The Patrick Kavanagh Centre is managed by Monaghan County Council and we worked with them to deliver both an exhibition space celebrating the life and work of Patrick Kavanagh and a multipurpose performance venue facilitating a wide range of cultural and social events.

Our design strategy was to celebrate the symbiotic relationship between Patrick Kavanagh – the man & poet; his words and the land. Facsimile documents and photos with objects were used in combination to create a visual narrative evoking the period and themes chosen for each of the 6 large display cabinets we developed. An associated touch screen presents the personal narrative threads inherent in every displayed artefact.

An immersive audiovisual interweaves archive materials, personal objects, natural landscapes, elemental textures, immersive sound-design and an original score to complement and heighten the beauty of Kavanagh’s iconic verses.

Facsimile documents and photos with objects were used in combination to create a visual narrative evoking the period and themes chosen for each of the 6 large display cabinets we developed. An associated touch screen presents the personal narrative threads inherent in every displayed artefact.

We worked with the Irish Heritage Trust to extend and enhance the Walled Garden  & Woodlands visitor attraction at Strokestown Park Estate. We paid special attention to the stories – both big and small – which have impacted the gardens’ final form we see today.

Visitors are guided around the gardens via a series of story-led interpretive panels that are inviting and colourful both visually and  in terms of their written content. Each panel is designed to fit with each location – each highlighting a unique aspect of the garden worth noting, while fitting together to give the larger picture of the function of the garden over time. Personal artefacts and imagery from the Strokestown archive were woven into the stories as appropriate, giving yet another layer of interest to the anecdotes of the gardens.

For Strokestown Woodlands we created a suite of interpretive installations throughout the woodlands that work in harmony with the forest. This small woodland has fine specimens of mature beech and oak and is home to a variety of creatures and flora. We wanted visitors to really connect and feel immersed in it.

A sense of arrival

In order to give the woodland entrance more emphasis we landscaped the site entrance area and designed an impressive natural timber gateway with side gates for children. The gate announces and invites you into the relaxing other-worldliness of the wood. A  prominent map gives an overview of the  woodlands and highlights key features.

The Woodland Trail

Visitors are encouraged to find the 12 nature themed rubbing plaques, learn about the creatures that live in the woodland, listen to and spot the birds that inhabit the woodland and find out more about the leaves and fruits that belong to the trees.  Play the forest xylophone and to find the burrow tunnels and get up close and personal with the forest floor.   

Down to Earth is an exhibition on the geology of Ireland that tells the story of how scientists have developed understanding of our planet over the last 175 years. The exhibition evolved through a partnership between the National Museum of Ireland and Geological Survey Ireland. Down to Earth also marks and celebrates the museum’s 175th anniversary.

The exhibition explores how geology is relevant to everyday life, demonstrates the central role both rock and minerals play in how we interact with the world and informs visitors about the effects of climate change.

A large impressive floor map print of Ireland detailing the different rock formations in each part of the island is the centrepiece of the exhibition. Visitors have the opportunity to learn about the variety of rocks and other deposits beneath their feet. Children love discovering what underlies their own county! Large interpretive graphic wall prints, designed for visual impact, feature throughout the exhibition. These are bilingual (English and Irish), with supporting imagery and illustration. A large number of display cases contain many ordinary objects from everyday life that have a specific and meaningful link to geology. Visitors can virtually travel over the ocean from a rebuilt GSI Research Vessel’s bridge to see how the seabed is mapped, discovering shipwrecks and the outer edges of our continent.

Ormond Castle was built between the 14th and 16th centuries and was the principal medieval fortress of the powerful Hiberno-Norman Butler dynasty – the Earls of Ormond. 

Ormond Castle is operated by the OPW and we worked with them on a design and management contract to maintain the restored 16th century ambiance by creating reproductions of period wood-cuts, paintings, and tapestries that are arranged in a sequence that follows the story of Tom Butler’s pivotal role in the downfall of his cousins and rivals the Fitzgerald Dynasty – the Earls of Desmond during the two successive bloody Desmond rebellions. 

