Little Museum of Dublin is a people’s museum in Dublin, located at 15 St.Stephens Green, Dublin, Ireland. The museum is located in an 18th century Georgian house, owned by Dublin City Council.
A folk museum
As a civic museum of the city of Dublin, the Little Museum chronicles the history of the city in the 20th century. It gives visitors an intimate and informative insight into life in Dublin during this time period. Little Museum “idea” by director Trevor White and curator Simon O’Connor, was formed in April 2011 and officially opened its doors to the public in October of the same year. [1] A registered charity, the Museum is governed by a board consisting of representatives Dublin City Council and Fáilte Ireland, the national tourism development authority.
The museum has a collection of over 5,000 artifacts that have been donated or borrowed directly from the people of Dublin. It has three floors of exhibition space in the Georgian city home, a floor for office, and an acclaimed Irish pub, Hatch & Sons Irish kitchen in the basement. Areas of interest in the museum’s exhibitions include 1916 Rising, US President John F. Kennedy’s visit to Dublin, and many other groundbreaking events in Irish political and social history. The museum has also recently opened a new exhibition that focuses exclusively on the success of the rock band U2. [2]
The museum also offers the “I Love Dublin” classes for school children aged 6-17, and a tourist greeter program, City of a thousand welcomes. The program is a “citizen’s initiative” which connects first-time visitors to Dublin with a local “ambassador” who welcomes them by taking them out for a cup of tea or a pint. During the tour the ambassadors tell their guests about the city and introduce them to Ireland’s “outstanding hospitality.” [3] The program has been very successful so far; Sydney Morning Herald describing it as “the best free thing to do in Europe.” [4]
The museum received a new wave of publicity when it bought an archive of work by the artist and poet Christy Brown. As March 19, 2014 Little Museum and the National Library of Ireland was proud co-owner of a collection that includes private letters and previously unseen sketches, paintings and poems. The collection was sold by Bonhams in London for nearly € 45,000. [5]
Patron of the small museum include Dublin City Council, Dublin Regional Authority, Fáilte Ireland, the Merrion Hotel and Porter Bars. [6]
Awards and attention
In 2012, the little Museum of Dublin nominated for the European Museum of the Year Award.
In May 2013 the Irish Times described the small museum that “the best museum experience in Dublin”. [7] In 2014 TripAdvisor awarded the small museum with a Certificate of Excellence for the third consecutive year. They rank the small museum as # 10 attractions to see in Dublin, [8] making it the second most popular museum in Dublin. In February 2014 the museum won the David Manley Award for new entrepreneurs in the category Arts. [9]
Over 25,000 people visited the small museum in the first full year of operation. In 2013 the figure was 51,500, an increase of 114%.
References
- Jump up ^ “Visit the small museum, says Ethine Owens’ Ethine Owens in Vulgo, retrieved 17 July 2013.
- Jump up ^ “U2: Made in Dublin” Retrieved March 20, 2014
- Jump up ^ city of a thousand welcomes
- Jump up ^ “Warning: Dip Ahead” Jane Reddy, June 30, 2013 in the Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
- Jump up ^ Christy Brown Collection saved
- Jump up ^ “The Little Museum of Dublin” Ask about Ireland, retrieved 17 July 2013.
- Jump up ^ “Best of … Culture” Rosa Abbott and Daniel Gray May 18, 2013 in the Irish Times. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
- Jump up ^ “The Little Museum of Dublin” About, retrieved July 17, 2013.
- Jump up ^ “David Manley Award Winners’ retrieved 20 March 2014