Dublin Culture & Entertainment

Dublin is known worldwide for the richness, depth and diversity of its cultural offerings. Writers, playwrights, poets, artists and actors of international standing aplenty such as Yeats, Keats, Kavanagh, Shaw, Joyce and Swift have at one time or another lived and worked in Dublin, and it has proven to be a city of great inspiration to them.

The richness of our past can be viewed in one of the many theatres, museums or galleries that are dotted around the city (see also Tours section). We have listed out the main attractions below, but there are many, many more niche and specialised museums and galleries in and around Dublin. Ask at the tourist information centres for more details.

 

Dublin Theatres

                                      Abbey Theatre

The Irish National Theatre was founded in 1903 by W. B. Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory and moved to the current site on Abbey Street in July 1966. The Abbey is renowned for hosting some of the most moving and controversial dramatic productions in the city. Remaining true to its heritage, the Abbey is regularly re-animating plays from the Irish repertoire, as well as presenting classics from the European and world theatre and new plays by established writers.  Due to the location of the building next to the Liffey river, the structure 'floats' on a concrete raft. Containing two theatres, the main auditorium of the Abbey Theatre, and the studio space called the Peacock Theatre.

                                       Peacock Theatre

The Peacock Theatre is situated under the Abbey (see above) foyer. Seating capacity is 157 and the Peacock is dedicated primarily to the presentation of new plays and contemporary classic drama. The Abbey and Peacock theatres are located on Abbey Street next to the northern banks of the river Liffey.

                                        Olympia Theatre

The Olympia Theatre is on Dame Street, opposite Dublin Castle, and is the oldest theatre in Dublin. It is used both for traditional theatre, comedy and live music and has become very popular in this regard due to the size and intimacy of the venue. The pantomimes that are held in the Olympia during the build up to Christmas every year are legendary. Generations of Dubliners have been entertained and enthralled here by some of Irelands and Europe's finest theatre companies and actors.

Located in the cultural and social heart of the city the Gate Theatre has been, both artistically and architecturally, a landmark building in Dublin for over two hundred years. It was established as a theatre in 1928 and offered Dublin audiences a first introduction to the world of European and American avant garde theatre as well as vibrant productions from the modern and classic Irish repertoire. It was at the Gate that such luminaries as Orson Welles and James Mason began their prodigious acting careers. Today the theatre continues to attract the finest of creative talent and offers a stimulating and inclusive programme, appealing to theatregoers of all generations and from a broad spectrum of the population.

The Lambert Theatre is based in Monkstown in County Dublin, a short bus or Dart ride from the city centre. The Lambert creates and presents its own productions and is synonymous with enjoyable school outings for the children of Dublin. The Lambert Puppet Theatre was established in 1972. Eugene Lambert founder and Director of the Lambert Puppet Theatre had an interest in puppetry from a very early age, making his own ventriloquist dummy Frankie, which later developed into Finnegan the vent act, which he still performs today.

 

Dublin Galleries

 

                       National Gallery of Ireland @ Merrion Square

Stately neoclassical building housing a fine collection of European paintings from antiquity to the present. The National Gallery of Ireland houses Ireland's national collection of Irish art and European Masters, and is also home to the Yeats Museum. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street. It was founded in 1854 and has an extensive, representative collection of Irish painting and is also notable for its Italian Baroque and Dutch masters painting. Admission to the permanent collection is free.

Located in Dublin's city centre, the Hugh Lane Gallery, which is funded by Dublin Corporation, houses one of Ireland's foremost collections of modern and contemporary art. The original collection, donated by the Gallery's founder Sir Hugh Lane, has now grown to include almost 2000 artworks, ranging from the Impressionist masterpieces of Manet, Monet, Renoir and Degas to works by leading national and international contemporary artists.

 

Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) /  Royal Hospital Kilmainham

The Museum of Modern Art in the Royal Hospital Kilmainham (Dublin 8, up the River Liffey near Heuston Station) was built in 1694 as a hospital for soldiers. It is Ireland's leading national institution for the collection and presentation of modern and contemporary art. The Museum presents a wide variety of art in a dynamic programme of exhibitions, which regularly includes bodies of work from its own Collection and its award-winning Education and Community Department. It also creates more widespread access to art and artists through its Studio and National programmes.

                    Chester Beatty Library and Gallery of Oriental Art

Situated in the heart of the city centre, the Chester Beatty Library is an art museum and library which houses the great collection of manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and some decorative arts assembled by Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968). His collection is now housed in Dublin Castle in a restored 18th century building with a modern purpose-built block attached. The Library was named Irish Museum of the Year in 2000 and was recently awarded the title European Museum of the Year 2002, a coveted international accolade in the museum world.

Dublin Museums

            National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology & History

The National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology and History is situated on Kildare Street, Dublin 2 and was the original home of the Dublin Museum of Science and Art which opened in 1890. It is the national repository for all archaeological objects found in Ireland and contains artifacts dating from 7000 BC to the twentieth century. This museum houses over 2,000,000 artefacts which range in date between 7000BC and the late medieval period. Exhibitions include the finest collection of prehistoric gold artefacts in western Europe, outstanding examples of metalwork from the Celtic Iron Age, as well as the Museum’s world-renowned collection of medieval ecclesiastical objects and jewellery. The Broighter Hoard,the Ardagh Chalice, the Tara Brooch and Derrynaflan Hoard are among the masterpieces on display.

