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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
Irish Times
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Department of Foreign Affairs HQ targeted again by protesters
The Department of Foreign Affairs' headquarters in Dublin city centre has been daubed with red paint again. The paint, believed to be thrown in the early hours of Monday morning, covered the facade of Iveagh House on St Stephen's Green. Workers were present later on Monday washing the paint off the building. The department said it was aware of 'a security incident outside of Iveagh House early this morning'. 'An Garda Síochána was contacted and is actively following up on the matter,' a spokesman for the department said. READ MORE The incident comes after Gaza protest graffiti was daubed on Iveagh House last August. 'Gaza BDS now' – a reference to the international Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign led by supporters of the Palestinian cause against Israel – was painted in red on the building at the time. In November 2023, red paint was thrown on Iveagh House during a pro-Palestine demonstration. The then tánaiste and minister for foreign affairs, Micheál Martin, strongly criticised the act at the time and highlighted the role Irish diplomats have played in the Middle Eastern crisis.
BreakingNews.ie
26-05-2025
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Department of Foreign Affairs targeted with graffiti by Pro-Palestine group
The Department of Foreign Affairs' headquarters has been targeted with graffiti. Red paint was sprayed at the entrance to Iveagh House on St. Stephen's Green in Dublin, reading 'Pal Action Ireland - US Military Out of Shannon". The Department says it is aware of the incident, and gardaí are actively following up on the matter. In a post on X, they said "Two people painted the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin red, its windows and door during the night. "US Military out of Shannon", "Search the Planes" & "Palestine Action Éire" read in paint. They refuse to severe ties with the US-Israeli military supply chain!" BREAKING: 2 people painted the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin red; its windows and door during the night. "US Military out of Shannon", "Search the Planes" & "Palestine Action Éire" read in paint. They refuse to severe ties with the US-Israeli military supply chain! — Palestine Action Éire (@pal_action_eire) May 26, 2025 It comes as earlier this month the same group said three of its members were detained after they breached the perimeter of Shannon Airport. Advertisement Palestine Action Éire said three of its activists 'entered the airport runway' at Shannon in an attempt to inspect a US military plane. The airport suspended operations for an hour until 7:30pm. The three individuals were detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 at a Garda station in Co Clare. It is believed that a white van crossed a grass area on the main road into the airport and crashed through the perimeter fence. It is understood that a number of people wearing orange jump suits, hard hats and scarves over their faces then entered the airport's 'air side' area.
Irish Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Prime retail units on St Stephen's Green seeking occupiers
Having paid about €10.5 million earlier this year for the Stephen's Green Collection, a retail portfolio comprising numbers 2, 3 and 5 St Stephen's Green , and a separate mews building to the rear at 7 Anne's Lane, the Treacy Group has instructed agent Colliers to offer the properties to the letting market. While all three buildings occupy similarly high-profile positions next to Grafton Street and directly opposite the St Stephen's Green Luas green-line stop, number 3 St Stephen's is the best of the available properties. Previously occupied by the Oasis fashion chain, it comprises a large open-plan ground floor of 370sq m (4,000sq ft). It also features a distinctive triple-height bay window offering views over St Stephen's Green Park. The former PTSB branch occupying number 2 St Stephen's Green comprises four floors with a ground-floor area of 176sq m (1,900sq ft). It sits immediately adjacent to the premium fashion retail store operated by REISS at number 1 St Stephen's Green. The smallest of the available properties is number 5 St Stephen's Green, a former Coast store extending to 73sq m (780 sq ft) of split-level ground-floor trading space with additional accommodation at basement and at three upper levels. READ MORE With occupancy rates on Grafton Street and its immediate environs now approaching 100 per cent, Mervyn Ellis of Colliers expects the three St Stephen's Green units to attract attention from a number of national and international retailers who have outstanding requirements to open flagship Dublin stores. He says the most likely end users are expected to be fashion, athleisure and cosmetic brands. [ Lego Ireland grew revenue by 16% after opening second store here Opens in new window ] [ Leading solicitor's Dublin headquarters seeking €10m Opens in new window ] Notable recent market entrants on Grafton Street and its surrounds have included Alo Yoga, Lululemon, LEGO, Russell & Bromley, Carhartt, American Vintage, Tag Heuer, New Balance and Mont Blanc. The Treacy Group acquired the St Stephen's Green properties from Aviva's Irish Commercial Property Fund for about €10.5 million. The price paid represented a significant discount on the €13.5 million which had been guided by Savills when it offered the portfolio to the market. The Treacy Group are low-profile property developers and investors who have built up real estate holdings which include Newbridge Retail Park, The Courtyard shopping centre in Newbridge, Co Kildare, and the Showgrounds Shopping Centre in Clonmel, Co Tipperary.
