Museums can make a "tremendous contribution to understanding our history, heritage, culture and identity at a time when we are being assaulted by a barrage of instant images from the wider world", according to Prof Joe Lee.
The historian and author was speaking at the presentation of the annual Museum of the Year awards, sponsored by the Gulbenkian Foundation and the Heritage Council. The ceremony took place at the Freemasons' Hall in Dublin at the weekend.
He said museums were no longer "mausoleums" but cultural institutions reaching out to the public. They had a major role in fostering the "colossal" interest in heritage at local level by exploring and mediating different identities in Ireland.
The Best Larger Museum award was won by the Ulster Museum in Belfast for its "Early Ireland" exhibition, which the judges felt was a "serious effort to communicate archaeology to a wide audience" by making the subject more accessible.
The Best Smaller Museum award went to the new Hunt Museum in Limerick, which was congratulated for its "outstanding display and welcoming atmosphere". A commendation was given to Kerry County Museum.
The Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham won the Best Museum Education Protect award for the second time because of its "clear vision" in integrating education and community outreach into all aspects of IMMA's work.
The Most Improved Voluntary Museum award went to the Millmount Museum in Drogheda, which is chiefly renowned for its collection of 19th-century painted banners. Culkin's Emigration Museum in Dromore West, Co Sligo, won a commendation.
Down County Museum, in Downpatrick, won the Best Local Museum Award against competition from Cavan County Museum and the Knock Folk Museum in Co Mayo. Another award for Best Collections Care went to South Tipperary County Museum.
Each of the awards is worth £2,500 and the scheme is administered by the Northern Ireland Museums Council in Belfast. Its patron for the past six years, since the awards were established, was the former president, Mrs Mary Robinson.
