A DUBLIN museum was named the Best International Museum at an awards ceremony in London this week.
The Glasnevin Museum secured the title at the Museum and Heritage Awards for Excellence, defeating competing finalists such as Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center in the United States and the Museum of Islamic Arts in Egypt, which came second.
“It is one of the hardest awards to even enter; they are looking for the best museums in the world,” said Mark Leslie, managing director of Martello Media, the company that created the exhibits at Glasnevin.
“Really what they are saying is Glasnevin is one of the best in Ireland and Irish museums and museum designs are up their at the top in the world.”
It is the fifth award the museum, which opened in April 2010, has won. The three-storey building on the grounds of the historic Glasnevin Cemetery hosts exhibitions that cover, among other things, burial practices and religious beliefs, records of the 1.5 million people buried in Glasnevin and special exhibitions on key historical figures.
The historical figure currently on show is the cemetery’s founder and the great Irish emancipator Daniel O’Connell.
Speaking about the award,chairman of Glasnevin Trust John Green said he was delighted to receive the prestigious honour.