Well, that's my take on the museum, but below, I'll offer another voice, one that's even more invested in this museum than I am.

My Interview with the Curator of EPIC: The Irish Emigration Museum, Nathan Mannion

I want to offer a huge thank you to Nathan as well as the EPIC Museum's staff and administration who wholeheartedly supported me in creating this article on the Epic Museum in Dublin. I was able to catch up with Nathan, and add a strong personal touch what The Irish Emigration Museum is all about.

1. What is the primary goal or objective of EPIC? What do you hope tourists take from it?

The primary goal of our museum is to share, record and display Ireland’s stories of emigration over the last 1,500 years. We highlight how the 10 million emigrants who left this island and their descendants, grew into the vibrant global Irish diaspora community we have today.

We hope that our visitors leave EPIC with a more profound understanding of how emigration has shaped Ireland and how, in turn, the Irish have helped to shape the wider world. Our exhibition includes over 330 individual stories of emigration, drawn from all over the globe so there are usually a few memorable stories for everyone.

2. This is a fairly new museum. Why was it important that this museum came into existence?

The founding of the museum was a landmark day for the country. Before EPIC opened last year there was nowhere Irish citizens or visitors to Ireland could go to learn more about our island’s emigrant tradition, or how our 70 million strong diaspora community came into being, despite the central role emigration has played in Ireland history. That there was a need for just such a cultural attraction has been demonstrated in the overwhelmingly positive feedback we have received from our visitors during the last year.

3. What has the response been to the museum up to now? Are there any particular personal stories you can recall that highlight the impact of this museum?

As mentioned our visitors’ responses to our exhibition have been fantastic. Thanks to the consistently positive reviews we’ve received on TripAdvisor over the last 12 months we now rank among the top five museums in Ireland. From suffering and exile to opportunity and success the saga of Irish emigration is of course an emotional one and many of our visitors are quite moved during their time in the museum. Three stories stand out in my memory in particular.

The first was a visitor from the United States who runs a project which documents the stories of Ireland’s LGBTQI community abroad. After his visit he contacted me to let me know he was moved to tears to see this aspect of our emigrant heritage recognised and featured in the museum. It was the first place he had ever seen it displayed publically. This was incredibly validating for us as an institution.

The second was an Irish woman who turned out to be the grandniece of a wonderful man named Father Michael Kelly who is featured in our Belief gallery. Following our chance encounter she was able to connect me with Father Kelly directly. Now in his late 80’s he has lived in Lusaka, Zambia for over 60 years and is fondly referred to as the country’s ‘Grandfather of Education’ having taught generations of Zambian students at every level. We now correspond regularly and he often tells me he feels honoured to be included in our exhibition. Nearly 80 of the people featured in the museum are alive today and it’s immensely gratifying when they visit and you know they’re happy with how we tell their story.

Finally the third story I’d like to share is really more of a phenomena. One of our galleries explores how contemporary Irishness is celebrated globally today and includes footage from a selection of St. Patrick’s Day parades and Irish festivals held across the world. Hardly a day goes by without a visitor remarking that they’ve spotted themselves among the crowds or in the audience of one of the shows! Little did many of them know when they attended those events they would end up in a museum in Ireland!

4. As far as museums go, this is extremely technologically advanced with an emphasis on the digital. Why was that important to convey a message from the past?

EPIC is Ireland’s first fully digital museum. Each of our 20 galleries has been fitted out with the most advanced technology available; some of which has yet to be used anywhere else in the world. We intentionally chose this path rather than a more traditional museum experience because it allows us to update our content easily in real-time and expand our collections. For example, only three weeks ago we added another 7 stories to our ‘Changing the Game’ Gallery to highlight the involvement of the Irish diaspora in rugby overseas. As emigration is both historic and contemporary it’s important for us to be able to add new stories quickly.

The interactivity also aids learning, visitors aren’t overwhelmed with information but instead are free to engage with it at their own pace and take in as much (or as little) as they’d like without feeling fatigued.

Finally it’s far more fun for example to take part in an interactive quiz on infamous Irish emigrants than to read the same information on a small panel; people generally are a lot more comfortable engaging with new information when they’re enjoying it!



5. What do you think those who left on ships (and otherwise) so long ago would think if they were able to visit the museum today?

The museum covers an awful lot of history. From 6th century missionary emigration to Scotland and mainland Europe right through fifteen turbulent centuries of famine and flight, penal servitude and banishment, recession and economic migration the Irish have come overcome a lot of challenges but we’ve also left our mark around the world. If any of the historic emigrants featured in our museum were to visit I’d like to think that, just like their contemporary counterparts, they too would be pleased to be featured, if not somewhat surprised that their story is still being told in the country they left behind, centuries after their departure. I know I certainly would.

As always, dear reader, thanks very much for stopping by. I hope this was both informative and enjoyable, and that if you do decided to head to the EPIC Museum in Dublin, you'll appreciate it as much as I did. Also "as always," I'd love to hear your feedback, so please leave any questions or comments below the post, and I'll make sure I find the time to get back to you. Thanks!

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