This Little Museum of Dublin is making a big impact

The last morning of our visit to Dublin, Ireland was a cold and rainy one. Yet, in the manner of intrepid tourists, we made our way to Grafton Street, the central plaza in the heart of the city, to partake in a breakfast of champions at its most famed establishment, Bewley’s Café. Having had our fill of delicious eggs, meat and bread washed down with coffee and hot chocolate, we still had an hour to explore the walking street before leaving for the airport.

Since the rain was coming down hard, the prospect of shopping — which is what this area is best known for — wasn’t very attractive. So, we attempted to hail a cab back to our place when an imposing Georgian townhouse, just off Grafton Street, caught our eye. The structure was clearly built in the heyday of English architecture in the 18th and 19th centuries when four King Georges sat on the throne. Apart from the building’s regal atmosphere, it was a standee declaring the name of this establishment — The Little Museum of Dublin — that grabbed our attention. We decided to investigate.

Once inside, we were told that we must pay (15 euros for adults and 13 euros for children) for a guided tour of 30 minutes in order to see the permanent collection. Only a few rooms (on the ground floor and the topmost floor) were open for public viewing. Fortunately, their next tour, due to begin in 10 minutes, had free slots for us to join.

Despite our initial reluctance, I saw it as a sign from the (rain?!) gods and booked us in. While waiting for it to begin, we browsed through the ground floor of the museum, which offered a brief history of Georgian architecture and contained a gift shop. We also learned that the museum, which opened its doors in 2011, runs entirely on donations, ticket sales and the odd private event booking. Its collection consists of objects donated by Irish people, and the use of the building is courtesy the Dublin City Council.

The tour commenced with our group of 25 people being led up a stately wooden staircase to the Front Room. Our guide, a cheerful man named Eamon Culloty, was dressed in his Sunday best in a white three-piece suit with a topcoat, hat and cane, and looked right at home in this elegant backdrop.

The Front Room was decorated to look like a warm and cosy living room. We were encouraged to make ourselves comfortable on its lived-in furniture. Plenty of natural light flowed in through the large sash windows looking onto St Stephen’s Green, a lush park in the heart of the city, and the Wicklow mountains beyond it.

Culloty began his tour by telling us the story of the original owners of this mansion. He then shared the history of the city of Dublin from the twentieth century onwards, by pointing out photographs, artwork, sundry objects, furniture and other memorabilia placed around the room.

The oldest artefact dating back to 1900 was a black-and-white news clipping recording the visit of Queen Victoria to Dublin. There was also the first English print edition of James Joyce’s Ulysses from 1904, heart-wrenching images of hundreds of poor Irish children crammed into 15 tenements on Dublin’s Henrietta Street, portraits of national icons like poet and Nobel Laureate William Butler Yeats, and a signed order by the hero of the Irish independence movement Éamon de Valera. As a parting shot, Culloty pointed us towards the window, from which was visible the place where the Easter Rising of 1916, a fierce armed rebellion against British rule, took place.

From there, we were shepherded on to our next destination, the Back Room located on the same floor. The collection in this room showed the history of the country after its independence from the British. Items on display included a gas mask to represent the ones handed out to everyone during the Second World War, even though the Irish Free State remained neutral; a letter written by President John F Kennedy who visited the country in 1963 to much fanfare, owing to his Irish roots; and the famous portrait of Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara made by an artist from Dublin named Jim Fitzpatrick.

Throughout, Culloty peppered his factual discourse with funny anecdotes and thoughtful questions to keep the audience engaged. The 30-minute guided tour ended in this room, and we were encouraged to visit the free galleries on the second floor on our own. These included a room dedicated to Dublin’s most famous modern exports — members of the rock band U2. There was also ‘The Editor’s Room’ which displayed old issues and memorabilia from The Irish Times, which has been the favoured news publication of the Irish since its launch in 1859.

Having spent a fruitful three-quarters of an hour in this little museum, our party of four happily made its way back. The rain gods had decided to let up and we left the museum dry and having learned plenty about this little city full of heart.

Location: The Little Museum of Dublin 15 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, D02 Y066

Entry fee for guided tour: 15 euros for adults; 13 euros for students and children; special rates for event-specific tours. Tickets can be booked online before visiting.