6 Unusual Attractions to Visit in Dublin

Dublin’s National Leprechaun Museum opened in 2010, calling itself ‘the first ever attraction dedicated to Irish mythology’, despite the leprechaun rarely appearing in early sources. Celebrating the Irish fairy that is said to grant wishes and enjoy practical jokes, the museum offers a guided tour with a storyteller through an immersive experience of leprechaun folklore consisting of multiple themed rooms. These include a wooden replica of County Antrim’s Giant’s Causeway and a room with giant pieces of furniture, intended to make the guest feel as though they have shrunk to the size of a leprechaun.

The Natural History Museum is part of the National Museum of Ireland, and is home to two floors of cabinets full of life-size stuffed zoological models that have inspired the nickname ‘the Dead Zoo.’ Its ground floor is the Irish Room, which houses rare and threatened bird breeds like the Corncrake, mounted skeletons of giant Irish deer, and a basking shark suspended from the ceiling. Upstairs is the Mammals of the World exhibition.

St. Mary’s Church of Ireland was built in the early 18th century and is one of Dublin’s earliest examples of a galleried church. Arthur Guinness was married here in 1761, and republican leader Theobald Wolfe Tone and playwright Seán O’Casey were both baptised here. The building – which features an organ built by master organ maker Renatus Harris – was deconsecrated in 1986 and left empty until 1997 when a seven-year restoration project began. Today, The Church Bar & Restaurant is under new ownership, and Ireland’s minister for Arts and Heritage has classified the building as one of ‘intrinsical historical interest’.