Kilkenny Borough Council has unanimously supported a feasibility study on an integrated cultural centre for the city.
The project has the backing of the National Museum of Ireland, the Heritage Council, the Arts Council and the Kilkenny Castle-based Butler Gallery. The gallery is interested in moving to a new location because of a lack of space in the castle.
Kilkenny County Council heritage officer Ms Dearbhala Ledwidge said the facility would "strengthen the cultural identity of art, heritage and design in Kilkenny, and will support the heritage and visual arts sectors here".
Public consultation will also be undertaken and preliminary discussions have taken place between relevant agencies to develop the brief for the feasibility study. Among the roles proposed for the new facility would be:
r To care for, exhibit and interpret collections
r To provide a dedicated and enhanced contemporary visual art facility
r To provide a facility for a museum and its collections
r To stimulate, educate and inform the people of Kilkenny and visitors to the city
r To be a landmark facility and a major player on the national and international museum and gallery circuit
Research had shown that county museums on their own were not getting sufficient visitor numbers, Ms Ledwidge said. Giving the facility a more contemporary feel would provide more opportunities to bring in visitors.
She was supported at last Friday's meeting by Cllr Seán Ó hArgáin who said that the Kerry County Museum in Tralee had been a huge disappointment and had failed to get adequate numbers.
Cllr Michael Lanigan, who has been a director of the Butler Gallery, said that the gallery, thanks to some shrewd buying over the years, had amassed one of the best collections of modern, contemporary art anywhere. It was a pity that much of it was in storage and that the gallery had never been in a position to display all of its collection at once.