Limerick Museum, one of the oldest and largest local authority museums in the country, opened in its new home today at the former Franciscan Friary on the city's Henry Street.
The museum marks 101 years this year.
It has almost 60,000 items in its catalogue, including items of antiquity and historical significance, letters, and photographs which all tell the history of Limerick over 9,500 years.
Among the items on display are a silver city mace dating back to 1739, the civic sword of Queen Elizabeth I along with items from the stone age and medieval times, as well as a major collection of silver and lace - examples of Limerick's industrial past.
The museum has had many temporary homes over the past 40 years in the city's Johns Square, at Castle Lane, and at City Hall.
Mayor of the City Cllr Kieran O'Hanlon said the opening of the museum at the Franciscan Friary is the first phase of a complete renovation of the friary into a much larger museum to rival the finest in the country.
The museum is dedicated to the memory of the late Jim Kemmy, a former mayor of the city and TD who died 20 years ago.
He was a keen writer and historian as well as being a stone mason, a socialist, a trade unionist, political activist, and humanist.
He served as a TD in Limerick from the 1980s first for the Democratic Socialist party, and later the Labour party.
His brother, Joe, said today those who knew him knew of his love of history, who dedicated much of his life to preserving the written word, and to securing and preserving historical items for the museum.
He said he would have loved to have seen the museum in this new and permanent setting, and he hoped it would be a great tourist asset to the city.
