Museum Experiences in Ireland
During our recent honeymoon trip to Ireland in Dublin and County Galway, my husband and I visited a huge variety of museums, although not all of them initially seem like the traditional museums. Not only were they exciting places to be, but some of our stops may challenge people’s ideas of what it means to be a museum.
Galway City Museum, Galway
One of the more traditional museums visited on our trip was the Galway City Museum, positioned right on top of the Galway Bay, next to the Spanish Arch and overlooking the Claddagh. This small museum felt as though it kept expanding more and more as we walked through, surprising us with the space. Its first level explored the ancient history of the city and its people, while subsequent floors reached back to times a bit more recent, particularly exploring Galway’s part in the Irish Rebellion, and then focusing on the city’s scientific and practical relationship with the sea. Artifacts were plentiful, and displayed in fairly traditional vitrines. What I found particularly interesting about their displays was how they appealed to children with the artifacts. I have seen many museums that might have a pamphlet or separate activity for kids to do while they explore the museum, and specific youth programming that incorporates the artifacts. Here, however, was something new. In most of the exhibition rooms, with what seemed like a majority of the artifacts on display, there were separate text panels on the base of the display case itself, too low for adults to really comfortably read, but perfect for little viewers. At some point programming must have been done for children that included their own drawings or interpretations of the artifacts, apparently prompted after an instructor’s explanation. These activities were now printed as their own text panels accompanying the artifacts, placed at the lower height suitable for children. This is the best way I have seen a traditional museum reach out to their young visitors in a way that feels intentionally equal, rather than secondary, to the “grown-up” information panels.
Dublinia, Dublin
Another fairly traditional museum visited was Dublinia in Dublin. A heritage center with the tagline “Experience Viking and Medieval Dublin,” Dublinia took interactive to a whole new level. Much of the museum felt that it may be geared more towards a younger audience, but for adults not from Dublin or even Ireland, it is a fun way to learn the history of the city. Located at Christ Church, the museum is housed in the adjoining buildings, although once inside you are inundated with replicas of every aspect of Viking and Medieval life in Dublin. Weaponry, household goods, market places, and objects of worship are all recreated in life-size to be picked up and experienced as if one is going back in time. Information took the form of traditional text panels, but also as interactive guessing games. One can smell the spices commonly traded in Dublin, and do a rubbing of medieval trading contract, or guess which herbs and spices were thought to cure things like tooth ache or plague; buttons pressed would talk more about a particular subject or object, and a model in miniature of the city itself highlighted different buildings and sites from history. Split into the different floors, the last one was an exhibition about archaeology and the science behind uncovering Dublin’s history. This was the only floor with actual artifacts, and seemed slightly more geared towards older visitors. The interactive components felt a bit more sophisticated as well, including touch screen quizzes about various archaeological processes or just about the history and culture that had been explained throughout the museum. This video gives a glimpse of how immersive Dublinia’s exhibitions are, as well as highlighting its focus on educational programming.
St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin
While we visited a number of churches and cathedrals on out trip, St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin felt a bit more like a museum than a place of worship. Of course not all old churches are going to fall under the museum umbrella, but many of the older, more famous ones do, such as Christ Church that we also visited, and even St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome (another place we have both been, but not together.) Places like this frequently have an entry fee that goes towards the upkeep and conservation of the building and artifacts within. St. Patrick’s though felt unique, with its gift shop right in the nave, open to the rest of the church. Not only were there text panels and information pamphlets, and tours available, which are museum components common enough for these historic churches, but there was also a small space set up with interactive activities for visitors. You could do rubbings of a Celtic cross, of Saint Patrick, or other figures, and there were also pieces of stained glass, sculpted stone, and wrought iron that could be touched and handled as the materials in the church’s architecture. The focus for St. Patrick’s Cathedral on education felt much more like that of a museum than most other historic churches I have visited, even though it does still function as an active place of worship.
Guinness Storehouse, Dublin
Another place we stopped which certainly falls into the category of a business rather than a museum still gave us a very museum-y experience. The Guinness Storehouse in Dublin is of course attached to the brewery, but the self-guided tour is not a brewery tour. Instead, its an exploration of Guinness’ long history, (which necessarily does go into the brewing process), and culminates in a free pint in their Gravity Bar, with an unforgettable view of the city. The floors leading up to this last stop are what feels the most like a museum. Artifacts from Guinness’ past include old brewing equipment, objects used in their iconic advertisements, and the 9,000 year lease signed by Arthur Guinness in 1759 for the brewery. The floors, divided into themes such as their Brewing Story and the World of Advertising, exhibited their history in a way that could only feel like a very interactive museum, full of photo-ops, touch-screens with more information, and artifacts from their history.
Dún Aonghasa, Aran Islands, Galway
Certainly more officially in the category of museum than Guinness, Dún Aonghasa felt perhaps the least like a traditional museum with four walls and lots of information. This world heritage site is located on the island of Inis Mor, the largest of the three Aran Islands off the coast of County Galway. It is a prehistoric hill fort, at the edge of a 300-foot high cliff, and dates back to the Bronze and Iron ages at least. Like many historic sites, there is an admission fee. The entry building at the bottom of the path leading to the fort houses is a small museum itself, although small may not cover it. It hosts only a few information panels and booklets. Once up the hill to the fort itself, a few small signs here and there caution visitors against climbing, asking for cooperation in conserving the ancient site. One information panel dates the fort, but other than this, there is little information and it is an open site, open being the key word. No safety rails guard the edge of the cliff, and only one fence bars visitors from going too far beyond the fort. While this seemed minimal compared to historic sites I have visited in the States, I was glad for it; anything else there would have obstructed the natural beauty of the site and the feeling of really being immersed in an ancient ruin. It felt like the whole island was visible from the fort, and the views themselves felt more educational than any panels could have been, showing how it was clearly the best position of defense against any invaders, such as the Vikings would have been.
