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Minister approves plans for multimillion-pound museum in Derry-Londonderry
Originally planned as a maritime museum, the project’s remit has now expanded to tell a broader range of stories
Northern Ireland’s minister for infrastructure has given the final sign-off to plans for a major new museum in Derry-Londonderry’s Ebrington Square, which will have a broader focus than originally intended.
The Derry-Londonderry North Atlantic (DNA) Museum project has been in the works since 2012, but has faced a series of delays since then after the collapse of power-sharing in the devolved government.
A new executive was finally formed in January this year, with Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill as serving as Northern Ireland’s first minister.
Derry City and Strabane District Council secured the necessary £13m in funding in February of this year from sources including Tourism Northern Ireland and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
The venue, which will be housed in a former hospital building, was originally proposed as a maritime museum, focusing on two distinct events in the city’s history: the wave of emigration from the city’s port starting in the late 18th century, and the city’s crucial role in the Battle of the Atlantic during the second world war, as the place where about 60 German U-boats surrendered in May 1945 and the westernmost allied port in Europe.
The council still plans to explore these events, but will expand the museum’s focus to other themes relating to the people of the city. The name DNA relates both to the relationship between the city and the North Atlantic, and to the genetic acronym DNA.
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The six permanent galleries will take a non-chronological approach and focus on themes such as the role of women in Derry-Londonderry, the city’s textile industry, and cultural responses to the Troubles.
Margaret Edwards, the council’s museum services manager, said: “Since this project has been in the works for so long, we’ve had time to reflect on what we want to achieve. We want to answer the question ‘what makes this city what it is today’, and relate the past to the present through links to contemporary issues like migration.”
The museum will also make use of 400 years of city archives through its free Archive Discovery Room, where an in-house archivist and genealogist will be available to help members of the public with an interest in family or local history.
It is hoped that the museum will open to the public in autumn 2026.