The Hunt Museum, Rutland Street, Limerick (2026)

19/10/2026

Monday Musings... 🤔

With Halloween just around the corner, this week's Monday Musings takes a slightly darker turn as we explore one of the more unusual objects in the Hunt Collection. 💀

At first glance, this tiny 17th-century golden skull might appear rather macabre, but it holds a fascinating secret.

Dating to 1679, this beautifully crafted object is a memento mori, a Latin phrase meaning "remember you must die". Such objects served as reminders of the fleeting nature of life, encouraging their owners to reflect on mortality and the importance of living well.

But there's more to this little skull than meets the eye! Its hinged design opens to reveal four tiny compartments, once used to hold perfumes or fragrant herbs. Known as a pomander, it combined a reminder of mortality with a practical purpose, as scented substances were believed to offer protection against illness and unpleasant odours.

Inside, an inscription reads: "Man proposes but God disposes" — another reminder of life's uncertainty.

👻 This Halloween, uncover more of the fascinating and sometimes macabre stories hidden within the Hunt Collection on our special Shadows of Samhain: Memento Mori Guided Tours.

📅 24–31 October | 11am
📍 The Hunt Museum, Limerick

Visit our 'Objects in Focus' blog to learn more!

🔗And don't forget to book your place for our 'Shadows of Samhain, Memento Mori Guided Tour' via link: https://www.huntmuseum.com/stories/objects-in-focus/17th-century-memento-mori-skull-pomander/

16/10/2026

🎹 Maccana: The Unseen Growth of Winter | Live at the Hunt Museum

As the evenings grow darker and winter draws closer, join us for a beautiful afternoon of live piano music in the intimate surroundings of the Hunt Museum.

On Sunday, 1 November, Irish composer and pianist Caomhán Maccana brings The Unseen Growth of Winter to Limerick as part of his 16-date all-island tour.

Experience a captivating 70-minute performance of original piano compositions, blending reflective melodies with evocative storytelling through music.

Featuring both established works and new compositions developed during a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, this promises to be a lovely way to welcome the winter season. 🍁

📅 Sunday, 1 November 2026
🕒 3pm
📍 Captains’ Room, Hunt Museum, Limerick
🎟️ €15 per person

Places are limited – book your tickets today!

🔗 Visit the link to get your tickets: https://www.huntmuseum.com/whats-on/maccana/

15/10/2026

💀🍂 Memento Mori | Shadows of Samhain at the Hunt Museum

This Halloween, step into the shadows of history and discover the darker side of the Hunt Collection...

Join us for a special Memento Mori Guided Tour, exploring how death, memory and the afterlife have been represented through art and objects across different cultures and centuries.

From mysterious funerary objects and religious symbolism to fascinating reflections on life and mortality, uncover the hidden meanings and stories behind selected treasures in the Hunt Collection.

Inspired by the Latin phrase Memento Mori – “Remember you must die” – this thought-provoking tour offers a unique way to experience the Museum this Halloween. 🕯️

📅 24–31 October 2026
🕚 11am
📍 The Hunt Museum, Limerick
🎟️ General admission. Children and Friends of the Hunt Museum go FREE

Discover the stories that lie beyond the grave...

🔗 To book, please visit this link: https://www.huntmuseum.com/whats-on/memento-mori-tour-of-the-hunt-museum-collection/

12/10/2026

Isle of Debt (2011) | Philip Moss

A familiar vision of Ireland takes on a darker meaning in Philip Moss’s Isle of Debt.

The painting adapts Arnold Böcklin’s Isle of the Dead (1880) to reflect on the devastating economic and social impact of Ireland’s post-2008 financial crash and the austerity measures that followed.

Moss transforms Böcklin’s meditation on death and memory into a commentary on national ruin. The island remains a lush, almost impossibly bright green, an instantly recognisable romantic image of Ireland, but here, it becomes a place of hardship and economic entrapment rather than idyllic beauty.

Currently on display as part of Philip Moss: Bearing Witness, the work is one of a series that explores difficult histories, collective memory, conflict and injustice through Moss’s distinctive approach to painting.

📍 Hunt Museum, Limerick
📅 Until 1 November 2026
🎟️ Free admission

06/10/2026

🍂🌿 Irish Traditional Herbal Remedies | Sunday, 11 October

As autumn settles in, join us at the Hunt Museum for a cosy, hands-on workshop exploring Ireland’s botanical heritage and traditional herbal remedies.

Led by botanist and herbalist Sinéad Keane, discover the plants, scents and natural ingredients traditionally used in Irish herbal practices, before creating your own oxymel, pomanders and flower waters to take home.

Set against the autumnal surroundings of the Hunt Museum Garden, this workshop is the perfect way to slow down, get creative and discover some of the traditions connecting people, plants and place. 🍎🍃

📅 Sunday, 11 October
⏰ 11am–1pm
📍 Hunt Museum Garden & Hunt Café
🎟️ €6.50 per person

Places are limited – book your place today: https://www.huntmuseum.com/whats-on/irish-traditional-herbal-remedies/

02/10/2026

NOW SHOWING |
Philip Moss: BEARING WITNESS

What does it mean to bear witness?

Open from 1 October to 1 November at the Hunt Museum, Bearing Witness is a powerful new exhibition by acclaimed Irish artist Philip Moss, exploring personal and collective memory, conflict, injustice and the complexities of the human experience.

