On 1-2 October, the University of Limerick hosted a stakeholder meeting for the Prayticipate COST Action. The key aim of this meeting was to connect practitioners and professionals from the GLAM (Gallery, Library, Museum, and Archives) sector with scholars working on prayer, and to broaden the scope of the Action network.
The event brought together university archivists from Hamburg and Maynooth, scholars from Helsinki, diocesan archivists, ritual chant and song scholars, and architectural historians from Limerick, museum curators from Waterford, and curators and museum professionals from Belfast. The first day was held on the leafy University of Limerick campus, with the leaves turning to their autumn colours in the sunshine. Attendees shared their research via a series of short presentations, which was followed by discussion. The afternoon was dedicated to a discussion of emergent research questions, as well as a consideration of prayer and health (reflecting the Research Ireland-funded Locating Loss: histories of infertility in landscapes and spaces project led by Dr Niamh NicGhabhann Coleman, UL). Highlights of the morning including the opportunity to view a medieval stole from the vestment collection of the Waterford Museum of Treasures, with thanks to Cliona Purcell and Donnchadh Ó Ceallacháin. We also had discussions on just how much altar wine certain chalices could hold, and how the taste of metal might have mingled with the taste of consecrated wine for those receiving it, reflecting Dr Juliette Day’s work.
Key points which emerged from the morning’s discussion included the need to recognise and value the material and practical expertise of GLAM professionals in deepening our understanding of prayer and the material culture associated with prayer. GLAM professionals will have experience of the physical size, capacity, materials, manufacture, and operation of objects associated with prayer which is essential information when tracing their history and meaning. Institutional expertise and knowledge was also highlighted as a key element of the necessary contribution of GLAM professionals – the accumulation of knowledge held within institutions about how certain collections came to museums, libraries, or archives, and the way that they have been categorised, stored, and maintained. The physical location and cataloguing data associated with objects associated with prayer can hold crucial information to allow those objects to be studied and interpreted. This discussion was promoted by Dr Katrin Janz-Wenig’s excellent presentation which forensically traced the presence of a broken leather rosary in the collection at the University library in Hamburg. Given that we had a diocesan archivist and two museum curators in the room, we were able to discuss the loan agreements that exist between dioceses, parishes, and museums, with great input from the team from Waterford Museum of Treasures and David Bracken. We also had excellent discussions on the display choices and practices around religious objects in museum contexts, drawing on the presentation given by Dr Emma McAlister. We discussed the use of museum as safe spaces for possibly vulnerable objects, and ongoing loan and use agreements between religious bodies and museums. We also had great insight into the ‘crucible of practical contingencies’ (quoting Terry Smith) in managing display and interpretation, and the navigation of lux levels with delicate objects, working within protected structures, and budgets for interpretation. The discussion section of the meeting was also informed by Dr Róisín Donohue from Maynooth University Special Collections and Archives, who had an academic background in medieval religious history, as well as Dr Eleanor Giraud, leader of the MA in Ritual Chant and Song at the University of Limerick.
Some of the phrases that stand out from the day:
‘What did the laity see?’
‘What my pre-pre-predecessor knew’
‘Who walked the relic down to the cathedral?’
At the end of the day, we had a presentation from Ken Bergin, Head of Special Collections and Archives at the Glucksman Library, University of Limerick, as well as a showcase of items associated with prayer from the Bolton Collection.
More information about the Bolton Collection can be found here: https://www.ul.ie/library/explore-collections/bolton-library
On the 2nd October, delegates met at the Hunt Museum in Limerick city, joined by some students from the various MA History programmes at the University of Limerick. We were given an expert tour by three docents of key items in the Hunt Museum’s collection associated with prayer and participation, including the Arthur Cross reliquary, various reliquaries, and a series of crucifixes. We also had the opportunity to view the O’Dea mitre and crozier in detail, another item still in use when required by the Catholic diocese of Limerick. The use of first person address in museum labelling was discussed (‘I am a crozier’), in the context of inscriptions on such objects in an Irish context which often announce ‘X had me made’.
All items from the Hunt Museum’s collection can be found on the excellent online catalogue, with full metadata and high-quality images.
Following this, we returned to the bus and drove through the rain to Ennis in Co. Clare, where we were met by Carmel and Alfredo, the excellent tour guiding team at Ennis Franciscan friary. It was an appropriate day to visit, as the very next day was the 800th anniversary of the Transitus of St Francis. We had a wonderful tour of the friary and the carvings, including the Man of Sorrows carving, which has been the subject of research by Dr Malgorzata Krasnodebska – D’Aughton (reference below). Despite the rain, all enjoyed the site-based visits, which led to further discussions on possible outcomes and next steps on the bus home.
With many thanks to Ken Bergin, Louise O’Shea, Kyle Christy, Elizabeth Stundon at University of Limerick for their help with this event, as well as Carmel Snow at the Office of Public Works, and Sinéad Hutchinson, Teresa Crowley, and all the wonderful docents at the Hunt Museum for their help and assistance.
Krasnodebska – D’Aughton, M. (2016). Prayer, penance and the Passion of Christ: The iconographic programme of the Franciscan friary at Ennis, Ireland. Studies in Iconography, 37, 75-108.