Quinnipiac’s Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum to mark return of permanent exhibition

“Coming Home: Art and the Great Hunger” was touring in Ireland last year

Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University will celebrate the return of the museum’s permanent collection from Ireland with a reception on Thursday, April 11.

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In 2018, the museum’s collection of Famine-related art traveled to Dublin, Skibbereen, and Derry for the exhibition “Coming Home: Art and the Great Hunger,” which was viewed by more than 110,000 people.

Of the collection’s Irish exhibitions, Ryan Mahoney, the museum’s executive director, said: “It was a huge success.

“It was a great opportunity for people in Ireland, as well as tourists from around the world, to engage with the collection for the first time and examine and discuss some of the issues around the Great Hunger.

“For many, the exhibition triggered both anger and sadness. It was a transformative experience for many and an important way for Quinnipiac University to extend its reputation internationally.

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Mahoney added: “Our audience is delighted to have the collection back."

“We will be bringing in school groups from across the Northeast to learn about the Great Hunger and its parallels to modern-day issues of immigration, political oppression, corruption, and hunger – things that are sadly still relevant in today’s world.”

As part of the reception welcoming the exhibition back to Connecticut, Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum will also unveil several new pieces of art, an audio tour system, and a revamped education program that includes a film about the Famine for children.

The reception is free and open to the public, but registration is required. For more information, call 203-582-6500.

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Located in Hamden, Connecticut, Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum is home to the world's largest collection of visual art, artifacts and printed materials relating to the Irish Famine.

The museum preserves, builds, and presents its art collection in order to stimulate reflection, inspire imagination and advance awareness of Ireland's Great Hunger and its long aftermath on both sides of the Atlantic.

Earlier this year, Quinnipiac University announced that it wanted to see its Ireland's Great Hunger Museum move to a self-sustainable method by 2020 rather than relying on the University's financial support.

Ireland's Great Hunger Museum is open Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sundays, 1-5 p.m. General admission is $5. Children, students, Quinnipiac faculty and staff and museum members enter for free. You can learn more about Ireland's Great Hunger Museum on their website.