Moving between the deeply personal and defining moments in modern history, Moss responds to subjects including childhood trauma, institutionalisation, war, displacement, discrimination and political and social upheaval.

Describing himself as a “conceptual artist who chooses to paint,” Moss places the idea – and the questions it provokes – at the heart of his work.

Through painting, Bearing Witness asks us not simply to look, but to consider how we remember, how we respond and why we sometimes turn away from difficult histories.

📍 Hunt Contemporary, Hunt Museum
📅 1 October – 1 November 2026
🎟️ FREE Admission

Discover Bearing Witness at the Hunt Museum this October.
learn more: https://www.huntmuseum.com/whats-on/philip-moss/

01/10/2026

What’s On at the Hunt Museum – October 2026

🔹 Hunt Collection
Tuesday to Saturday: 10am – 5pm Sunday: 11am – 5pm | Closed Monday

EXHIBITIONS
🔹 Philip Moss
BEARING WITNESS
1 October – 1 November 2026Temporary Exhibition Gallery, Hunt Museum
Free admission
Hunt Museum this October 2026. This exhibition brings together a powerful body of work by Moss exploring personal and collective memory, conflict, injustice and the complexities of the human experience.

EVENTS
🔹 Exploring German Artefacts in the Hunt Collection
Saturday, 10 September
11am
Permanent Collection, Hunt Museum
Booking required. General admission.

🔹 Irish Traditional Herbal Remedies
Sunday, 11 October
11am - 1pm
Hunt Museum Garden & Hunt Café
Booking required. €6.50 per person or FREE for Friends of the Hunt Museum

🔹 Shadows of Samhain Halloween
Saturday, 24 to Saturday, 31 October
11am
Permanent Collection, Hunt Museum
General admission Fee. Children under 16 go FREE

🔹 Samhain Twilight Thursday
Storytelling with Daithí Collopy
Thursday, 29 October
5–6pm
Captains’ Room, Hunt Museum
Booking required. €6.50 per person, Children go FREE , Friends of the Hunt Museum go FREE.

These are just a few of the many events happening this month.

Visit huntmuseum.com to learn more!

22/09/2026

🤖 What is the role of a museum in an age of AI?

Join us at the Hunt Museum this Thursday for a fascinating talk exploring the place of museums in an increasingly digital and AI-driven world.

Hosted by the Friends of the Hunt Museum, Dr Robert Kilroy presents The Museum in an Age of AI: The Hunt Museum in a Changing Global Landscape.

As artificial intelligence transforms how we access and understand information, what role can museums play in protecting material truth, safeguarding cultural heritage and creating spaces for meaningful dialogue?

Drawing on the Hunt Museum and its collection, Robert will explore how museums can respond to our changing world, and how institutions deeply connected to the history and culture of cities like Limerick can help tell new stories about contemporary Ireland.

📅 Thursday, 24 September
🕕 6pm
📍 The Captains’ Room, Hunt Museum
🎟️ €10 per person | FREE for Friends of the Hunt Museum
🔗 Booking essential – book via the link: https://www.huntmuseum.com/whats-on/the-museum-in-an-age-of-ai-the-hunt-museum-in-a-changing-global-landscape/

About the speaker: Dr Robert Kilroy is a former Curator for Modern & Contemporary Art at Louvre Abu Dhabi and currently lectures at Limerick School of Art & Design in Art & Design Education, with a focus on Design & AI.

15/09/2026

✨ Culture Night at the Hunt Museum!

Join us this Friday, 18 September for an evening of music, creativity, art and culture! 🎨🎶

Explore the Hunt Collection, get creative with family-friendly arts and crafts, enjoy live performances throughout the Museum and gardens, and take your final opportunity to experience our two summer exhibitions before they close this Sunday:

🔹 Our, Óir, Ore: Four Millennia of Limerick Silver and Gold
🔹 OUR: Conversations with the Collection

Here’s what’s happening:

🔹 Guided Tours of the Hunt Collection
🔹 Make Your Own Gorget – Arts & Crafts Workshop
🔹 The Gramophone Social in the Hunt Café
🔹 The Highlanders Wedding Party with the Polish Arts Festival
🔹 Live music from The Quarter Dozen
🔹 DJ set with Tom The Bomb in the Courtyard

Friday, 18 September
Hunt Museum, Limerick
FREE admission

Come one, come all and celebrate Culture Night at the Hunt Museum, there’s something for everyone to enjoy!

14/09/2026

Monday Musings... 🤔

As the first hints of autumn arrive and September begins to turn golden, this week’s Monday Musing seems particularly fitting…

This small gold drinking cup from the Hunt Collection measures just 8cm in height. Simple and beautifully formed, with a narrow rim turned gently inwards, it is thought to possibly be Classical in origin.

Like so many ancient objects, however, it leaves us with more questions than answers.

Who once held it? What might they have drunk from it? Was it an everyday possession, something treasured, or a cup reserved for special occasions?

Its warm golden surface feels especially at home at this time of year, and it also gives us the perfect opportunity to mark the final few days of Our, Óir, Ore: Four Millennia of Limerick Silver and Gold.

🍁 The exhibition comes to a close this Sunday, 20 September, bringing an end to a summer spent exploring 4,000 years of gold, silver, craftsmanship and the stories held within precious objects.

If you haven’t visited yet, this is your final week to discover it, and if you have, perhaps there’s time for one last golden glimpse before we say goodbye.

✨ Here’s to golden objects, golden leaves and the beginning of a new season.

The Hunt Museum

19/10/2026

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