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BreakingNews.ie
a day ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
The Little Museum of Dublin reopens after €4.3m makeover
The Little Museum of Dublin has reopened after undergoing a €4.3 million makeover. The St Stephen's Green attraction will officially open to the public again on Thursday with thousands of artefacts telling the story of the city, from a model of the Dart to old phones and U2 memorabilia. Advertisement Visitors can look forward to enjoying an expanded and reimagined exhibition space, a new reception area, a new youth education space, an integrated lift to improve accessibility, a sun-trap patio and an enriched collection of artefacts donated by the people of Ireland. The museum will open seven days a week from 9.30am-5.00pm offering guided tours every 40 minutes. In addition, a new daily walking tour, The Little Walking Tour of St Stephen's Green, will take place each afternoon at 2.15pm. The reimagining of the museum was part funded by Fáilte Ireland, along with the Department of Tourism and Culture, Dublin City Council, and corporate and individual funders. Mary Stack from Fáilte Ireland said enhancing attractions like the Little Museum of Dublin delivers tangible economic benefits for the city. Advertisement "With projected visitor numbers expected to rise to over 215,000 annually by 2035, this redevelopment is set to generate an economic impact of €24.7 million over the next decade," she said. "Fáilte Ireland is proud to have supported this transformative project, which ensures the museum remains a flagship destination in the capital and one that continues to inspire, educate, and contribute meaningfully to Dublin's tourism economy." Sarah Clancy, chief executive of the Little Museum of Dublin, said her team had managed to reimagine the museum for generations to come. "We are so proud to be reopening our doors and welcoming guests back into our newly renovated and accessible museum at 15 St. Stephen's Green," she said. "There are some incredible artefacts on display from the first ever medal awarded to William Deans under the states Bravery Act 1947, to Mary McAleese's First Holy Communion Rosary beads donated by the President herself." Emma Blain, Lord Mayor of Dublin, said: 'I am delighted to see the Little Museum of Dublin on St Stephens Green reopen its doors after two years. It is such a great addition to the city centre bringing Dublin to life in a very real way."
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Little Museum of Dublin to reopen after year-long €4.3m makeover
The Little Museum of Dublin is set to reopen this week after a year-long, €4.3 million makeover. The museum's Georgian town house at 15 St Stephen's Green has been made fully accessible on all floors, and the interior has been refurbished and redecorated. But the contents, a gloriously eccentric and eclectic clutter of ephemera, charting the life and times of some of Dublin's great characters and events, remain largely unchanged, though much enhanced. It's a visitor experience that has made the Little Museum one of Europe's most popular destinations. READ MORE 'We are just behind the Acropolis and ahead of the British Museum [on Tripadvisor],' says director Trevor White. 'It's a handmade museum – people want to touch, feel and handle exhibits and that openness really resonates with our guests.' The refurbishment, which was part financed by Dublin City Council , the Department of Culture , Fáilte Ireland and private donations, has allowed for the introduction of new items, as well as reimagining popular displays, including the U2 -dominated Made in Dublin music room, which now has a striking maquette of Vera Klute 's head statue of Luke Kelly, his face looming out of a spotlit dark corner. New items also include Tara's Palace, a 2.5 metre by 4 metre miniature modelled on Leinster House (among others) that was in storage for years following its departure from Powerscourt House in Wicklow. The palace dominates a ground floor-over-basement room devoted to Georgian Dublin. Last weekend, contractors added the finishing touches to the refurbishment as head of museum design Dara Flynn and deputy curator Daryl Hendley Rooney reset the displays, aided by former Little Museum curator Simon O'Connor, until recently director of the Museum of Literature . The entrance to the museum is via the basement, off which a tiny rear garden will be home to an old K1 telephone box. A stairwell devoted to former Dublin lord mayor Alfie Byrne leads to the Little Library, a non-fiction archive and reading area. [ Tourism slump continues - April data shows decline in visitor numbers Opens in new window ] Adjoining the Tara's Palace/Georgian Dublin room on the ground floor is an Animals of Dublin room, aimed at primary schoolchildren. Brendan Bracken and Christy Brown dominate the stairwell returns up through the house. A first floor room overlooking Stephen's Green is dedicated to Dublin – from Victorian times through the city's Little Jerusalem Jewish quarter, Oscar Wilde , Nelson's Pillar and the 1916 revolutionary era. Other new items are more personal in origin. When Frankfurt-based lawyer Claire Lloyd was home in Glasgow last year to visit her father Christopher Thomson, he handed her an envelope, remarking: 'You'll like this.' Inside, there was a copy of a cartoon showing a rather portly fellow riding a bicycle while simultaneously tapping, two-finger style, on a portable typewriter balanced on the handlebars, pipe in mouth and a large-brimmed hat perched on his head. Nearby, the scene also depicted a policeman looking on, slightly aghast at the spectacle. A handwritten note across the top of the cartoon read: 'Irish Tatler sketch. December 1940.' And across the bottom was added: 'Really, it is somewhat libellous!' The writer identified himself merely as 'B'. [ In the editor's chair: RM Smyllie's life and Irish Times Opens in new window ] Another of the envelope's contents was a tiny newspaper cutting, a single column short, as small news items used to be known in newspapers, this one a mere 12 lines long. 'Honour for Irish Journalist,' said the headline. The piece recorded that on February 5th, 1939, the president of the Czecho-Slovak Republic, as it was known then, had conferred the honour of Officer of the Order of the White Lion on none other than 'Mr R M Smyllie, Editor of The Irish Times'. This too had a handwritten note. 