :mad:

We are the only country in Europe that has no state transport museum!!

Over the years many historic vehicles have been scrapped or exported which might otherwise have been retained or gifted to a national transport museum - if we had one.

I am aware the we have a 'national transport museum' (of sorts!) in Howth - and I applaud the trojan work it's volunteers have undertaken over the years - but even they would readily admit that it is hardly more than a "glorified storage shed" and an embarrasment for visiting tourists to see.

Surely in this time of the 'Celtic Tiger' we can well afford to build a dedicated National Transport Museum ?!!

mike65

I'm sure the absense of such an institution is mainly down to a, lets face it
"bog-trotter" relationship to transport in almost every guise. The ppl or the state have never given any great thought to the beauty of machinery or its place in history. Its just a means of a to b...

Mike.

kinkstr

Its a shame Ireland doesnt have one, the closest ive seen is the Transport Museum in Killarney

ds20prefecture

kinkstr wrote:

Its a shame Ireland doesnt have one, the closest ive seen is the Transport Museum in Killarney

My info tells me that this is sold now.

kinkstr

Pity, ive been there a few times, had my picture taken beside some of the cars when i was a young chap, think i bought some magazines while i was there, i must see where i left them

green-blood

what happened to Kilarney - what happened to the stock- not justthe cars but the books and mags and stuff... last itme I was there I bought a rare Dick Seaman biog I'd have cleared thier shelves if I knew it was closing

Silvera

I recall reading, a few years ago, that the Museum was relocating to a larger unit somewhere in killarney (Ind Estate ?) due to new owners of the Scott's Garden Hotel wishing to expand.

I believe there is little fear of the stock being 'sold off'.
The collection was amassed over many many years by a family originally based in Portlaoise.

The museum contains the world's largest collection of Wolsely cars and the unique (priceless!) 1907 Silver Stream car (built in Co. Kildare).

While the museum in Killarney is the best I have seen in Ireland to date, it is no substitute for a National Transport Museum - which is badly required !

camarobill

been to this one last year,plenty of stuf but its like everthing else no funds to run,when u have muppets that cant run simple basic services,how will u ever get funds for transport museums :mad:

Seth Brundle

There is an amazing museum down in Conmel
www.visitclonmel.com/MuseumOfTransport.asp
Well worth the visit!

MercMad

There isn't a transport museum in Malahide !

I've been to the Howth one and looked at the website but I never knew there was others in Clonmel and killarney and i' regulalry travel to both places !!

Well at least I can look forward to those trips a bit more now. There also one in Cultra in Co.Down too !

camarobill

MercMad wrote:

There isn't a transport museum in Malahide !

I've been to the Howth one and looked at the website but I never knew there was others in Clonmel and killarney and i' regulalry travel to both places !!

Well at least I can look forward to those trips a bit more now. There also one in Cultra in Co.Down too !

sorry got the place name wrong its howth,dont get out much,still same county different bling,ps merc country

MercMad

sorry got the place name wrong its howth,dont get out much,still same county different bling,ps merc country

........there used to be a small one in Rush, there was a watermill there too and a cafe, back in the 70's. Anyone remember this ?

Paul (MN)

the rest of us weren't even born then!

MercMad

Heh !!

I thought you were older than I............you look it !!

magpie

This is for the same reason that there's no Industrial Museum in Dublin, despite the many industires associated with the place. Unfortunately its down to Cultural Programming by FF in the 1930s, you'll see the same thing in school history books:

Dublin/Industry/Mechanisation = England = Evilness

Country/Farming/Celticyness = Oireland = Saintliness

This is why we have interminable museums of Viking and Celtic sh1te funded up the wazoo but have nothing that reflects the experiences of the Industrial/Urban Irish, save volunteer-run embarassments like the Irish Labour History Museum in Beggars Bush.

BrianD3

Lads, I have started a thread in the Commuting/Transport forum which talks about the lack of a National Transport Museum.
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=242064

BrianD3

Silvera

Thanks BrianD3.