[6][7] During the 1902 exhibition (a type of "world's fair"), the house hosted visiting dignitaries and royalty such as Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.

[6] Part-used as a local authority air-raid protection office[6] and shelter,[3] the museum partially closed during "The Emergency" (WWII) and reopened in 1945.

[9] A single-storey extension was added ahead of Cork's tenure as European City of Culture 2005, and includes increased exhibition space and a café.

[11][12] Exhibits focus on the archaeological record of the Cork area, including finds from excavations around the city's medieval walls,[13] as well as the economic and municipal history of the city, such as civic regalia and artefacts covering the merchant history of the Port of Cork.

[14][15] Other displays include Bronze Age mining tools from copper mines in West Cork, locally discovered Iron Age helmet horns (the Cork horns), and ancient Greek and Egyptian artefacts.