Popular Limerick museum increases security in response to 'serious antisocial issues'

A POPULAR Limerick Museum has ramped up security on site in response to ‘serious antisocial issues.’

The Hunt Museum, which is home to more than 2,000 artefacts and exhibits, has been dealing with a swath of anti-social activity, including the spraying of graffiti on the historic Custom House.

“I’m very worried about the dangers of what they are doing,” said CEO and director Jill Cousins, who explained that the teenage ‘culprits’ have been scaling the drainpipes to access the roof. “It’s really dangerous.”

We are having some serious antisocial issues in Hunt Museum Garden. Graffiti on walls of Custom House, on Benches, climbing the drainpipes, littering. Security patrols increased & Sarsfield/Rutland St gate closed. Help us by reporting & walking up by the Cafe pic.twitter.com/O6MJGL57WE

— The Hunt Museum (@HuntMuseum) January 28, 2022

Her goal is to raise awareness with parents and schools, to help the teenagers understand that they are “ruining the experience for everyone else.”

The Georgian Custom House building garden, where the museum moved to from the University of Limerick in 1997, is also experiencing a lot of littering. Staff have taken to leaving litter bags out.

“We’ve got CCTV cameras and we do have footage of the kids,” she told the Limerick Leader. Despite this, she is not looking to punish or prosecute them, but simply to “educate them on their wrongdoings.”

Labelling the constant graffiti as “puerile stuff”, The Hunt Museum Director added that the teenage boys just “don’t seem to think beyond the next minute.”

In response to the reoccurring offences, security patrols have increased, and the Sarsfield/Rutland Street gate has been closed to the public.

Management at the Museum, which holds a personal collection donated by the Hunt Family including works by the likes of Picasso, are calling on the public to walk by more often, as a deterrent to the misbehaving teens.

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“Not only is this one of the most iconic buildings in Limerick, but the benches they are ‘tagging’ are paid for by people in memory of loved ones who have passed away.

“They are genuinely welcome there, but please don’t ruin it for everybody, as there are elderly individuals who might not want to call in, even though we are fully open again,” Ms Cousins concluded.

For more information on exhibitions and events at the Hunt Museum, click here.