Three grants have been awarded in the first of two grant cycles of 2023.

The intention of the awards is to support museum professionals and researchers who wish to investigate a subject relevant to the understanding, management or development of museum practice across the island.

The three grant recipients are:

• Dr Martyn Linnie

Dr Martyn Linnie is curator of the Zoological Museum and chief technical officer in Trinity College Dublin. He has written over 30 scientific publications and articles on museum collections and natural history but is particularly fond of writing about the colourful ‘residents’ of the 200-year-old Zoological Museum collection.  

The research development grant awarded will be used to support the publication of a book on a unique museum with a history that dates back over 200 years. The book will the remarkable story of a museum ‘hidden’ in the heart of Ireland’s oldest university. Despite its long history, little has been formally published on the individual stories behind this collection. Written by its curator, the book seeks to redress that imbalance, and in doing so, fulfil a personal ambition to permanently record the rich narrative behind the Zoological Museum.  The Unnatural History of Animals – Tales from a Zoological Museum (working title) will be the first book of its kind to be published in Ireland.

• Susan Leen

Visual Artist and educator, Susan Leen is Education Assistant at The National Print Museum (and Firestation Studios and DCU artist in residence). 

Susan’s research project involves creating an artist’s book, taking as a departure point text and topography and the book objects’ role in assimilating knowledge about the world around us. Drawing on printing heritage she will create a book looking at Dublin environment printed on the museum’s Vandercook press.

• Cathal Dowd Smith

Cathal holds a degree in the History of Art and Architecture and History from Trinity College Dublin. Cathal’s current research interests are in the Irish country house, and the architectural and landscape history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He works as the Curator and Collections Manager of Newbridge House and Malahide Castle, Co. Dublin.

Cathal’s research project is to look at recent best-practise conservation work of English country houses to inform forthcoming conservation of the decorative interiors of Malahide Castle and a renewed picture hang. Experiencing recently restored interiors, seeing first-hand the results of the restoration work, and seeing how the English sites interpret and communicate the restoration work to the public will give insight for how to best present it considering the work to be undertaken in Malahide Castle.