Maritime Collections and Memorials
The Heritage Council's Audit of Maritime Collections, in Adobe PDF format is here
Although hours of opening and admission prices are noted here on some exhibitions, do check directly with the venue. Please let us know of any additions or amendments
National Museum – Collins Barracks Dublin 1
Irish Lights Museum – Bailey Lighthouse Howth Co Dublin
Private collection relating to Commissioners of Irish Lights and lighthouse equipment, not generally open to the public. In the Bailey Lighthouse, Howth. web: http://www.cil.ieHowth Harbour Coastguard Station
Exhibition relating to lifesaving and award of Tayleur medal to Coastguard Woodley. Display of Woodley’s medals. There is a memorial to fishermen and others lost at sea including some of those lost in wartime in the car park near the yacht club between the two piers. web: http://www.howthcoastguard.comGuinness Storehouse Museum – Dublin
Material relating to Guinness ships and Liffey Lighters. Also film of canal barges used to transport beer. Archive of photos, ships bells and fragment of bomb which struck ship during WW2. web: http://www.guinness-storehouse.comGrand canal Visitors Centre – Hannover Dock Ringsend
Photographic display relating to canals in Ireland. Models of operation of locks Visits possible by prior arrangement only
Phone:(01) 677 7510
Hannover basin – Ringsend
Prince of Wales and Rochdale memorials
Headstones mark the burial place of the victims of this 1807 disaster (see elsewhere on this site) at Monkstown cemetery (access key with electrical shop at the bottom of the hill). Dalkey Heritage centre (churchyard adjoining the castle) and Williamstown cemetery beside the Tara Towers Hotel on the Merrion road. A plaque on the Martello tower at Seapoint was removed after its installation. .Seamen’s war memorial – City Quay – Dublin
Anchor on granite plinth commemorating Irish merchant seamen lost during second world war.St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin
Statue and grave of Boyd who died in the attempted rescue from shipwrecks at Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire) in 1861.East Pier Dun Laoghaire
Ajax memorial to seamen from HMS Ajax who lost their lives attempting a rescue in 1861. It consists of a small obelisk.Leinster Memorials
The anchor from RMS Leinster on plinth near Carlisle pier Dun Laoghaire from whence she sailed before being torpedoed in November 1918. The Military Cemetery at Blackhorse Ave Dublin has about 70 graves of the military casualties of the torpedoing of the Leinster,1918. A plaque is in the Church of Ireland at the Junction of Stillorgan road and Foster Avenue. There are graves in Deans Grange cemetery as well. There is a proposal to erect a lavish memorial on a roundabout near Carlisle pier.East Pier Dun Laoghaire
Leinster Memorials
The anchor from RMS Leinster on plinth near Carlisle pier Dun Laoghaire from whence she sailed before being torpedoed in November 1918. The Military Cemetery at Blackhorse Ave Dublin has about 70 graves of the military casualties of the torpedoing of the Leinster,1918. A plaque is in the Church of Ireland at the Junction of Stillorgan road and Foster Avenue. There are graves in Deans Grange cemetery as well. During the summer months, there are tours of the cemetery.Mariner’s Church Dun Laoghaire
Maritime material with a Kingstown (Dun Laoghaire) local emphasis. It contains the Bailey Optic, some 70 ship models, Material relating to Thomas Halpin and his cable laying work with Great Eastern. Extensive Library including Lloyds Register of shipping 1840-date. .Trinity College Dublin
In the Engineering department (Museum Building) there are Engineering models of the float and shear legs used to operate the Dublin Port Diving bell and block float used to lay the elements of the piers at Dublin port. These relate to the Engineer Bindon Blood Stoney who was professor and Port Engineer. Model of the Diving bell was in St Andrews resource centre in nearby Pearse street. The St Andrews churchyard the burial place of the divers Spalding and Watson who lost their lives in 1783 bell diving on the Belgioso. Their graves are unmarked and exact location is unknown
Dalkey Martello Tower
Major restoration of an 1803 Martello tower built to resist French Invasion with significant exhibition, equipment, and a replica (working) cannon. Martello Tower 7 on facebookEast coast
Newbridge House Donabate
Binnacle, headstones, and other items recovered from the Wreck of the Tayleur 1854Rush town square
Kedge anchor and stone commemorating the 380 lost on the TayleurPortrane seafront
Kedge anchor and stone commemorating the 380 lost on the TayleurSkerries memorial
A new memorial has been made at the bandstand near the lifeboat station, it consists of the former coastguard practice mast with plaques naming seamen lost in the area.Howth Memorial
Howth memorial near the Yacht club in Howth commemorates those lost at sea from Howth or in the area.Balbriggan
Balbriggan maritime museum
A project in early stages being prepared by a local group in a former lifeboat house near the harbour based on Balbriggan Maritime heritage.