                National Museum of Ireland - Collins Barracks

The National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts and History, located at Collins Barracks, Benburb Street, Dublin 7, opened in 1997 and is the administrative headquarters of the National Museum of Ireland. It is home to a wide range of objects which include weaponry, furniture, silver, ceramics and glassware, as well as examples of folklife and costume. The exhibitions have been designed in innovative and contemporary galleries. The Fonthill Vase, a Chinese porcelain vase made about 1300 A.D., is one of the rarest pieces in the museum. The William Smith O’ Brien Gold Cup, the Eileen Gray chrome table and the Lord Chancellor’s Mace are also among the highlights.
 

                                National Museum of Natural History

The National Museum of Ireland - Natural History, Merrion Street, Dublin 2 belonged to the Royal Dublin Society (RDS) and has been open to the public since 1857. It is the perfect destination for a rainy afternoon - myth and fact intersect in this fascinating exploration of the natural history of Ireland - with approximately ten thousand animals on display which have been drawn from the museum's collections of over two million specimens. These collections have been accumulating for over two centuries. Today this zoological museum encompasses outstanding examples of wildlife from Ireland and the far corners of the globe, some still to be seen today and others long extinct.

                                            Dublin Writers Museum

Dublin is famous as a city of writers and literature, and the Dublin Writers Museum is an essential visit for anyone who wants to discover, explore, or simply enjoy Dublin's immense literary heritage. At the Writers Museum, Dublin’s literary celebrities from the past three hundred years are brought to life through their books, letters, portraits and personal items. There is much to discover here for even the most avid fan of Irish literature The building, a restored Georgian mansion on Parnell Square, is a treasure in itself. The sumptuous plasterwork in the first floor Gallery of Writers is worth a visit alone.

                                        James Joyce Cultural Centre

This cultural center promotes the study of Joyce's work and is housed in a beautiful 18th-century Georgian mansion. Located near Parnell Square and the Dublin Writers Museum, this Joycean centre gives literary enthusiasts one more reason to visit Dublin's north side. No. 35 North Great George’s Street was built in 1784 for Valentine Brown, the Earl of Kenmare, and is decorated with fine plasterwork by Michael Stapleton. The house was restored in the 1980s and opened as the James Joyce Centre in 1996, run by members of Joyce’s sister’s family.


The James Joyce Museum is housed in a seaside tower - known as a "Martello Tower" they were built by the British as a defense against Napoleon - that inspired the setting of the first chapter of Ulysses. It is located in the attractive seaside suburb of Sandycove which is about 8 miles (13km) from Dublin city centre and is accessible by bus and Dart. There is a small museum featuring memorabilia - some of Joyce's personal possessions, photographs, letters, and first and rare editions of the book - and is dedicated to the life and works of James Joyce.

Garrison Chapel in Dublin 4 was once a soldier's chapel is now home to Ireland's printing heritage. Built in the 1860s Garrison Chapel houses a unique collection of implements, artefacts and machines from all sectors of the printing industry in Ireland. Exhibits take visitors through the history of printing beginning with the 'father of printing' Johann Gutenberg to the Linotype and Monotype machines are modern examples of this pioneering technology. It was on a Linotype similar to the one housed in the Museum that the first edition of Ulysses was printed. Uniquely ornate printing presses stand proudly beside a Wharfedale press, known as the 'war-horse' of printing. The 1916 proclamation was printed on one of these remarkable machines. Inside the Museum.

Dublin Libraries

                                      Trinity College Library Dublin

The Library in Trinity College Dublin is the largest in Ireland with over 4.24 million books. It is a le gal deposit library for books from the UK and Ireland and therefore entitled to a copy of every book published in Great Britain and Ireland. The Book of Kells is the most famous book in the library and is in the Old Library. Together with the Long Room, the Old Library is one of Ireland's biggest tourist attractions. It was widely reported that the appearance of the Jedi Archives in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones was inspired by the Long Room due to the close resemblance between the two.

 

                                 National Library of Ireland

The National Library of Ireland collects, preserves and makes available books, manuscripts and illustrative material of Irish interest. It has the world's largest collection of Irish documentary material: books, manuscripts, newspapers, periodicals, drawings, photographs, maps... Entry to the library is free and it does not lend books - reading is done in the various reading rooms. There is also a copying service and it is possible to get photocopies, photographs, slides, or microfilm of most items in the collections. The Library has an ongoing programme of exhibitions.

                                            Marsh's Library

Marsh's Library was the first public library in Ireland, it was founded in 1701 and is one of the few 18th century buildings left in Dublin that is still being used for its original purpose. The library contains over 25,000 books relating to the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, covering medicine, law, science, travel, navigation, mathematics, music, surveying and classical literature. The interior of the library with its beautiful dark oak bookcases each with carved and lettered gables, topped by a mitre, and the three elegant wired alcoves or 'cages' where the readers were locked with rare books, remains unchanged since it was built three hundred years ago. It is a magnificent example of a 17th century scholars' library.

Dublin Cultural Cinema

                                    Irish Film Centre

The Film Institute of Ireland is the national body charged with responsibility for the promotion of the culture of the moving image in Ireland. The Institute owns and manages the Irish Film Centre (IFC), a unique cultural resource which opened in September 1992. Housed in wonderfully refurbished seventeenth century buildings in the heart of Temple Bar, the Irish Film Centre is one of the great success stories of cultural life in Dublin.