Garda College Museum and Visitor Centre

The Garda College Museum and Visitor Centre (Irish: Mhúsaem an Coláiste Garda Síochána agus Ionad Cuartaíochta) was a police museum located in the chapel of the Garda Síochána College at McCan Barracks, Templemore, County Tipperary, Ireland where members of the Garda Síochána (the Irish police service) are educated and trained.[2] The museum was popular with Transition Year school groups from the wider Munster area, as well as members of local Active Retirement Associations.[3]

Garda College Museum and Visitor Centre
Mhúsaem an Coláiste Garda Síochána agus Ionad Cuartaíochta
Garda College Museum and Visitor Centre is located in Ireland
Garda College Museum and Visitor Centre
Location within Ireland
Established2002[1]
Dissolved2020
LocationGarda Síochána College, McCan Barracks, Templemore, County Tipperary, Ireland
Coordinates52.790396°N 7.840345°W / 52.790396; -7.840345
TypePolice museum
WebsiteThe Garda College Museum and Visitor Centre, Templemore

Background and operation

On 20 January 1995, the Garda Síochána Historical Society was created based on a meeting held at the Garda Museum and Archives, with the aim of bringing the history and traditions of Irish policing into the public arena.[4][5] In 2002, Sergeant John Reynolds established the Garda College Museum and Visitor Centre in Templemore,[6][7] which operated independently until the opening of the main Garda Museum at Dublin Castle in 2017. From that point, the College Museum and Visitor Centre worked in a cooperative capacity with the main Garda Museum.[2][8]

Collection

The displays in the museum included historic police and military artefacts and memorabilia from Ireland and around the world.[2][5] Other displays included counterfeit currency as well as ATM 'skimming' devices.[2] A planned expansion to the museum in 2008 aimed to explore the military history of the Templemore complex from 1815 to 1921.[5]

Reformatting

In March 2020, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum was temporarily closed to visitors[9] (as was the college swimming pool which the public had been previously allowed to use).[10] In May 2020, it was reported in the Tipperary Live newspaper that there were "fears for the future of the museum and the items of historical significance housed there", as it was reported that the museum space was being used for training.[9] The Irish Examiner revealed that the reason for this had been "social distancing requirements caused by the coronavirus outbreak (putting) greater demands on, and use of, the space available at the training college for recruits".[1] In May 2020, headed by Cathaoirleach Cllr Michael Smith, the council demanded a meeting be held with Garda officials recommending that lines of communication be reopened with Garda management.[9] Plans for incorporating a museum into the newly renovated Town Hall had been mentioned as early as November 2018.[11]

On 25 May 2020, The Irish Examiner reported that almost 1,000 people had signed an online petition requesting that the Minister for Justice to 'save the Irish Garda Museum' located at Templemore.[1] The Garda Press Office noted that while artefacts in Templemore had been "the subject of changed (access) arrangements", it did not constitute a closure of the museum and that the public could visit once the restrictions imposed on visitors due to COVID-19 were lifted.[1] In July 2020, it was noted by Tipp FM that the collection of historic artefacts would not be lost or put into storage, but would instead "form part of a new walking tour for people to visit" within the college itself.[12]

See also
  • Kickham Barracks, Clonmel, an 18th-century barracks which has been proposed as a possible site for a military museum in County Tipperary[13]

References
  1. Baker, Noel (25 May 2020). "Almost 1,000 sign petition over garda museum closure". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  2. "The Garda College Museum and Visitor Centre, Templemore". garda.ie. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  3. "The Garda Museum, the story of Irish policing". dublincitihotel.com. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  4. "Garda Síochána Historical Society - Irish Police History". policehistory.com. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  5. "The Garda Gazette - THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE GARDA SÍOCHÁNA HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Winter 2008)" (PDF). policehistory.com. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  6. "A brief history of the Garda College". templemore.ie. 10 September 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  7. "The Templemore miracles". historyireland.com. 22 February 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  8. Feehan, Conor (14 August 2017). "Garda museum to finally open after months of legal wrangling". Irish Independent. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  9. Dundon, Noel (20 May 2020). "Fears for the future of Garda College museum in Templemore". tipperarylive.ie. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  10. O'Connor, Niall (4 November 2022). "'People are so upset': Protests at Garda college after locals locked out of pool after 40 years". TheJournal.ie. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  11. (staff writer) (29 November 2018). "Future plans for Templemore Town Hall revealed". tipperarylive.ie. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  12. Vaughan, MaryAnn (28 July 2020). "Future of Garda museum secured for Templemore". Tipp FM. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  13. Wynne, Eamonn (8 August 2020). "Call for military museum at former army barracks in Tipperary". tipperarylive.ie. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
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