History and Art

National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology

Kildare Street, Central Dublin, Free

Tuesday to Saturday 10am-5pm Sunday and Monday 1pm-5pm.

A traditional victorian museum mostly about the prehistoric-to-medieval history of Ireland. Some great exhibits, including some very shiny treasure hoards.

National Museum of Ireland - Natural History

Merrion Street, Central Dublin, Free

Tuesday to Saturday 10am-5pm Sunday and Monday 1pm-5pm.

It’s being refurbished at the moment, so only the ground floor might be open.

Known locally as “The Dead Zoo” it’s a very victorian collection of taxidermied animals, interspersed with the occasional skeleton. The presentation is updated a little to talk about environments and local wildlife, but it’s mostly a 19th Century big game hunters paradise.

National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts & History

Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Central Dublin, Free

Tuesday to Saturday 10am-5pm Sunday and Monday 1pm-5pm.

North of the Liffey, towards Phoenix Park

Historic buildings, with exhibitions of Irish geology, design over the centuries, fashion and jewellery and military history. There’s a lot to see.

The Little Museum of Dublin

15 Stephen’s Green, Central Dublin, €13-ish

9am - 5pm

In a Georgian house overlooking Stephen’s Green, it’s a lot of more modern history. They do guided tours throughout the day, and an adults-only tour (with wine, and probably less kid-friendly banter) after they close.

Well worth a visit.

Also the base for several local walking tours and treasure hunts around the local area.

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

The CHQ Building, Custom House Quay, Docklands

10am - 6:45pm (last entry 5pm)

High tech, multimedia exhibitions rather than artifacts. It’s what being Irish means through the stories of people who’ve emigrated. Lots of fascinating stories (including how Irish experts seeded whiskey and wine industries in Scotland and France).

It’s in the CHQ building, which has several cafes and fast casual food places, and Urban Brewing, a brewpub with good food.

MoLI Museum of Literature Ireland

86 Stephen’s Green, Central Dublin, €12

10:30am - 6pm

Everything you’d want to know about Irish storytelling in a beautiful Georgian townhouse.

Lovely gardens and a decent outside cafe accessible both from the museum and from the adjacent Iveagh Gardens park.

Merrion Square West, Central Dublin, Free

Monday: 11am – 5.30pm
Tuesday and Wednesday 9.15am – 5.30pm
Thursday 9.15am – 8.30pm
Friday and Saturday 9.15am – 5.30pm
Sunday 11am – 5.30pm

Beautiful art.

Book of Kells

Trinity College Dublin, Central Dublin, €18

Monday to Saturday 8:30am - 5pm Sunday 9:30am - 5pm

An exhibition about the Book of Kells, and the book itself. Also the Long Room, an amazing library that’s the model for a lot of the fantasy and sci-fi libraries you’ve seen.

Spectacular, busy, definitely book online.

Dublin Castle

Dame Street, Central Dublin, €8

9:45am - 5:45pm

A 13th Century castle, built on the area of a previous Viking settlement. Most of it burned down in the 15 Century and it was rebuilt into a Georgian palace. You can still see the excavated Viking foundations, the medieval (1204) castle tower and the state apartments.

Well worth a visit, maybe take the guided tour.