Interactive digital books on Tudor lecterns provide over one hundred pages of information in eight languages on: the wall paintings, the OPW’s restoration and the rich heraldic symbolism on Ormond’s plaster ceilings, friezes and stone carved mantelpieces. A detailed 1:90 scale model of Ormond Castle, its watergate, orchards and formal gardens at their zenith in 1570 is supported by time-layered images of its evolution in an interactive digital book. The emotional tension between Tom Butler, and two Elizabeths – one his wife – the other his queen, is presented from contrasting standpoints, in two complimentary dramas.

The Porchfield lies between the Anglo‐Norman town of Trim founded c. 1180 and the rural borough of Newtown Trim founded c. 1220. We worked with Meath County Council to create a series of interpretive panels that are focused on the area’s rich medieval heritage and its wildlife, flora and fauna.

Constructed of steel and clad with hardwood timber the interpretive panels feature augmented images from the Bodleian Library’s medieval collection while commissioned illustrations and maps guide visitors around this beautiful loop trail.

Founded in 1943, the Butler Gallery is a vibrant cultural space now located in a former Almshouse on the east side of the River Nore in the heart of Kilkenny city. We worked with them in bringing the unique stories associated with Evan’s Home to a wider audience through the subtle use of new technologies and traditional media. 

An engaging, enjoyable and accessible audio experience

Audio guides both indoors and outdoors tell visitors in their own language about the people that have shaped the new location and the gallery, providing them with a more in depth, enriching and memorable visit. {provide image here to explain – i presume these are not the traditional head phone kind of audio guides?} 

Less is more

Our design approach was to work with the building materials used throughout and be sympathetic in choosing the size, tone and locations of the required interventions. By making the visual identity part of the gate and by casting it into the new concrete ramp we highlighted the entrance without detracting from the ambience of the building and simultaneously embedded the Butler Gallery into its new home.

This immersive exhibition is housed in the iconic Cork landmark, Blackrock Castle Observatory. It is an interactive experience taking the visitor through the heart of the castle along a route that tells the story of Cork’s defended landscape, its merchant trade and the smugglers and pirates that navigated one of the world’s deepest natural harbours

Design elements include exterior signage, harbour interpretation via a map table, river panoramic and an interactive touch table.

The themes and messages from Blackrock Castle’s hinterland were identified by Mark Leslie in a manner that would engage a diverse audience of all ages. Interpretation includes roof-top panoramic panels, ground-level map tables, interactive touch table and a full-sized working replica of a 17th century cannon in the set-dressed original gun chamber provides the ‘wow’ factor.

The traditional home of Clones lace and situated on the banks of the Ulster Canal, this nineteenth-century cut-stone former canal storehouse has been beautifully restored as a visitor centre. It houses an exhibition of local lace dating back to c. 1880, and includes wedding dresses and collars.

The Linked by a Thread exhibition weaves the tale of this unique form of crochet lace, from its humble beginnings as a social enterprise in the post Famine period of the 1850s, to its revival by dedicated locals in the 1980s. This museum is unique in that it is dedicated entirely to crochet lace. The collection holds stunning antique pieces from the Victorian era, through to more modern designs such as spectacular wedding dresses.

The exhibition very much emphasises the importance of women and their contribution to society when the market for lace-making was at its zenith. It showcases their skill, imagination and enterprise. Visitors can view a short film which shows the destitution of the region following the famine, and discover the history of Clones Lace and its dedicated makers.

Fota House in Co Cork is the former home of the Smith-Barry family. It was the first major historic house to be put in the care of the Irish Heritage Trust along with an important collection of 18th Century art.

It is run by a dedicated team and local volunteers who are passionate about the house and its history and will entertain you with stories of the people who lived at Fota and the people who worked there.

We worked with them to enable visitors to discover fascinating insights into the contrasting lives of the masters of a former time and their servants in the original surroundings that shaped their worlds. 

Visitors are welcomed to the Walled Garden by the first head gardener William Beswick and can learn about the garden’s history and its future via a series of interpretive panels. They can also learn about forgotten tools and practices in the Bothy house and children are catered for with a discovery table with Lino-cut prints and puzzles.

This exhibition covers the turbulent period of Irish history from the lead-up to the Easter Rising until the end of the Irish Civil War.

Stories of Galway’s involvement are told through key objects and images associated with the city and county.

Graphic panels line the large space breaking the story into 14 key stages. The bold design allows the visitor to orientate themselves easily in both space and time. Specially commissioned ‘comic strips’ also break down the complex stories for the younger visitors who can then bring home a copy to colour in sketches.