THE Little Museum of Dublin has picked up its first big accolade by scooping the 2014 David Manley Emerging Entrepreneur Award.
Founded in 2011 by writer Trevor White and composer, Simon O’Connor, the museum features 5,000 pieces, all donated by ordinary Dubs.
Last year over 45,000 visitors flocked to the museum at 15 St Stephen’s Green to check out the displays that are spread across five independent exhibition spaces on three levels in the building.
The Little Museum opened in 2011 in just two rooms and adopted the philosophy of featuring Dublin life as most people experienced it, and not from the perspective of the elite or famous.
O’Connor and White were presented with e10,000 in cash and over e100,000 worth of mentoring and consultancy services at the awards ceremony, which took place at Mason, Hayes & Curran on Barrow Street.
The award was handed over by Dr Chris Horn of David Manley Awards and Jordan Casey, a 14-year-old entrepreneur who founded TeachWare and at one stage was Apple’s youngest app developer in Europe.
O’Connor and White are the 11th winners of the award which is sponsored by Dublin Chamber of Commerce and Ulster Bank and designed to recognise and nurture enterprising spirit.
The Little Museum has been making a name for itself across the world over its three years in operation and was recently described as
‘the best free thing to do in Europe’ by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Core activities at the museum include guided tours that take place on the hour, every hour,
‘I Love Dublin’ civic education classes for primary and post primary children, and a monthly historical lecture series that features speakers like Diarmaid Ferriter, Kevin Myers and Roy Foster.
The Museum places a huge emphasis on story-telling and actively encourages visitors to tell their stories. Free entry is offered on certain days and at certain times during the week – but schoolchildren go free every morning.
Trevor White is the author of two books –
‘Kitchen Con’ and
‘The Dubliner Diaries’. He founded The Dubliner Magazine and his entire career has involved chronicling the life of the city.
Museum curator, Simon O’Connor, is an award-winning composer and designer (PPA Magazine Designer of the Year 2006), who has worked in the arts and creative industry for over 15 years.
The Little Museum of Dublin also won the Emerging Arts Entrepreneur category.
The David Manley Awards were the first entrepreneur awards in Ireland to offer mentoring from a panel of experts as part of the overall prize to the winner.
Dr Chris Horn said:
“All finalists were very impressive but the judging panel felt that Trevor and Simon resonated the most with the late David Manley – the man whom these Awards honour.
“Like him they are passionate, full of energy and positivity, are great lateral thinkers and highly engaging.
“They have a very clear vision and roadmap of how they intend to fulfil it.
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Brian Casey of sponsors Ulster Bank added: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to sponsor this event for the third year running.
“The SME sector is a significant driver of growth, employment and confidence in our economy. Entrepreneurs within this sector are our future and should be encouraged.”