Project Description

Over the years the Kilkee and West Clare Heritage Group (https://kilkee.clareheritage.org/) has done invaluable work to research, preserve and pass on the history and heritage of the West Clare area.

It is now being proposed that Kilkee Town Hall (at back of fire station) would be developed into a Heritage Museum.

The space would be used for the following purposes:

• Store and display the documents, maps, photographs, and artefacts as well as collections of family history that have been given into the care of the Kilkee and West Clare Heritage Group.

• Meet individuals or families interested in their family history / genealogy.

• Meeting place for the Kilkee and West Clare Heritage Group.

• Talks and presentations on local history and heritage.

It is also envisaged to develop a permanent interpretive area to showcase life on the Loop Head Peninsula before and during Famine times and up to 1922.

Project Justification & Objectives

The Heritage Museum would provide a centralized place to study, research and preserve local & regional history and heritage, which would particularly benefit students (local primary and secondary as well as third level students), residents and visitors. In addition to the documents and artefacts already in care of the Kilkee and West Clare Heritage Group, the group has been promised further unique historic documents currently held by private owners, once a dedicated and secure space for storage and display has been secured.

The museum would also contribute a social aspect: It would host talks and presentation and would be a meeting place for people with a shared interest in history and heritage.

Last but not least the museum would create employment and could become another valuable tourist attraction for the area.

Potential Project Stakeholders*

• Kilkee and West Clare Heritage Group

• Kilkee Civic Trust

• Kilrush and District Historical Society

• Loop Head Together Heritage Group

• Carrigaholt Castle Heritage Group

• Doonaha Napoleonic Tower and Battery Group

• Kilcreadaun Napoleonic Tower and Battery Group

• Halla Eoin Little Ark Project

• Loop Head Together CLG

• CLDG / Leader

*Potential Project Stakeholders means all stakeholders have not necessarily yet been contacted to help co-design the project, but are mentioned here as they would be a desirable project partner. We may have forgotten some - please let us know!