'A Timida, a chara!' it said. 'I know this will interest you,' and it was signed 'Bertie'. It was posted to Ms Lloyd's great grandmother's cousin, Alexandra Smyllie, with whom Robert Maire Smyllie, known as Bertie Smyllie , corresponded regularly. Glasgow and Ayrshire-based Alexandra was evidently a little introverted, hence the Latin greeting – a timida – meaning shy one. Glasgow born but Sligo reared, Bertie Smyllie was a huge figure in Dublin. As editor, he shepherded The Irish Times from its soft, middle-of-the-road unionist background outlook, to one of being comfortable with, and accepting of, Irish independence. In the process, he imbued the paper with a distinctive literary bent, giving free rein to characters like Brian O'Nolan, aka Flann O'Brien , who wrote a column as Myles na gCopaleen. Smyllie's place in Irish history was a revelation to Ms Lloyd and her father. 'We had no idea,' she said during a recent visit to Ireland, including to Delgany Golf Club where Smyllie was captain in 1945 and 1946. 'I remember my grandmother telling me about him back in the 1980s when I was a child, ie, 'You know about Bertie, don't you? Bertie went to Ireland. He was a journalist.' Or 'Bertie was an editor. He worked for The Irish Times.' That was all I knew, and I forgot about him over the years ... until recently when we came across a few documents, letters and clippings in my grandmother's old files.' The cartoon and award story are now in the museum's Irish Times room, along with other items from the newspaper's history (including Smyllie's famous V-for-victory front page with which he wrong-footed the paper's wartime censor) and several new items, notably from former foreign correspondent Conor O'Clery 's distinguished career. A Chesterfield couch will encourage visitors to delve into books by Irish Times writers or just lounge a while, viewing Martyn Turner cartoons or photographs selected by retired picture editor Brenda Fitzsimons , and other newspaper ephemera. Beside the Irish Times room is at the top of the house will be rotating exhibition space – a selection of Mick Brown's photographs of Dublin from the 1960s through to the early 2000s and, later, an exhibition marking 200 years of the Coombe Hospital. The museum has one tiny room, space for a single chair and just one person. The occupant will be able to watch, on screen, as Mary Merritt, a survivor of a Magdalene Laundry, talks on camera about her life, much of it memorialised in the groundbreaking play, You Can Leave at Any Time. All part of the mosaic of Dublin. The Little Museum reopens to the public on Thursday
The Irish Sun
30-04-2025
- The Irish Sun
Major family-friendly attraction with storytelling and ‘flair' to return to Dublin city after €4.3million transformation
A TOP-ranked family-friendly attraction will return to its original Dublin home ahead of the busy summer season. The Little Museum of 4 Bosses said this is a 'very important moment' Credit: littlemuseumofdublin 4 The Little Museum is returning to its original home in Stephen's Green Credit: littlemuseumofdublin Housed in a historic building, the museum offers a glimpse into the capital's long and fascinating Using storytelling, immersive performance, and real historical artefacts, the team offers fascinating guided tours. The museum was originally housed in a stunning Georgian However, it was moved to Pembroke Street in order to make way for renovations. Read more in Travel But the upgrades are almost finished and the delighted team behind the project have announced a return to their original home. The authentic Georgian house has now been upgraded to feature even more attractions than before. As well as guided tours and historically accurate rooms, it now boasts "expanded and reimagined exhibition spaces". There is also a new recreational area as well as a sun trap patio that is perfect for summer. Most read in News Travel And to make sure the museum is inclusive, there's been a lift installed so the exhibitions are accessible for everyone. Plus, there's a whole new collection of artefacts donated by the people of The renovations cost a whopping €4.3million but creators called the improvements "remarkable". The museum is highly acclaimed both at home and abroad. It's been crowned the "Number one thing to do" on Tripadvisor, and on the same site, it ranked number 12 out of 25 top European attractions. Tickets are already on sale ahead of the busy summer season. And bosses have announced that the museum will reopen in June. From then on, it will be open seven days a week from 9.30am until 5pm. There will be guided tours offered every 40 minutes. There is also a new walking tour available attached to the museum called The Little Walking Tour of Stephen's Green, which will take place at 2.15pm every day. Chair of the Little Museum of Dublin, Rhona Mahony said: "After a wonderful sojourn in Pembroke Street, the Little Museum is returning and reopening its doors at our beloved House on St Stephen's Green. "We have completed a major redevelopment of the Museum so that we can host our guests and friends in a facility with universal access and enhanced exhibition and education resources. "We were lucky to have a lot of help with our renovations and I am exceptionally grateful to our patrons in Fáilte Ireland, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Dublin City Council. "We are also incredibly grateful to our wonderful corporate and individual funders. "This is a very important moment in the life of the Little Museum of Dublin and we are very excited that our new facilities will help us fulfil our mission to educate, entertain and captivate guests and friends of all ages from all over the world. "Through the power of story and exhibition, we hope to introduce visitors to the rich and fascinating history of Dublin and to introduce everyone to the wit and charm of the great Dublin characters. "Most of all we want everyone to come and have fun and to feel at home in our home." 4 The museum has a whole new collection of artefacts Credit: littlemuseumofdublin 4 Tickets are now available for the guided tour Credit: littlemuseumofdublin
