Figures at Tipperary Museum of Hidden History were brought to life!

Historical figures escaped from the Tipperary Museum of Hidden History a number of weeks ago.
The museum called on the public on last month’s Culture Night to assist the Gardaí, curator Marie McMahon and the museum staff to discover who released the ten characters back into a world they had never experienced before - 2021!
Mark Whelan from The Clonmel Podcast, along with a camera crew from Westgate Creative, were on hand to capture the unfolding events.
More than 80 enthusiastic people set out across Clonmel to find each historical character (played by local actors and actresses), who included James Butler, the Duke of Ormond 1461, a roundhead soldier from 1650, Fr Nicolas Sheehy 1766, Quaker Mary Malcolmson from the 1840s, entrepreneur Charles Bianconi 1875, shop owner Eliza Fenton Downey 1890, a gaol warden from 1890, Bridget Cleary 1895, Borstal Boy 1915 and a little girl, Petronell Grubb, from 1919.
It turned out that Clonmel’s Mayor, Cllr Michael Murphy had accidentally released the characters from their display cases and he was taken away by Garda Claire Murphy for questioning! The museum thanks Cllr Murphy for his unflinching support for museum projects and was pleased to note that he was released without charge!
Claire Fahey and her young detectives discovered who the culprit was and won a €100 One4All voucher for their efforts.
The museum collections officer Jayne Sutcliffe worked with a dedicated team of actors and actresses from St Mary’s Choral Society and Clonmel Theatre Guild.

Jayne stated, "this project would not have come to fruition without their dedication and support, particularly from member Kevin Fahey. From the initial meeting with the museum back in the summer with James Sweeney and Kevin Fahey, their commitment to this project was evident.

"The historical figures we wanted portrayed were real people with real-life experiences, which subsequently transformed into the history of Tipperary we now display within our galleries."

Thanks are extended to the actors - Kevin Fahey,  Gráinne Vaughan, Tom Callery, Anne Williamson, Ciara Slattery, James Sweeney, Caolan Deehy-Power, Kevin Twohig, Keenan Scully and Melissa Shiels .

The project was coordinated by Tipperary Museum and supported by Tipperary County Council's Arts Office and Culture Night funding.

Marie McMahon, museum curator stated "since lockdown we have all been devoid of onsite cultural experiences. The museum wanted to bring the real life stories of Tipperary people to life, while supporting our local theatrical and production creatives.

"Our collaboration blossomed. This hugely successful project has raised the bar for future museum community involvement and we were delighted with the support we received from the participants and the cultural sector."

Visit the museum's new website www.hiddenhistory.ie for news on Halloween workshops, the new Civil War lecture series and details on how to borrow the new Museum in a Box. Contact museum@tipperarycoco.ie 

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