Three silver ring components photographed on a white background: two sculpted animal head terminals with bared teeth and detailed fur texture shown from the front and side, and a plain silver ring band engraved with small stick‑figure human motifs around the exterior.

When you flee from a wolf: Silver” by @ncad-ireland.bsky.social Jewellery student Freija Greenhill, inspired by the Finnish proverb Kun menee sutta pakoon tule karhu. Part of The Weight of Words at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks. Free entry.
www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...

Curator Brenda Malone and interim Director of the National Museum of Ireland welcome Minister Patrick O'Donovan to the Catalpa 150 exhibition.

Today, Curator @brendamalone.bsky.social & Interim Director @artanddiaspora.bsky.social welcomed Minister @patrickodonovan.bsky.social to the Catalpa 150 exhibition at Collins Barracks.
📍 National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks
🕒 Sunday 19 April 2026 (from 13:00)
www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...

What a wonderful gift to the nation, and a fantastic resource for research!

Large historic United States flag laid flat, showing a grey‑blue canton with white stars and red and off‑white horizontal stripes, with a single person in a lab coat reaching up to adjust or examine the lower stripes from the bottom edge

Join us in marking the 150th anniversary of the rescue of six Fenian leaders from Fremantle Prison by the whaling ship Catalpa.
📍 National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks
🕒 Saturday 18 April 2026 (from 12:00)
🕒 Sunday 19 April 2026 (from 13:00)
www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...

Large historic United States flag laid flat, showing a grey‑blue canton with white stars and red and off‑white horizontal stripes, with a single person in a lab coat reaching up to adjust or examine the lower stripes from the bottom edge

Join us in marking the 150th anniversary of the rescue of six Fenian leaders from Fremantle Prison by the whaling ship Catalpa.
📍 National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks
🕒 Saturday 18 April 2026 (from 12:00)
🕒 Sunday 19 April 2026 (from 13:00)
www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...

Lynn Scarff, James Eogan and Fiona Eogan in the stacks. Image by Emma Skarstrand © National Museum of Ireland

📚Newly catalogued: The George Eogan Library
Former Museum Librarian Connie Bettison reflects on cataloguing Prof. George Eogan’s working library-2,000+ archaeology books & journals in the National Museum of Ireland Library
www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collec...
#Archaeology #MuseumLibrary #RegistrationCorner

Having taught students about the Fenians this year, I'm fascinated to hear more about the Catalpa escape in the @nmireland.bsky.social Looks like a great event!

The flag that saved six Fenians from a ‘living tomb’ to go on display for the first time Presence of an American flag 150 years ago made the Catalpa one of the most celebrated prison breaks in history

Curator Brenda Malone speaks with @ronanmcgreevy.bsky.social for @irishtimes.com about the dramatic Catalpa escape & its historic flag. See the flag in person
📍 National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks
🕒 Sat 18 April from 12:00
🕒 Sun 19 April from 13:00
🔗 www.irishtimes.com/ireland/2026...

Ooh if I were in Dublin on Saturday I would go to this. Looks fab.

The Flora & Fauna of Seamus Heaney: Fauna

Join @paoloviscardi.bsky.social for insights into Ireland’s native wildlife, and the creatures that inspired Seamus Heaney's evocative poems.
🕒Saturday, 18 April 2026 | 2.00pm - 3.00pm
📍Bank of Ireland Cultural and Heritage Centre, Westmoreland Street, Dublin, D02 VR66
www.nli.ie/exhibitions-...

Who doesn’t love a great prison break story?

I knew nothing about this!

Catalpa 150 | Decorative Arts & History | National Museum of Ireland Marking the 150th anniversary of the rescue of six Fenian leaders from Fremantle Prison in the British penal colony in Western Australia, by the whaling ship Catalpa. The flag of the Catalpa will only...

The flag of the Catalpa will be on display at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, on Saturday, 18th and Sunday, 19th April 2026 only.
www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...

150th Anniversary of the Catalpa Fenian Rescue Mission On the 18th and 19th of April, the National Museum of Ireland will host a limited time exhibition at Collins Barracks to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Catalpa rescue mission. The mission involved the rescue of six Irish Fenians from a British penal colony in western Australia in April 1876 by a US whaling ship. After their rescue, the Fenians, who had been transported to Australia on the last convict ship, were brought safely to New York, much to the annoyance of the British who tried to intercept them as they sailed away. To discuss this and the exhibition, Seán is joined by Brenda Malone, Curator of Military History at the National Museum of Ireland. Image: National Museum of Ireland

Curator @brendamalone.bsky.social spoke to @seanmoncrieff.bsky.social about the Catalpa escape.
18–19 April 2026 marks 150 years since the dramatic rescue,
The flag will be on display at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, for 2 days only
🎧https://link.goloudplayer.com/s/pGo4FzZmg4du

Woah!

The remains of a rare 3-metre-long Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) being loaded into a trailer.

