The National Maritime Museum of Ireland

Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin (See Map Below)

A CELEBRATION OF IRELAND'S UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP TO THE SEA

The National Maritime Museum of Ireland offers a comprehensive collection of maritime related artefacts to celebrate and commemorate Ireland's unique relationship with the sea. The story is told and presented in a way that is educational and fun for all visitors. The museum's educational mission is to use the evidence from Ireland's maritime heritage to excite the imagination and encourage appreciation, understanding and enjoyment by people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.

The collection is housed in a beautiful gothic style church that acts like a beacon on the Dun Laoghaire skyline. The stained glass windows - from the 19th century German school and, more recently, from a local artist - create a magical light as one follows the carefully designed layout of exhibits.

The museum’s greatest artefact is probably the building itself as it is one of a few custom-built places of worship for sailors remaining intact in the world today. There are interesting mechanical exhibitions, including first class artefacts on many aspects of the Irish maritime wildlife around the Irish coastline including fish, birds and small animals; a maritime art gallery; a recreated ship’s radio room; and a Titanic exhibition.

The museum is run by volunteers who are also happy to show visitors around and share some of their stories about the history of the museum and its artefacts.

Try Out Morse Code & Take a Pirate Photo!

This is not 'dry' material. Instead, it reflects the dynamic nature of water and the sea. Here, visitors can see the key role that the sea played in so many of Irish lives. The collection celebrates the contribution that engineering and communications has made to the story; and remembers the skill and pioneering work of Captain Halpin in laying the first trans-Atlantic cable. Visitors, by viewing the cable exhibits, can marvel at the advances that have been made in the area of communications. Homage has been made to the contribution of Marconi in radio messaging. Children can delight in experimenting with the Morse Code before having their photograph taken in the guise of a pirate. The museum also contains a wonderful collection of paintings with a Maritime theme.

Location

Facing the east pier, beside the new library and in front of the Marine Hotel, the museum has a central location in Dun Laoghaire. It is less than five minutes from the Dart station. By bus - take the 7, 7a, 8, 45a, 46a, 75 or 111.

The National Maritime Museum of Ireland Location:

Connecting Europe to America, via Ireland, by cable, in 1866

The museum holds a whole range of artefacts related to Captain Robert Halpin, born in Wicklow in 1836.

In 1865 he was appointed Chief Officer of the Great Eastern - a behemoth of 22,000 tons and 680 ft long. With Halpin as navigator, the Great Eastern started a journey to lay a telegraph cable across the Atlantic. They had gone 1,660 miles when they lost the cable in 2,000 feet of water. In 1866, the same team successfully laid a new cable connecting America and Europe, via Ireland.

To add to his fame, Halpin then navigated the ship to the exact place where they had lost the old cable the previous year, recovering it to successfully provide a second line of communication between the two continents.