Images of Ireland exhibition launched

The exhibition, a collaboration between the Causeway Museum Service and Mid-Antrim Museum Service, features an array of splendid objects from the Ballycastle Museum Collection.

The exhibition is part of the Cultural Fusions Programme, which aims to promote a greater understanding and awareness of the rich cultural diversity of the North East. Cultural Fusions is funded under the European Union's PEACE III Programme managed on behalf of the Special EU Programmes Body by the North East PEACE III Partnership.

The exhibition hopes to stimulate constructive discussion and debate around ideas of identity, culture and heritage and challenging our definitions of ‘Orange’ and ‘Green’ identity today. It draws together a rich variety of artefacts, archival material and photographs from Coleraine, Ballycastle, Ballymoney, Mid-Antrim, Larne and Sentry Hill Museums to illustrate the breadth of cultural activity and political debate across the region during the Celtic Revival.

The exhibition features the Feis na nGleann which took place in Cushendall in 1904 and was an important landmark in exploring Irish culture, traditions and sport. Products from the Irish Peasant Home Industries Workshop which was set up in Ballycastle in 1901 are on display. Items like these were sold at the time through the shop, An Tuirne Beg (The Little Spinning Wheel), in the town.

Workshops exploring emblems and their use are available for school groups.

The exhibition will be on display in Ballycastle Ferry Terminal 13th October 2010, 12.00pm-5.00pm Monday to Saturday (except public holidays). Admission is free. It will tour throughout 2010 and 2011 to Ballymoney, Larne, Limavady and Newtownabbey. For more information, or to arrange a group tour, please contact the Causeway Museum Service on (028) 7034 7234 or [email protected].