The Hunt Museum

💙 Sensory Friendly Visiting Hours at the Hunt Museum

We are committed to making the Hunt Museum a welcoming, inclusive, and supportive space for all visitors.

Join us for our Sensory Friendly Visiting Hours, designed to create a more comfortable museum experience for neurodiverse visitors and anyone who may benefit from a quieter environment.

During these dedicated hours:
🔹Audio will be muted and accessible via earphones only
🔹Light levels will be reduced where possible
🔹Ear protectors and other supports will be available from our

Accommodation Station:
🔹Our Sensory Pod and Quiet Space will be open
🔹Additional seating will be available throughout the galleries
🔹Trained museum staff will be on hand to provide support

📆Sunday, 21 June 2026
⏱️3.00pm – 4.30pm

To help plan your visit, you can also access our Video Sensory Tour, Visual Story, and Sensory Map on our website.

For more information, visit the link in our bio or our website.

Call To Artists!

Applications are now open for the Hunt Museum’s Second Open Submission.

This inclusive exhibition offers a unique platform for both emerging and established artists to showcase their work.

Submissions of work are invited from visual artists working in paint, photography, sculpture, print, drawing and mixed media.

The selected works will be exhibited at the Hunt Museum, giving artists the opportunity to engage with a wide audience.

To apply please visit our website huntmuseum.com for details or see the link in our bio.

Entry deadline: 12noon, 7 September 2026

Mondays Musings... 🤔

This week’s object is a miniature self-portrait by William Palmer, on loan from the Limerick Museum and currently on display in the “Our Óir Ore” exhibition.

Likely painted in watercolour on ivory, the work is set within a metal frame and includes the artist’s initials on the reverse, alongside intricate woven hairwork, a deeply personal form of adornment associated with memory and intimacy.

Miniature portraiture flourished across Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, offering portable likenesses that could be carried, gifted, or kept close during times of separation. Before photography, these objects served as powerful tokens of presence and connection.

Hairwork added another layer of meaning. Carefully arranged or woven, it transformed a fragile material into something enduring, symbolising closeness, remembrance, and emotional attachment.

A small object, but one rich in story, craftsmanship, and sentiment.

Curious to learn more? Then head to our weekly blog - Objetcs in Focus in our bio or on our website.

Thank you to all the young artists who participated in Cruinniú na nÓg 2026 Painting Outside the Brush workshops at the Hunt Museum.

These workshops gave young people the time and space to unleash their creative spark. They experimented and played with paint and some very unconventional painting tools, recreating textures found in the Collection and creating new ones. Explore some of the wonderful abstract artworks that they created.

Special thanks also to Five Leaves Creative, aka artist Aideen Sweeney, for facilitating these creative opportunities.

This project was funded by Creative Ireland and Limerick City and County Council, through the Cruinniú na nÓg Programme 2026.

🎨 Don't Miss Paint Outside the Brush at the Hunt Museum!
Cruinniú na nÓg 2026 Workshops
Free Event!
Tomorrow Saturday, 6 June 2026!

Get creative and explore painting in completely unexpected ways in these exciting, workshops inspired by the colours, textures, and materials found within the Hunt Museum Collection.

Led by artist Aideen Sweeney, participants will experiment with a wide range of unusual painting tools and techniques to create expressive artworks bursting with texture, movement, and imagination. This playful and process-led workshop encourages creativity, curiosity, and hands-on exploration for young artists.

There will be two separate workshop sessions available, giving even more young artists the opportunity to take part in this colourful creative experience. Aideen Sweeney is a resident artist and facilitator at EASI Studio, Ennis, founder of Five Leaves Creative, and an experienced facilitator of inclusive and nature-inspired creative workshops.

Workshop 1 - Booking advised for Sensory Friendly session, only.
Workshop 2 - No booking required. Drop-in session.
📅 Saturday, 6 June 2026
⏱️
- Workshop 1 - Sensory Friendly, 10.30am to 12.00pm
- Workshop 2 - 2pm to 4pm
📍 Hunt Museum
🎨 Paint Outside the Brush
👕 Please wear old clothes as this workshop may get messy!

Monday Musings... 🤔

This week we’re exploring the fascinating Tooradoo Hoard (800–700 BCE), discovered in a bog in County Limerick and now cared for by the National Museum of Ireland. These objects are now on display as part of the Hunt Museum’s current exhibition, Our, Óir, Ore: Four Millennia of Silver and Gold.

Unearthed during turf cutting in 1926, the hoard contained an extraordinary collection of objects, including:

🔸 A graduated amber necklace made from 105 beads
🔸 Bronze and gold-plated rings
🔸 A rare jet (“black amber”) bead

The amber beads are particularly remarkable. Amber travelled to Ireland from the Baltic region through ancient trade routes, demonstrating that Bronze Age Ireland was connected to wider European networks thousands of years ago. Because of its rarity and beauty, amber was associated with wealth, status, spirituality, and protection.
The hoard may even have been placed in a lake as a votive offering, a ceremonial deposit intended for deities or spirits. Archaeologists believe changing environmental conditions eventually transformed the landscape into the bog where the objects were later discovered.

The collection offers a fascinating glimpse into Bronze Age craftsmanship, trade, belief systems, and daily life in prehistoric Ireland.

Curious to learn more? Then head to our weekly blog. Even better, call in to see this must-see exhibition, running until 20 September!

Our, Óir, Ore: Four Millennia of Silver and Gold
Now Showing!

CulturalHeritage PrehistoricIreland MuseumCollection Amber TheHuntMuseum

As part of National Volunteering Week 2026, we would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of the incredible volunteers at the Hunt Museum.
From welcoming visitors and supporting events to sharing knowledge and helping behind the scenes, your dedication, enthusiasm and generosity make a lasting difference every day.
Your time and commitment help us continue to connect people with art, history and culture, and we are truly grateful for everything you do.
Thank you for being such an important part of the Hunt Museum community.