🦈 The remains of a rare 3‑metre Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) has been recovered from the Sligo coast -it's the first recorded stranding of this deep‑sea species in Ireland. A unique opportunity to learn more about one of the world’s most mysterious sharks.
www.museum.ie/en-IE/News/R...

Join us for a guided tour to discover the artefacts associated with the patron saints of Ireland, St. Patrick, St. Brigid, and St. Colmcille, with Irish Sign Language interpretation
🕒 12:30 | Friday, 17 April
📍 National Museum of Ireland, Kildare St, Dublin 2
www.museum.ie/en-IE/News/I...

Different strokes: changing identities and connectivity between Iron Age Ireland and Northern Britain The rich decoration of Irish and British Iron Age metalwork once conveyed complex symbolic meanings, though its language has long since been lost. Ornamentation remains a vital avenue for interpret...

And at long last!
This paper is finally live. It's been a labour of love, with thanks to so many @ucdarchaeology.bsky.social @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social @micireland.bsky.social @ulstermuseum.org @nmireland.bsky.social and so many more!
And it's open access!
www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

hey @bafriedman.bsky.social , another amphib operation www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-...

Black‑and‑white historical photograph of a person wearing a buttoned coat, shown from the chest up against a plain backdrop. A handwritten identification board is held across the chest with the text “7386 Jno Devoy.” Printed text beneath the image reads, “The Greatest of all the Fenians.”

John Devoy of Clan na Gael arranged the whaling ship Catalpa to rescue Fenian prisoners from Western Australia.
18–19 April 2026 marks the 150th anniversary.
The Catalpa flag will be on display at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks for 2 days only.
www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...

Empty Promise: Silver Polished silver jewellery piece consisting of a central, bead‑like form with two small projections, attached to a fine silver chain decorated with multiple faceted silver bead charms, photographed on a white background.

“Ní liontar an bolg le caint.”
(You can’t fill your stomach with talk.)
Empty Promise: Silver by jewellery student Lola Sinnamon Hanafin (@ncad-ireland.bsky.social) features in "The Weight of Words" a new exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks.
🔗 www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...

Large historic United States flag laid flat, showing a grey‑blue canton with white stars and red and off‑white horizontal stripes, with a single person in a lab coat reaching up to adjust or examine the lower stripes from the bottom edge.

🚩A rare chance to see history unfurled.🚩 For Catalpa 150, the National Museum of Ireland will display the Catalpa Flag for 2 days only - 18–19 April 2026 at Collins Barracks.
At over 4m x 3m, its size means it can’t be shown long‑term in a standard gallery. www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...

Great article honoring a master boatbuilder...

I picked up one of these over fifty years ago and it fueled a career in palaeontology. Mind blowing that corals lived on the floor of a shallow sea that stretched to Moscow, with Ireland south of the equator, when there were more days in the year because earth was spinning faster

Model of Iron Age Danish boat made by Jimmy Furey on display in Turlough Park, 2019. © National Museum of Ireland.

Remembering master boatbuilder Jimmy Furey (1938–2020) of Lecarrow, Co Roscommon. He shared his craft generously, and two of his model boats are preserved in the National Museum’s Irish Folklife Collection.
Read more: www.ouririshheritage.org/content/new-...
#MaritimeHistory #CuratorBlog

What a fascinating temporary exhibition @nmireland.bsky.social next weekend on 18-19 April! Great for anyone interested in prison breakouts, Irish-American community efforts working across national borders and very BIG flags!

Such a great story.
Commemorated in Catalpa, Donal O'Kelly's incredible show where he played dozens of characters involved in the saga, which remains the most memorable thing I've seen in Irish theatre. O'Kelly is a genius whose political commitment was ahead of its time.
youtu.be/QIhBCYJq9dI?...

This looks like a fascinating exhibition in the @nmireland.bsky.social on a remarkable 19th century story

#IrishDiasperialism Very interesting display coming next week at the @nmireland.bsky.social focused on the Catalpa Mission through which US-based Fenians rescued 6 from Fremantle in Western Australia. Links across Diaspora, Empire, & anti-colonial networks.

A large historic American flag is laid flat on a white floor inside a museum gallery, surrounded by photography lighting stands and softbox lights, with wall displays and a mezzanine level visible above.

A close view of a large American flag spread on the floor in a museum space, with two people working nearby and studio lights positioned around the flag for documentation.

A person stands on a mezzanine operating a camera mounted on a tripod, photographed from below, with ceiling beams and a large fan visible in the background.

A historic American flag photographed flat against a white background, showing thirteen stars in the canton and alternating red and off-white stripes, with visible signs of age and wear.

Marking the 150th anniversary of the rescue of six Fenian leaders from Fremantle Prison by the whaling ship Catalpa. The flag of the Catalpa will be on display at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, on Saturday, 18th and Sunday, 19th April 2026 only.
www.museum.ie/en-IE/Museum...