Irish Silver Museum

About the museum

The Irish Silver Museum is housed in the Deanery building on Cathedral Square in Waterford’s Viking Triangle. The building stands above a medieval wine vault from the 1440s, which was once owned by the merchant and many-times mayor James Rice. In 1468 he gave the property to Dean John Collyn of Christ Church Cathedral, who used it for priests praying for the dead in his new chantry chapel.

The museum was made possible by the generosity of Noel and Stephanie Frisby, who lent their collection of Irish silver and paid for the galleries. It first opened its doors in December 2020 and was officially opened in June 2021. It is run by Waterford Treasures.

The displays follow two themes. The first uses personal objects to trace Irish history from the arrival of the Vikings to Ireland’s entry into the European Economic Community in 1973. The second explores how tea, coffee, chocolate and formal dining shaped silver design in the 17th and 18th centuries, with work by silversmiths from Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Youghal, Clonmel and Carrick-on-Suir, including some of the rare female silversmiths of the period.

Highlights

• Waterford Kite brooch
• Sword granted to the city by King Edward IV
• Silver that belonged to the writer Jonathan Swift
• Silver coin minted in present-day Iraq in 742 that reached Waterford around 850
• Eighteenth-century dining table laid with silver

Permanent exhibitions

• Ireland’s story in silver – Personal and ceremonial objects guide visitors through Irish history from the Viking age to Ireland’s entry into the EEC in 1973.
• Tea, coffee and dining in silver – Teapots, tankards and a lavishly laid eighteenth-century table show how fashionable drinks and dining ceremony shaped Irish silver.

Founded

2021

Operated by

Waterford Treasures

Admission & discounts

Group rates are available on request. A goldsmith’s workshop inside the building gives museum visitors a 10% discount.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum is on the ground floor and reached by ramps. There are no toilets in the museum; visitors can use those in the Medieval Museum. Blue badge bays are on Greyfriars Street, between this museum and the Irish Museum of Time. Wheelchairs and mobile stools can be borrowed at the Bishop’s Palace or Medieval Museum reception on request.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

Coach set-down is on The Mall outside the Bishop’s Palace. The museums of the Viking Triangle are within about five minutes’ walk of each other.

Amenities & dining

• Café: not available

The Bishop’s Palace Café is a short walk away. No food or drink is allowed in the galleries.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit