The Little Museum

There are so many interesting places in Dublin that choosing which ones to visit is incredibly difficult. There was a Rick Steves guidebook in our Airbnb and one place that isn't highly recommended turned out to be completely delightful: The Little Museum of Dublin. It's really more an experience than a museum.

On the way there, I passed two other experiences in which I will not be partaking: the Vintage Tea bus

and the Viking experience, which is Dublin's version on the now defunct "Ride the Duck" bus/boat in Seattle.

We were welcomed by a Harry Potter look-alike and sent upstairs to wait for our experience to start, passing a life-sized statue and a wall of portraits of former Dublin Mayor Alfie Byrne.

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We were ushered into a large room by guide Mark and invited to find a seat.

He then introduced the gentleman who would be guiding us through a very entertaining history of Ireland, Saul.

What a performer he was! We were too mesmerized by his performance to take photos, and the time flew by accompanied by loads of laughter. The second part of his performance took place in the room next door.

We learned more about the cultural history of Dublin and famous Irish people from around the world including Maureen O'Hara and JFK.

One of the things I learned was of the existence of the Magdelene Laundries, founded at the end of the 18h century.  Also known as the Magdalene Asylum for Penitant Females, they were horrible, cruel places that functioned as penitentiary workhouses for women. Ostensibly they were places for prostitutes to be reformed, but unwed mothers, women who were victims of rape and incest and generally any woman deemed too independent or troublesome to their parents werre also interned. The children of unwed mothers were put up for adoption against the wishes of their mothers. While at Magdelene, the women were forced to work in for-profit laundries, though they were never paid a wage.  The last Magdelene Laundry closed in 1996.  Think of it – how many women were forced into this horrible place, right through the late 20h century? The truth of the Laundries only came to light when, because of financial difficulties, one of the Magdelene properties was sold to a developer.  This led to the discovery of 133 unmarked graves of women. This discovery eventually triggered a public scandal, bringing unprecedented attention to the secretive institutions. The documentary "Sex in a Cold Climate," interviewed former inmates of Magdalene Asylums who testified to continued sexual, psychological, and physical abuse while being isolated from the outside world. Pretty heavy stuff to be explored in an entertainment.

After Saul finished his performance we were off to a tour of the park across the street with Mark, our guide from earlier in the day.

He told us about the history of the park and all the interesting people and events associated with it. We passed Edward Delaney's Famine Memorial,

a tour about to start where participants got to take a walk with an Irish Wolfhound,

and a memorial to Wolfe Tone, one of the key figures in the United Irishmen's rebellion of 1798.

Along the way, we saw a wonderfully quirky bit of art in a tree.

There was a sculpture of Arthur Edward Guinness, Lord Ardilaun, who donated the land of St. Stephen's Green to the Dublin Corpration for the use of the public.  The park had been reserved for private use by residents in the area.  When pressed by Arthur Guinness, all those who held keys to the gates gave them up - all, that is, except for the Royal College of Surgeons.  Apparently, they enjoyed the vista from their building across the street from the park. Well, Arthur Guinness was not going to just accept that, so he arranged for the otherwise flat park to suddenly “acquire” a large hill across the street from the Royal College.  It was then planted with very tall trees and the much coveted view was no longer.  To add insult to injury, a statue of Arthur, Lord Ardilaun, was placed across the street, facing the College and sporting a self- satisfied grin.

On the way out we passed the statue of Robert Emmet, an Irish Nationalist leader known as the hero of lost causes

and the Fusilier's Arch, which lists the names of Irishmen killed in the Boer War.

Once back at the museum, we wandered around to check out exhibits we hadn't had time to see earlier. There was a wonderful, enormous doll house

The top floor of the museum was dedicated entirely to U2, clearly adored by the people of Dublin.

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On the walls of the stairway leading back to the first floor were drawings, bios and quotes of famous Irish women.

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That last one, of Mary Robinson, is my favorite. I was pleased to see how women who were part of the revolution were celebrated. It's still a patriarchy but in this country women's contributions aren't being systematically erased.

I loved this piece written by Roddy Doyle, author, playwright and screenwriter. It really encapsulates Dublin.

I'd have to disagree with Rick Steves' assessment. The Little Museum of Dublin is definitely worth the time and price of admission.