Maritime Museum Arklow
Collection relating to Maritime Arklow, Arklow shipping and Tyrell boatbuilding in new premises at quay. Lightship Skua moored nearby.Hook Head Lighthouse
Open daily 9.30 am to 5 pm web: http://hookheritage.ie/ Display of material relating to light keeping at this, possibly the oldest lighthouse in Europe. Tower open to public. Nearby at Foulksmills is the beached Waterford harbour dredger Port Lairge (Built Dublin 1890) with its 1890 steam engine intact but otherwise decayed.Wexford County Library
has an exhibition of figureheads from Wexford shipwrecks The library has podcasts of local history, many of maritime interest, available at http://www.wexford.ie/wex/Departments/Library/OralHistoryPodcasts/
Kilmore Quay Maritime Museum – Co Wexford
Sadly gone and lightship cutup Exhibition, several fine figureheads, aboard lightship Guillemot moored in concrete at Kilmore Quay, many trawled artefacts on seafront, Nearby on seafront memorial to those lost at sea from all causes including in wartime. The museum ship has been cut up on site and the fate of the collection is unknown.Duncannon fort maritime museum – Co Wexford
The museum at Duncannon Fort is clased for renovations. They hope to reopen in 2014. Collection in former fortress, includes brass cannon trawled from sea locally and many other trawled items. Full size trawler bridge and display on wartime losses in South East. web: http://duncannonfort.com/Rosslare
Rosslare Maritime Enthusiasts now have a museum, see : https://www.facebook.com/RosslareHarbourMaritimeHeritageCentreCork area
Naval Frigate off Haulbowline by Atkinson
Port of Cork
A model of the Helga can be seen in the Port of Cork Company's headquarters at the Custom House. It is also home to a fine collection of historic maritime art. Most notable among the collection are a number of maritime paintings by George Mounsey Wheatley Atkinson. Some of the paintings can be seen on this pageTitanic Park, Cobh
There is an exhibition on the Titanic in the former offices of the White Star Line. see: http://www.titanicexperiencecobh.ie/
Fort Camden Cork harbour
Coastal fort and artillery recently reopened to the public, but now closed until next spring. web: http://camdenfortmeagher.ie/ Cotters Pub in Crosshaven has a collection of photographs and artefacts.Passage West
Drive shaft from the Sirius mounted on seafrontHaulbowline naval base
Museum with material the Irish navy base and former activity in British times. Situated in the Naval barracks built in 1800 which is still in use. View by appointment.Cobh - Lusitania memorial, Cobh museum
The former Methodist church off road into town contains paintings of cork harbour Contains photos of US fleet in cork during WW1. Memorial in Cobh co Cork, memorial on Old head of Kinsale, headstone on main burial site at Cobh Cemetery, some graves at St Multose church Kinsale. There is a small museum in the church with material on Cobh. An exhibition on emigration is in the old railway station just beside the White Star pier. The Commodore Hotel has many artefacts. web: http://www.cobhheritage.com/ phone: 353 (21) 4 813591 Opening Hours for Cobh Heritage Centre Monday to Saturday 9.30 am to 5.00pm Sundays and Bank Holidays 11.00 am to 5.00 pmCastletownsend
Lusitania oar and lifebelt in Castletownsend church, also memorial to Admiral Somerville and other members of this naval family.Bushe’s bar Baltimore
Collection of material recovered locally from Kowloon Bridge etc Many photographs.Paintings at Crawford gallery
Collection of maritime paintings of Cork web: http://www.crawfordartgallery.ie/Bantry House French Armada Museum
Collection of items recovered from La Surveillante which was scuttled during French attempt to land with Wolfe Tone at Bantry Bay in 1797. A large anchor stands the southern approach to town. (currently closed) web: http://www.bantryhouse.com/bantryhouse/
Mizen Head Lighthouse
More correctly the fog signal station is open to the public. Extensive display of lighthouse keeping with maritime artefacts. Cannon lifted from the nearby wreck of the Impatiente. Following repair of the bridge access resumed.
Kinsale museum
Figurehead and bells from ships wrecked locally in market house in centre of town including cannon retrieved from shipwrecks. Several Lusitania artefacts. Open: Saturday and Sunday Web: http://homepage.eircom.net/~kinsalemuseum/Fenit Pier museum
Contains boat which landed Roger Casement from U 19Limerick city museum
Full diving dress used in harbour work locallyValentia Island Museum, Knightstown
Display on cable laying in 1890s from Valentia, you can see the cable on a beach nearby and the buildings of the cable and radio station survive.Quilty Co Clare
Church erected with assistance from rescued sailors of Leon XIII, wrecked offshore in 1907, the bell at altar is the ship’s bell.
Beleek castle Hotel Ballina Co Mayo
Colection of Armada artefacts in private museum assessable only to hotel residents. Nearby is the Creteboom, a WW1 concrete tug beached in River Moy.Donegal and Northern Ireland
Ulster Folk and transport museum Cultra
Photo collection of Belfast shipbuilding including Harland and Wolfe archive, Lloyds list reprint from 1741-1846. Some ship modelsUlster museum – Belfast
The main finds from the wrecks of Trinidad Valencera and Girona of the 1588 Spanish Armada including siege gun and vast array of jewellery and artifacts.Burtonport memorial
Commemorates fishermen lost from Carraig Una and Evelyn MarieGreencastle museum, Greencastle co Donegal
Armada cannon from the Trinidad Valencera and material from HMS Wasp wrecked at Tory Island.Fort Dunree – Co Donegal
Exhibition on coastal artillery and WW2 defence of the treaty ports. Also surviving naval guns from Cork harbour, cannon from Hoche on which Wolfe Tone was captured in 1798Newry Town Hall Museum
Models and material relating to loss of Connemara and Retriever and Newry shipping.Laurentic memorial Co Donegal
Memorial stone over graves of HMS Laurentic victims at Buncranna. The Bell is in the church at Rathmullen.Derry Museum
Armada cannon and artefacts from Trinidad Valencera.
HMS Caroline - Belfast Harbour
Formerly a RNVR base the degunned cruiser is the last survivor of the Battle of Jutland. There is a plan to restore the ship.
The titanic exhibitions in Belfast
A vast complex beside the location where the Titanic was built displays the Titanic heritage of Belfast in a newly built centre. It is located beside the remains of the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. The drawing office which is the sole contemporary building is to be converted to a hotel but the Thompson graving dock, and two huge shipbuilding cranes (Sampson & Goliath) survive. These replaced the Arol gantries about 1960.END