Exploring the Museums of Dublin, Ireland

Dublin Writer’s Museum

This museum is located in a beautiful 18^th century house, in Parnell Square, and is devoted to many of Dublin’s famous writers. It contains information, books, letters, portraits and personal items from writers of the past 300 years. It describes itself as “a view of Irish literature from a Dublin perspective.”

For literary fanatics, this museum also contains the Gorham Library, which contains the reserve of books with rare and special collections. They also hold temporary exhibits an have a lunchtime theater.

National Museum of Ireland

This collective museum has free admission, and contains almost everything you would ever need to know about Ireland in its four locations (the Natural History one is closed now for renovations).

There is an Archaeology section, with over two million artifacts from all over the country, that date back to 7,000 BC through the late medieval period. The Decorative Arts and History part has weapons, furniture, silver, ceramics, clothing and glassware. Then there is the Country Life part, which represents the Irish country side with items that date back to the 1850s. The exhibits present the Irish folk life, showing festivals, customs, farming and fishing techniques, life in the home and more.

IMMA-Irish Museum of Modern Art

The IMMA is the leading art museum of Ireland, with all sorts of modern and contemporary art on display. The building itself is the 17^th century Royal Hospital Kilmainham, which was opened as the art museum in 1991. Most of the work comes from Ireland, France and the United States. The temporary exhibits have works like painting, sculpture, installation, photography, video and performance. The permanent collection has approximately 1,650 works, from Ireland and all over the world.

The Guinness Storehouse

If you move to Dublin to drink Guinness, you might as well find out about this beer! The storehouse claims to be the #1 international visitor attraction. The storehouse structure used to host the Guinness fermentation process up until 1998; the core of the building is modeled after a giant pint glass!

You will get to learn all about Arthur Guinness, the inventor of the drink, as well as about the ingredients used to make the beer. You also can learn about the brewing process, the memorabilia and advertising, and then learn how to successfully and correctly pour a pint of Guinness. The top (seventh) floor is a gravity bar where you can drink your complimentary pint after completing the tour.