merrion street

Thursday 10th October 2013: Jimmy Deenihan TD, Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, will today open three new exhibitions 1913 Lockout: Impact & Aftermath, Banners Unfurled and Lockout: The Tapestry, at the National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks

Documenting life in Dublin, events surrounding the Lockout and its aftermath in 1913 the exhibition 1913 Lockout: Impact & Aftermath draws on objects from the Museum’s own collections including the Starry Plough flag that flew over the Imperial Hotel on O’Connell Street during the 1916 rising. This is the flag’s first time on display in 25 years.

At the same time, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ 1913 Commemoration Committee will be hosting two temporary exhibitions at Collins Barracks. The first, entitled Banners Unfurled consists of replicas of 18 guild and trade union banners. The second, Lockout - the Tapestry displays the tapestry commissioned in 2012 by SIPTU and the National College of Art and Design from artists Kathy Henderson and Robert Ballagh. The 30-panel tapestry, creating a visual narrative of the 1913 Lockout, was made by voluntary groups and their work. Banners Unfurled and Lockout – The Tapestry will be on display until 14th November, 2013.

Speaking ahead of the event Minister Deenihan said “The 1913 Lockout was a moment of great importance in Irish history. It was also a very significant milestone in that momentous decade (1912 to 1922) which saw Ireland move through the Home Rule crisis and the Lockout to the 1916 Rising and, eventually, the establishment of the Irish State. I look forward to working with the National Museum, and all the cultural institutions, on commemorations of the landmark events in Irish history that took place during that momentous decade.”

The above exhibitions are open to the Public from 2.30pm on Thursday 10th October