Richard Harris exhibition with ‘never-before-seen items’ to come to Limerick

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June 9 UP DATED BY WATCHERS JULY 2025.

A UNIQUE exhibition showcasing the life and career of Limerick born actor and singer Richard Harris is coming to the Hunt Museum this Summer.

The vivid exhibition takes place from July 4 to November 16 and is entitled ‘From ‘Dickie to Richard’ – Richard Harris: Role of a Lifetime’.

It features never-before-seen materials including personal letters, annotated scripts, recordings and rare photographs.

A collaboration between the Harris Family, the Hunt Museum and University College Cork (UCC), this immersive exhibition draws on the rich treasures of the Harris Archive, donated by the actor’s family to UCC in 2022.

Born in 1930, Harris is best known for his role as Frank Machin   in This Sporting Life, for which he won Best Actor at The Cannes Film Festival (1963).

He was nominated for the Academy Award twice, in 1964 for This Sporting Life and in 1991 for The Field.

He won The Golden Globe for his portrayal as King Arthur in the 1968 film Camelot, and later in his life went on to portray the role in the 1981 revival of the stage musical. He died in October 2002.

Damien, Jared and Jamie Harris, speaking on behalf of the family, said ‘Richard was a prolific writer and kept everything: Poems. Short stories. Scripts. Whether finished or works in progress. This exhibition gives people a sense of the depth and humour behind the public image. It means a lot to us to see it begin here, in Limerick.”

Teresa Crowley, CEO of the Hunt Museum said the exhibition feels like a homecoming for Richard.

 “It not only honours his extraordinary career but celebrates his Limerick, Munster, and Irish roots, offering the public a unique opportunity to explore his artistic and sporting world in the city where his journey began.”

More details and how to purchaRichard Harris exhibition opens in Limerick’s Hunt Museum

Arts and Media Correspondent

A new exhibition of photographs, videos and many personal items depicting the life of the late actor Richard Harris has opened in Limerick city.

The display, called ‘Dickie to Richard’, in The Hunt Museum tells the story of his life from childhood to his successful acting career.

It also includes the cloak he wore while playing wizard Dumbledore in the Harry Potter series.

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Watch: Richard Harris exhibition opens in Limerick city

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Director and CEO of the Hunt Museum Teresa Crowley said that the exhibition has been in development over the last three years and that it is the result of a collaboration between the Harris family, University College Cork and the museum.

Following his death in 2002, his family donated the actor’s archive to UCC.

“We thought of his life like a stick of rock, with very strong threads running through his entire life, his love for his family, his creative pursuits and his global stardom,” Ms Crowley said.

She said this helped create the pathway for the story of the exhibition.

Richard Harris was born in 1930 and grew up in a happy, prosperous household in Limerick.

He was fifth in a family of eight children.

He was educated at the Jesuit Crescent College where he excelled at rugby, but contracted TB in his late teens, which kept him bedridden for two years.

Mr Harris later said that it was during that convalescence that he turned to literature and developed a lifelong love for the written word, which translated into his interest in performing.

Moving to London in 1955, he trained at the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts.

He then met the influential theatre director Joan Littlewood who cast him in The Quare Fellow by Brendan Behan in 1956.

He then started getting some work in television, but it was his role as Frank, the classic angry young man in the 1963 movie ‘This Sporting Life’ that started his journey to film stardom.

He won ‘Best Actor’ at the Cannes Film Festival that year for his role in the film.

His global break came on the back of his role as King Arthur in Camelot.

The crown he used in the film is also included in the exhibition.

He went on to be cast in a number of films and his career spanned decades.

Other roles included The Field, Gladiator, A Man Called Horse, Unforgiven and Patriot Games.

His son Jared Harris, who is also an acclaimed actor, came to Limerick to open the exhibition.

Mr Harris said that his father was “a larger than life character, adding that “in many ways he had to restrain his personality for the camera”.

He said that “to get the full effect of his personality, you had to see him either on stage, in a theatre piece, because then he just filled up the room”.

Jared Harris said it was his role as Dumbledore in Harry Potter that introduced his father to a new generation and he is delighted that Dumbledore’s costume is in the exhibition.

He said that the importance of his Limerick roots was always important to his father.

Richard Harris was often spotted wearing a Munster rugby jersey.

“He loved being brought right back, to who he was as a kid, as a young man,” Jared Harris said.

“This is where his identity was forged and where that dream started, if you like,” he added.

The exhibition runs until November in the Hunt Museum.

se tickets can be found on The Hunt Museum website.