The GPO Witness History visitor attraction opened earlier this year in Dublin to commemorate the events of Easter 1916, when a group fought for Irish independence from the United Kingdom.
The General Post Office (GPO) on O’Connell Street was the headquarters of the Easter Rising. On Easter Monday, 24 April 1916, armed detachments of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army, commanded by Pádraig Pearse and James Connolly, took over the GPO, where they proclaimed an Irish republic. Within a week, shelling by British forces had destroyed the building, except for the facade and columns. Although the rising failed, it had a big impact, paving the way for Ireland to become independent in 1922.
The GPO Witness History project was led by An Post, the state-owned provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland. The new centre, which is managed by Shannon Heritage, was opened by the prime minister of Ireland Enda Kenny on 25 March. There is still a working post office in the same building.
The centrepiece of the visitor attraction is an immersive semi-circular space featuring a film designed to put visitors right inside the GPO during the five days in which it was both the military command centre for the rising and the seat of the Provisional Irish Government.
Barney Whelan, the director of communications and corporate affairs for An Post, was the project director for GPO Witness History.
How did the GPO Witness History project come about?
Barney Whelan: In 2012 people were asking what was going to happen with the GPO in 2016, to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. As a business we needed to take things into our own hands. I set about creating a feasibility report to present to government. For the following 12 months there was hardly a day I did not spend making sure that the proposal was in front of people. Then, in the budget of 2013 it was announced we would get the money.
What were the main aims of the scheme?
We had three strands: we had to create a building of architectural significance; we had to fill that with contested history; and then we had to set up a company to run it all as a sustainable business, because we do not receive government funding.
How did the attraction develop?
It was a complex project, given that we only had two years and three months to do it in, including planning permission and government construction contracts. Even though it was an expensive city-centre site to operate, our contractor PJ Hegarty and Sons managed the contract superbly.
We had a robust tender process for the design, content and installation, and Martello Media came out on top. That process resulted in some changes to the design, which meant we had to go back for planning permission, but they really improved the visitor flow and allowed me to snaffle some more space.
The key factor is that this is a working post office and we have put this major piece of infrastructure right in the middle without interfering with how we do our business.
How is the story of the Easter Rising told in the museum?
There is one thing for sure – the history of 1916 is really contested. There are so many people who have different views about the wisdom of it, the impact it had, about the potential impact of other things that were going on at the time.
So, as part of the team who developed the content we had a wonderful group of historians advising Martello Media – all of them really capable and with some degree of divergence in terms of their views. I had the help of Lar Joye of the National Museum of Ireland and Catriona Crowe of the National Archives and that was brilliant assistance to us.
This building has witnessed history for far longer than a week in Easter – it is a place of pageant, parade and protest. We have aimed to present history without interpreting it, as we have plenty of other people to interpret the history that we have put in.
What is the highlight of the museum?
The star of the show is the 15-minute film that takes people through the week of the Easter Rising from the perspective of what was going on in the GPO during that time.
Overall, I think that we have a gorgeous balance between the architecture of the building, the architecture of the new centre and the content. The other interesting part is the integration of objects and audiovisuals; they really do work well together.
How has the museum been received?
We were able to open the facility a whole five weeks ahead of the official opening to focus groups of all sorts, from people in wheelchairs to mothers with buggies, to historians and ordinary punters. We had great feedback from that.
We officially opened on a very busy week for government – 25 March, Good Friday. Launched by our prime minister, Enda Kenny, the centre has had an entirely positive response. There have been up to 1,100 visitors a day, and we are aiming for 300,000 visitors a year.
www.gpowitnesshistory.ie
The General Post Office (GPO) on O’Connell Street was the headquarters of the Easter Rising. On Easter Monday, 24 April 1916, armed detachments of the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army, commanded by Pádraig Pearse and James Connolly, took over the GPO, where they proclaimed an Irish republic. Within a week, shelling by British forces had destroyed the building, except for the facade and columns. Although the rising failed, it had a big impact, paving the way for Ireland to become independent in 1922.
The GPO Witness History project was led by An Post, the state-owned provider of postal services in the Republic of Ireland. The new centre, which is managed by Shannon Heritage, was opened by the prime minister of Ireland Enda Kenny on 25 March. There is still a working post office in the same building.
The centrepiece of the visitor attraction is an immersive semi-circular space featuring a film designed to put visitors right inside the GPO during the five days in which it was both the military command centre for the rising and the seat of the Provisional Irish Government.
Barney Whelan, the director of communications and corporate affairs for An Post, was the project director for GPO Witness History.
How did the GPO Witness History project come about?
Barney Whelan: In 2012 people were asking what was going to happen with the GPO in 2016, to mark the centenary of the Easter Rising. As a business we needed to take things into our own hands. I set about creating a feasibility report to present to government. For the following 12 months there was hardly a day I did not spend making sure that the proposal was in front of people. Then, in the budget of 2013 it was announced we would get the money.
What were the main aims of the scheme?
We had three strands: we had to create a building of architectural significance; we had to fill that with contested history; and then we had to set up a company to run it all as a sustainable business, because we do not receive government funding.
How did the attraction develop?
It was a complex project, given that we only had two years and three months to do it in, including planning permission and government construction contracts. Even though it was an expensive city-centre site to operate, our contractor PJ Hegarty and Sons managed the contract superbly.
We had a robust tender process for the design, content and installation, and Martello Media came out on top. That process resulted in some changes to the design, which meant we had to go back for planning permission, but they really improved the visitor flow and allowed me to snaffle some more space.
The key factor is that this is a working post office and we have put this major piece of infrastructure right in the middle without interfering with how we do our business.
How is the story of the Easter Rising told in the museum?
There is one thing for sure – the history of 1916 is really contested. There are so many people who have different views about the wisdom of it, the impact it had, about the potential impact of other things that were going on at the time.
So, as part of the team who developed the content we had a wonderful group of historians advising Martello Media – all of them really capable and with some degree of divergence in terms of their views. I had the help of Lar Joye of the National Museum of Ireland and Catriona Crowe of the National Archives and that was brilliant assistance to us.
This building has witnessed history for far longer than a week in Easter – it is a place of pageant, parade and protest. We have aimed to present history without interpreting it, as we have plenty of other people to interpret the history that we have put in.
What is the highlight of the museum?
The star of the show is the 15-minute film that takes people through the week of the Easter Rising from the perspective of what was going on in the GPO during that time.
Overall, I think that we have a gorgeous balance between the architecture of the building, the architecture of the new centre and the content. The other interesting part is the integration of objects and audiovisuals; they really do work well together.
How has the museum been received?
We were able to open the facility a whole five weeks ahead of the official opening to focus groups of all sorts, from people in wheelchairs to mothers with buggies, to historians and ordinary punters. We had great feedback from that.
We officially opened on a very busy week for government – 25 March, Good Friday. Launched by our prime minister, Enda Kenny, the centre has had an entirely positive response. There have been up to 1,100 visitors a day, and we are aiming for 300,000 visitors a year.
www.gpowitnesshistory.ie