National Museum of Ireland

The National Museum of Ireland is the country's leading museum of cultural heritage, with its principal Archaeology branch housed in a magnificent Victorian palazzo on Kildare Street in central Dublin. Designed by Thomas Newenham Deane and opened in 1890, the building itself is a treasure, with a domed rotunda, mosaic floors and richly decorated galleries arranged around a central hall.

The collections trace human life in Ireland from prehistory to the medieval period, with world-renowned holdings of prehistoric gold, Iron Age bog bodies, and the finest assembly of early Christian metalwork anywhere. Star objects include the Ardagh Chalice, the Tara Brooch, the Derrynaflan Hoard and the Cross of Cong, alongside Viking artefacts excavated from the Wood Quay site on the banks of the Liffey. Galleries on ancient Egypt and the medieval world broaden the story still further.

The Kildare Street site is one of four National Museum branches (the others cover Decorative Arts & History at Collins Barracks, Country Life in Mayo and Natural History on Merrion Street). Entry to all sites is free, and the museum sits within easy walking distance of Trinity College, Grafton Street and Leinster House.