Part of the process of reconciliation in Ireland "necessarily involves opening up our minds and hearts to the reality of other histories and other stories" which had been suppressed because of prejudice, the President, Mrs McAleese, said yesterday.
Speaking at the presentation of the Gulbenkian Foundation/ Heritage Council Museum of the Year awards, she said the memorabilia and artefacts held by museums and galleries all over Ireland were important starting points in the process of discovering identities.
The pre-eminent winner of the 1998 awards was the National Museum of Ireland, which was named as Museum of the Year because of the "huge leap forward" it had taken in the development of Collins Barracks. Runners-up were the county museums in Cavan, Down and Fermanagh and the National Gallery of Ireland.
The National Gallery won both the Best Collections Care award and the Best Museum Education Project, while the Best Larger Museum award went to the Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh, Co Tyrone. The award for Most Improved Voluntary Museum went to Locke's Distillery in Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath, and there was a special commendation in this category for the National Print Museum in Dublin for the "significant strides" it had made.
The Fermanagh County Museum was named Best Smaller Museum because it was "an excellent example of what a local museum should be". A commendation went to Cavan County Museum for its exhibition of Orange and Green banners.
The judges were Mr Aidan Walsh, director of the Northern Ireland Museums Council; Mr David Anderson, Victoria and Albert Museum, London; Dr Maurna Crozier, Northern Ireland Community Relations Council; Prof Mary Daly, UCD; Dr Pat Donlon, former director of the National Library; Mr John Shaw Moore, Irish Museums Association; Prof Margaret MacCurtain of UCD; Mr Frank McDonald of The Irish Times; Mr Sean Nolan, former director of the Ulster Museum; Mr Mark O'Neill of the Glasgow Museums and Mr Ben Whitaker of the Gulbenkian Foundation.