Full Accreditation Museum Standards Programme

Farmleigh: Standards Fit For A Queen

Farmleigh, managed by the Office of Public Works, has been awarded full accreditation by the Heritage Council under the Museum Standards Programme for Ireland at a ceremony in the Royal College of Physicians on 29 June 2011. The certificates were presented by Mr Jimmy Deenihan, T.D., Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht

Speaking about the award, Mr Brian Hayes T.D., Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works said: "I commend the team at Farmleigh, led by Mary Heffernan, Bridgeen Kelly and Julia Cummins, in achieving this award. The award assures potential visitors of high standards in visitor services, collections care and museum management. Farmleigh has become a benchmark for the delivery of outstanding public service to visitors, from the hundreds of thousands that visit annually to the visiting Heads of State most recently Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II and HRH Prince Phillip.

It is at Farmleigh that Her Majesty viewed the Irish Primer that is believed to have inspired the now memorable opening lines of her address at Dublin Castle `A hUachtarain agus a chairde´. Farmleigh is the first of six OPW historic properties participating in the programme to achieve full accreditation. The Judges commended Farmleigh, OPW for `its commitment to excellence and the exemplary fashion in which it achieved some of the standards, in particular caring for collections´."

The Museum Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI) aims to benchmark and raise professional minimum standards in the museum sector. The Programme consists of a series of detailed and rigorous standards that recognise international best practice in museums in areas such as Caring for Collections, Museum Management, Documentation and Visitor Services. A voluntary programme, it has attracted involvement from across the cultural spectrum - from national institutions to small, volunteer-led organisations.

An application for interim accreditation takes three years to complete, while full accreditation takes five years. Farmleigh (OPW) was today awarded full accreditation after only three years in the Programme. There are a total of 50 museums currently participating in the Programme with 40% now having achieved interim or full accreditation with more museums expected to join the programme.