Arklow Heritage Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Arklow Heritage Museum

Museum exterior
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Established	1976
Location	Bridgewater Shopping Centre, North Quay, Arklow, Ireland
Type	Heritage museum
Public transit access	Arklow railway station Bus Éireann Route 2

The Arklow Heritage Museum is a cool place in Arklow, County Wicklow, Ireland. It first opened in 1976. Back then, it was called the Arklow Maritime Museum. Its main goal was to celebrate Arklow's amazing history with the sea. A famous historian even called Arklow "Ireland's Most Maritime Town"!

In 2009, the museum moved to its current spot at the Bridgewater Shopping Centre. Over time, the museum started to show more than just sea history. It began to cover all of Arklow's past. Because of this, the museum changed its name to the Arklow Heritage Museum in 2025. Now, it shares the whole story of Arklow with everyone.

Discovering Arklow's Past

How the Museum Started

In the early 1900s, many families in Arklow worked with the sea. They were fishermen, or they sailed big ships. People often kept special items from their sea adventures at home. But by the 1970s, these old items were being thrown away.

A group of people in Arklow realized this was a problem. They wanted to save these important pieces of history. So, they decided to collect them for future generations. Around 1970 or 1971, they held a special show to display some of these items.

Early Exhibitions

On March 17 and 18, 1973, they held a second, even bigger show. It was at St. Kevin's Christian Brothers' School. The whole top floor was filled with amazing displays! The people organizing the show also made a newsletter. It had interesting stories about Arklow's sea history.

Some of the stories included:

• Arklow fishermen who taught people on the Aran Islands how to fish for business.
• The first Arklow man who was involved in a ship accident during World War II.
• Stories about ships and memories from the sea.
• Names of Arklow men honored on a special memorial in London.
• The Arklow schooner DE WADDEN.
• Life on an Arklow Lightship, which is like a floating lighthouse.
• Arklow's connection to the RMS Lusitania ship disaster.

A man named Don Patterson from Queen's University in Belfast also sent information. He wanted to help the group start a permanent museum. He even suggested making the Arklow Schooner DE WADDEN a main part of it. However, getting the DE WADDEN was too expensive and difficult.

Opening the Museum

At the same time, public meetings were held. Many people offered to lend or donate their historical items. Soon, the committee found a permanent building for their collection. It was a special shelter given by the ESB company.

Finally, the Arklow Maritime Museum officially opened its doors. This exciting event happened on February 20, 1976. It was a big step for preserving Arklow's rich heritage.

What You Can See at the Museum

The Arklow Heritage Museum has collected over two thousand items! There are so many interesting things to explore.

Some of the most popular displays include:

• A section about the Kynoch factory. This factory made things for war and employed thousands of people. It had an accident in 1917.
• A display about the RNLI. Arklow was home to the very first lifeboat station in Ireland opened by the RNLI.
• A section on the RMS Lusitania. Arklow fishermen helped rescue survivors from this famous ship disaster. You can see medals and even a lady's shoe from that time.
• Cool scale models of different ships. This includes the Asgard II, which was built in Arklow. It sadly sank in 2008.
• Many other ship models, old equipment, and beautiful paintings of the sea.

Famous Ships with Arklow Connections

The museum also has displays and information about many ships. These ships were either built in Arklow or have a strong connection to the town.

Here are some of them:

• Asgard II
• Cymric, a type of sailing ship called a schooner.
• Gypsy Moth III, a famous sailboat. Sir Francis Chichester sailed it and won the first ever single-handed race across the Atlantic Ocean.
• James Postlethwaite
• Mary B Mitchell, another schooner.
• MV Murell
• MV Tyrronall