The office of the Attorney General in Connecticut, William Tong, has opened an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the closure of the Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University, and the mounting concerns over the fate of its world class collection of Great Hunger displays and artifacts.
The New Haven Register and the Hartford Courant both reported the latest development in a story that has caused deepening concern in the Irish American community in recent months.
Supporters of the museum are to gather outside the museum tomorrow, Saturday, in what is being billed as a "salute" to the museum and what it represents.
The Register reported that the future of the Great Irish Hunger Museum’s collection remained up in the air Thursday as Attorney General William Tong opened an inquiry and a group trying to prompt Quinnipiac University to reopen the institution planned a rally.
Elizabeth Benton, director of communications for Tong’s office, said in a statement, when asked about the museum, that an inquiry regarding the matter was ongoing.
“I can confirm we have an open and ongoing inquiry into this matter,” she said in a email. She declined further comment.
According to the report, Attorney Michael McCabe, representing the Committee to Save the Great Irish Hunger Museum, sent a letter to Tong in August calling for him to investigate the closure of the museum “as it involves selling or disbursing” the collection, which is the property of a nonprofit and was bolstered through the gifts of past donors.
In a statement, John Morgan, associate vice president for public relations at Quinnipiac, said the university is “not selling any” of the collection.
“It’s important to note that the closing of the museum’s space in Hamden is not the closing of the incredible collection or of the story of the Great Hunger,” said Morgan. “We are committed to finding a solution for display of the collection that will ensure it remains publicly accessible, advances the museum’s original mission, and preserves the story of the Great Hunger.”
Morgan, according to the Register report, said Thursday that despite a fundraising effort that spanned three years, the museum had “only generated enough support and revenue to cover one-quarter of its operating budget, averaging fewer than 20 visitors a day in the full year before COVID,” prompting the decision by the school’s board of trustees.
Morgan said the university was “being responsive to the Attorney General’s Office and will provide the necessary information requested about Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, including relevant policies about gifts, any donations that were received, and the financial operations of the museum.”
On Thursday, the Hartford Courant reported that an investigation was underway "into the shuttered Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum at Quinnipiac University after a group fighting for its reopening raised questions with the state about the future of the museum’s collection."
Stated the report: "Michael McCabe, a member of the Irish Heritage Society of Milford, sent a letter to Connecticut Attorney General William Tong asking him to investigate the closure as it might involve “selling or disbursing" Ireland’s Great Hunger Collection, the property of non-profit, 501(c)(3) institution.
“Furthermore,” the letter stated, “donors want to know what happens to their gifts of artwork and money to a museum that is now closed.”
Added the Courant report: "The school’s board of trustees unanimously voted in August to permanently close the Hamden museum. In a virtual town hall that month, Quinnipiac University President Judy Olian blamed the closure on three consecutive years of low attendance and insufficient fundraising.
The plan, Olian said at that town hall, is to distribute the museum’s collection to other museums."
Quinnipiac spokesman, John Morgan, told the Echo earlier this week that there had been no change in the museum's current status of being closed and that the university continued to actively seek partners going forward.
Quinnipiac has previously stated that the museum and its collection could end up being moved to a new location but, to date, there has been no firm indication as to where a new location might be.
Saturday's salute is set for 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. rain or shine and organizers say there will be music entertainment, food and refreshment, during the gathering.
