The Connecticut Attorney's General's Office will keep a Skibbereen Eagle eye on the moving, but will not interfere with the transfer of the Great Hunger collection at Quinnipiac University to new facilities operated by the Gaelic American Club of Fairfield.
That is the essence of a decision by the AG's office in the aftermath of the agreement between Quinnipiac and the GAC.
That said, and according to a report in the New Haven Register, Quinnipiac "likely will be required to seek court permission before an outside organization can take over the charitable gifts in the art collection that once comprised Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum."
This is according to the state Office of the Attorney General.
Added the Register report: "But nearly a year after it announced its inquiry into the controversial fate of the collection, the agency does not appear to oppose Quinnipiac’s plan to transfer the artwork, and a university spokesperson has said Quinnipiac is pleased with the results of the probe.
"The attorney general’s office will, however, monitor the status of the collection until the transfer is complete, Assistant Attorney General Gary Hawes wrote in an Aug. 16 letter addressed to Quinnipiac’s counsel."
The closure of the museum by Quinnipiac, and uncertainty over the future of its Great Hunger collection, caused upset and uproar in the Irish American community.
And if the initial uproar and upset has died down, there is still a degree of uncertainty pending relocation of the entire Great Hunger collection in a home.
As the Register reported, an attorney for the Committee to Save Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum, a group that fought the university’s decision, called on state Attorney General William Tong to investigate.
That he did and his office opened a probe in October of last year. Now it has concluded.
Reported the Register: "Hawes’ letter, dated Aug. 16 and shared with Hearst Connecticut Media by the state attorney general’s office, comes 10 months after the agency’s probe began and references Quinnipiac’s plan to transfer the collection to the Gaelic-American Club of Fairfield.
"Under that plan, which was announced in March, the club would open and operate a new museum in downtown Fairfield while maintaining an educational partnership with Quinnipiac.
"The proposed location of the new museum is at 636 Old Post Road in Fairfield, according to Hawes’ letter, which indicates the would-be recipients recently have established an organization called Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield Inc.
"John Foley, a Gaelic-American Club official who has driven efforts to establish a new museum, is president of that organization. It was formed in early March, according to Connecticut’s online business database.
"The group 'has various tasks to complete prior to a transfer of the Collection, including securing both the property … to house the Collection and the funding to support all needed aspects of acquiring the Collection and running a museum,' Hawes’ letter says."
Quinnipiac, added the report, also must go through a legal process known as an "equitable deviation action" before the new museum can take over the charitable assets in the collection, this according to the letter.
A spokesman for Attorney General Tong's office told the Register that ultimately, it is the court’s decision who will replace an existing trustee.
“In order for the gift assets to be legally transferred, QU will likely be required to seek a court order for the transfer through an equitable deviation action.”
In the meantime, the attorney general’s office has recommended that the art be used in temporary exhibitions so as to “allow the artwork and the story behind the collection to continue to be told while the (Fairfield-based museum) prepares to take possession of the collection,” this according to another statement from the attorney general’s office.
Quinnipiac University reacted positively to the Attorney General's determination.
"We are pleased the AG’s office has completed its review of the information provided by Quinnipiac and is supportive of our continued work with Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum of Fairfield to ensure the proper legal transfer of the collection," said Quinnipiac University spokesman John Morgan.
"Having IGHM of Fairfield serve as the new home enables the collection to remain intact, places it in the heart of an already vibrant Irish-American community in Connecticut, and preserves the story of the Irish Great Hunger and its vital historical significance for future generations," Morgan told the Echo.
"A temporary exhibit is being planned for Sept. 17-Oct.16 at the Fairfield Museum and History Center in Fairfield, which is one block from the location of the new museum that will be created by IGHM of Fairfield.
"The exhibition will feature nearly 30 pieces from the IGHM collection and is an important way we ensured continued access to the collection, and promotion of the historical significance of The Great Hunger, while the new museum is being planned. We are also exploring additional temporary exhibits in the new year that will visit other communities."
Turlough McConnell, spokesman for the Committee to Save Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum - which argued for the collection to remain in its existing museum building, and regardless of where it ended up that it remained intact - was also satisfied with the the Attorney General's finding.
“We’re really pleased that the Office of the Attorney General really took their time and really investigated all aspects of the case” and decided “to hold Quinnipiac responsible for the right outcome of the collection,” he told the Register.
