Decorative Arts & History
LEVEL 5 - CLOSED
Collins Barracks,
Dublin 7
Explore
Highlights from our programmes and collections
Learn how to make your own musical instrument in this step-by-step video tutorial with sound artist and instrument designer Ed Devane.
Explore products that link in to our collection, offer further insight in to our exhibitions and great gift ideas
Join Elaine O'Riordan from the Irish Hedgehog Survey team at NUIG for a special online event about one of our most loved wild animals.
Capture the imagination of your students, make learning fun, and discover what your class can learn from the Museum.
Current Exhibitions
Take time to explore our variety of exhibitions
Alison Lowry: (A)Dressing Our Hidden Truths
Decorative Arts & History
Exhibition / December 2021
An artistic response to the legacy of mother and baby homes and Magdalene laundries by Alison Lowry
Martin O'Meara: Victoria Cross
Decorative Arts & History
Exhibition / April 2021
Victoria Cross awarded to Martin O'Meara for gallant behaviour under indescribable conditions in no man's land during WWI
Ib Jorgensen: A Fashion Retrospective
Decorative Arts & History
Exhibition / Ongoing
From the 1950s to the 1990s, Danish born Ib Jorgensen was one of Ireland’s leading fashion designers
Asgard: From Gun-Running to Recent Conservation
Decorative Arts & History
Exhibition / Ongoing
Discover the historic Asgard yacht
21st Century Irish Craft
Decorative Arts & History
Exhibition / Ongoing
The exhibition showcases contemporary Irish material in the national collection
Straw, Hay & Rushes
Country Life
Exhibition / Closed until further notice
People in rural Ireland used to grow materials for everyday items like rush saddles, baskets, beehives, chairs & mattresses.
Cycling the Country
Country Life
Exhibition / Permanent exhibition
Exploring the importance of the bicycle in rural life in the Ireland
Tales of the Titanic: 'The Cruel Sea' and 'Waking the Titanic'
Country Life
Exhibition / Temporary exhibition
An exhibition exploring the fragile hopes of a County Mayo community
Séamus Mag Uidhir Mayo Folklorist
Country Life
Exhibition / Until September 2020
National Museum of Ireland celebrates life and work of Erris folklorist
A Forgotten Polish Hero of the Great Irish Famine
Country Life
Exhibition / Until December 2020
Paul Strzelecki’s Struggle to Save Thousands
Irish Fauna
Natural History
Exhibition / Permanent exhibition
Discover examples of Ireland's insects, mammals, birds, sea life and predators.
Mammals of the World
Natural History
Exhibition / Permanent exhibition
Discover skeletons and stuffed specimens of non-Irish animal species, from elephants to whales
Glendalough: Power, Prayer and Pilgrimage
Archaeology
Exhibition / Now open
Making places with objects
Ceramics and Glass from Ancient Cyprus
Archaeology
Exhibition / Permanent Exhibition
Learn about Roman and Bronze Age Cyprus with excavated clay figurines
Viking Ireland
Archaeology
Exhibition / Permanent Exhibition
Explore the Vikings and how they changed Ireland between 800 and 1150 AD.
Kingship and Sacrifice
Archaeology
Exhibition / Permanent Exhibition
An exhibition of Iron Age bog bodies and their sacrificial regalia.
Medieval Ireland 1150-1550
Archaeology
Exhibition / Closed until further notice
Discover Medieval Ireland, its farmers and nobles, churches, books, and art