Storytellers of all types share in a learning room where the motto is "please touch". History
Te curators believe that story-telling is an important part of what the museum offers as a repository of stories. Tey invite story tellers to tell stories for different audiences. Te idea of the quilt is to designate an area for the story-telling to capture that magic of imagining. Children often need to relax in order to concentrate and the quilt is the best place for relaxing and calming. Sitting on the quilt transports children to within the magic carpet concept: suddenly, kids are in an imaginary world! It’s so very different from my days of sitting around a table in school!
Te stitched blocks repeated within this whole cloth quilt are informed by history. Influenced directly by the art of the famous Ardagh Chalice dating from the 8th Century AD, one block mirrors the design of the studs on the chalice, excepting that they would be coloured on the original. Te alternate block went further back again for inspiration, as Beryl’s design was
Te museum is a repository of stories
inspired by a 7th Century BC Bronze Age shield. Te shield with such a design was found in 1872 at Lough Gur in County Limerick and would have been used more in ceremony than in fighting. Te blocks were influenced by far different times, but they work really well together.