Setting the Scene for National Archive The Story of Us Exhibition
Marcon have completed the exhibition fit out of the Story of Us exhibition at Dublin Castle for the National Archives. The exhibition marks 100 years since the first Census of the Irish Free State.
Our works included fabrication, production and installation of the exhibition, new walls, plinths and graphic elements, all designed and built to museum‑grade standards. From the outset, this was a fast‑track project, with just nine weeks from award to completion, and only three weeks on site inside one of Ireland’s most significant historic buildings.
As a listed building, there could be no fixings to the structure, requiring every element we manufactured to be fully self‑supporting, stable and discreet. At the same time, parts of the castle remained open to the public throughout the works, making health and safety paramount. All deliveries, installations and lifts were carefully planned and tightly sequenced to protect visitors, staff and the historic interiors.
Before installation could begin, we also undertook the careful strip‑out of the existing gallery, working closely with National Archives curators and the original artists to ensure artworks and materials were removed, stored and protected appropriately.
A key part of our role was integrating with client‑appointed AV contractors, ensuring audio‑visual content was seamlessly incorporated into the physical set works. In parallel, we were tasked with re‑using and integrating existing, client‑supplied display cases, adapting designs and fabrication to accommodate them without compromise to the overall aesthetic or visitor experience.
Given the national significance of the timing of the opening, which marked the centenary release of the first Census of the Irish Free State, there could be no delays to the fast-track programme. The project was handed over on 17 April, with the exhibition opening the following day. There was no margin for defects, every finish, junction and alignment had to be right, first time.
The Story of Us exhibition explores life in Ireland in 1926 through census returns, documents, imagery and integrated AV. Each 40‑minute guided tour, led by the public engagement team, relies on a carefully structured environment that supports storytelling while protecting priceless archival material.
Commenting on the project Design Manager Gerard McFarlane commented “The exhibition space we built houses documents that bring history “out of the abstract and into the everyday,” allowing visitors to encounter the lives of families and communities from almost a century ago.”
The exhibition has been designed to travel internationally, with planned visits to London and Boston, followed by a national tour across Ireland in partnership with local authorities emphasizing the importance of building robust, adaptable and reusable exhibition infrastructure from the outset.
Contract manager Martin McErlean commented “This project was completed within an extremely tight deadline in a live public venue, within strict conservation constraints, and to the highest exhibition standards. It was a challenging but rewarding project to help create the physical setting for such an important moment in Ireland’s history.”
