National Museum of Archaeology and History - Kildare Street, Dublin, Ireland - History Museums on Waymarking.com

The Tourist Information Dublin website tells us:

The National Museum of Ireland (Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann - Seandálaíocht" in Irish) is housed over 4 sites as follows:

•     Archaeology, Kildare Street, Dublin 2
•     Decorative Arts & History, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7
•     Natural History, Merrion Street, Dublin 2
•     Country Life, Turlough Park, Castlebar, Co. Mayo

The Archaeology department features displays on prehistoric Ireland, including early work in gold, church treasures and the Viking and medieval periods. Special exhibitions are regularly mounted.

The Archaeology section of the National Museum of Ireland houses such famous pieces as the 8th century Ardagh Chalice (pictured), the shrine of St Patrick's Bell from the 11th century (pictured) and the Tara Brooch, as well as the Broighter Gold Hoard and the Derrynaflan Hoard, all beautiful examples of early medieval metalwork in Ireland, as well as prehistoric ornaments from the Bronze Age in Ireland. Many of these pieces were found in the 19th century by peasants or agricultural labourers, when population expansion led to cultivation of land which had not been touched since the Middle Ages. Indeed, only for the intervention of George Petrie of the Royal Irish Academy, and other individuals from the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, most of the metalwork would have been melted down for the intrinsic value of its materials, and these priceless, historic items lost forever.

The museum's website further tells us:

The National Museum of Ireland was founded under the Dublin Science and Art Museum Act of 1877. Previously, the Museum’s collections had been divided between Leinster House, originally the headquarters of the Royal Dublin Society, and the Natural History Museum in Merrion Street, built as an extension to Leinster House in 1856 - 1857. Under the Act, the government purchased the museum buildings and collections. To provide storage and display space for the Leinster House collections, the government quickly implemented plans to construct a new, custom-built museum on Kildare Street and on 29 August 1890, the new museum opened its doors to the public.

The Building

The building, designed by Cork architects Thomas Newenham Deane and his son Thomas Manly Deane, is an architectural landmark. It is built in the Victorian Palladian style and has been compared with the Altes Museum in Berlin, designed by Karl Schinkel in the 1820s. Neo-classical influences can be seen in the colonnaded entrance and the domed rotunda, which rises to a height of 20 metres and is modelled on the Pantheon in Rome. Within the rotunda, classical columns – made of marble quarried in Counties Cork, Kilkenny, Galway, Limerick and Armagh – mirror the entrance.

In the great centre court, a balcony is supported by rows of slender cast-iron columns with elaborate capitals and bases decorated with groups of cherubs. On the balcony, further rows of plain columns and attractive openwork spandrels support the roof.

The interior is richly decorated with motifs that recall the civilisations of ancient Greece and Rome. Splendid mosaic floors depict scenes from classical mythology, of which the zodiac design in the rotunda is especially popular with visitors.

Particularly lavish are the majolica fireplaces and door surrounds manufactured by Burmantofts Pottery of Leeds, England, and the richly carved wooden doors by William Milligan of Dublin and Carlo Cambi of Siena, Italy.

Theme: Archaeology and cultural history of Ireland Street Address: Kildare Street Dublin Ireland Gift Shop: yes Hours of Operation: Tuesday to Saturday 10am-5pm Sunday 2pm- 5pm Closed Mondays (including Bank Holidays), Christmas Day and Good Friday Cost: 0.00 (listed in local currency) Museum Size: Medium Relevant Web Site: [Web Link] Food Court: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
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Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   07/09/2019 Kladings visited it