Press Release: Ireland and the Birth of Europe launches at The Hunt Museum

Ireland and the Birth of Europe launches at The Hunt Museum

Thursday, 20th July saw a good turnout for a new exhibition at Limerick’s Hunt Museum. Ireland and the Birth of Europe is the brainchild of the Department for Foreign Affairs in collaboration with Dr Damian Bracken of University College Cork (UCC). It is touring Ireland and other countries as part of the 50th anniversary of the accession of Ireland to the European Economic Community, the forerunner to the European Union, in 1973.

“We couldn’t resist adding this exhibition to our summer programme because it gave a brilliant opportunity to put some of our world class medieval religious objects into context and to tell the world how important Ireland as the land of saints and scholars was to the formation of ‘Europe’.” commented Dr Jill Cousins, Director of the Hunt Museum.

The exhibition tells the story of the part played by Irish scholars and missionaries in the early history of the European idea, especially their cultural role in the consolidation of the empire built by the Carolingians, an empire that covered much of western Europe in the Middle Ages.

Dr Damian Bracken from UCC who co-curated the exhibition with Dr Angela Byrne reminded the guests of the need to be proud of Ireland’s record in bringing learning and knowledge to Europe starting in the 6th Century with St Columbanus. He said:

“St Columbanus, teacher in the monastery of Bangor, Co. Down, was the first of the Irish missionaries and scholars to make their home on the Continent. Around 600 CE, he wrote ‘of all of Europe’ (totius Europae), becoming the first to use the expression in reference to the Continent’s cultural identity after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Robert Schumann, in his July 1950 speech commemorating St Columbanus’s remarkable impact, spoke of the Irishman “as the patron saint of all those who seek to construct a united Europe” echoing the words of Columbanus himself almost 1400 years earlier who wrote “we are all joint members of one body, whether Franks, or Britons or Irish or whatever our race be.”

The new Mayor of Limerick, Gerald Mitchell, on opening the exhibition was delighted to see the exhibition come to life with real objects which were further enhanced by being able to handle the Barbie pink 3D printed versions with audio stories, saying: “It shows how Limerick can always come up with something new and different. It is a lovely example of our branding Atlantic Edge, European Embrace”

The exhibition is on until September 8, 2023 and is a must for anyone who is proud of Irish heritage or wants to know more.

Some supplementary events are scheduled including Calligraphy Workshops at 2 pm – 4 pm Tuesday – Thursday during Heritage Week 12 – 19th August and Dr Damian Bracken will give a lecture on the subject at 7 pm – 8 pm Thursday, 10th August. Other events are also in the pipeline – check huntmuseum.com/whats-on/ for details.