4 Fascinating Nontraditional Museums in Dublin Everyone Should Visit
McDonnell's Whiskey Bar in the Irish Whiskey Museum
The Irish Whiskey Museum
If you’re in Dublin (and over 18) you’re going to be drinking. If you’d like to know a little more about what you’re drinking, this is the place to go. The Irish Whiskey Museum is unaffiliated with any of the particular breweries in Ireland, allowing for a more comprehensive examination of whiskeys from around the Emerald Isle.
Book a classic tour for a lesson on the history of Irish whiskey, and make sure to arrive a bit early however, and stop by McDonnell’s Whiskey Bar in the front, which serves a practically perfect Irish coffee and an extensive selection of whiskeys and assorted cocktails as you wait for your guide.
When the tour begins, you’ll be lead through four rooms representing four different periods of Irish history, as your guide tells you all about the role of whiskey in Irish culture and how brewing has evolved over centuries. At the end of the tour, you’ll wind up in their tasting bar where you’ll be lead through a flight of three whiskeys from breweries across the island and taught techniques for scenting, tasting, and evaluating spirits. Book a premium tour for a fourth whiskey and a souvenir glass, and if you’re ever visiting again, feel free to return - they change their selection every month.
The entrance to the EPIC Museum.
EPIC (The Irish Emigration Museum)
The Irish diaspora is far reaching - many American at the very leas know someone who is at least a little Irish. The EPIC museum takes visitors on an immersive journey through 20 interactive exhibits exploring emigrants’ stories and experiences. Grab a passport as you enter and make sure to stamp it as you pass through each room for a fun (and easily packed) souvenir, and when you reach the end, those who are that little bit Irish can stop by the Irish Family History Centre, where you can trace your family history and reconnect with the places and stories they originated from.
On the self guided tour, explore why emigrants left Ireland, and find where they went. learn about the global impact of the Irish diaspora in sports, music, culture, science and numerous other fields.
A statue has marked its page with a flower in the MoLI gardens.
The MoLI
The Museum of Literature Ireland is an interactive celebration of Irish poets and writers. Located in the historic UCD Newman House, the MoLI (which you will often hear pronounced “Molly”) contains incredible artifacts of Ireland’s rich literary history, including the first printed copy of James Joyce’s Ulysses. There are multimedia exhibitions highlighting historic writers as well as the modern authors that are keeping the Irish literary tradition alive and well. There are chances for visitors to flex their own writing muscles. The MoLI’s rotating exhibition pays homage to Irish authors one at a time, and currently features a beautiful examination of Oscar Wilde’s De Profundis, the letter he wrote to Lord Alfred Douglas from Reading Gaol reflecting on love and anger and their relationship.
If you have the time, sit and relax in the Museum gardens, a lovely green space hidden away from the city connected to the Iveagh Gardens, If the weather allows, the Commons Cafe also places some outdoor seating there, serving coffee, tea, and a number of very delicious pastries and cakes. It’s the perfect place for a beverage and a book on a sunny day in Dublin.
You can keep up with the Museum of Literature Ireland from afar via RadioMoLI, their digital radio station exploring Ireland’s rich literary landscape
Storyteller addresses his audience on the Darklands experience.
The National Leprechaun Museum
Contrary to the name, this museum actual was not about leprechauns in particular! Rather, it was a celebration of Irish storytelling traditions and folklore.
The tour consists of a live performance of Irish legends and myths in the oral tradition they were born from. For adult visitors, book the Darklands experience for the darker stories of less than benevolent faeries. The tours are just under an hour long, and each storyteller chooses which tales to tell making each performance different than the last. As the museum is focused on keeping traditional oral storytelling practices alive, the space is far from a traditional museum. There are no artifacts or plaques, but rather a series of immersive rooms designed to keep your focus on your guide as they share these tales with you.
