Collins Barracks
Dec | May 10, 2006Last weekend I finally headed over to Collins Barracks to see the 1916 Exhibition. I was worried that if I didn’t go soon the exhibition would close, the items would be distributed back to their original displays and it would be 10 years before we had another exhibition.
Collins Barracks is the home of the Irish Museum of Decorative Arts and History. Normally I love museums and history, having once come up with an excuse to go to London for the weekend just so I could go to the British Museum and see the Sutton Hoo exhibition. However the words “Museum of Decorative Arts and History” made me completely zone out and ignore this museum in what is now my home city. I figured it was full of old clothes and furniture and little else, I much prefer my ancient/military history. Now I know that while there are lots of old clothes and furniture this is actually the best museum in Dublin.
For starters it’s huge, by Irish museum standards anyway. First built in 1706, the guide claimed it is the oldest barracks still in use in the world, though obviously not as a barracks anymore, however I think we can take that with a grain of salt. At its peak it housed 5000 soldiers, in very cramped conditions, but that should give you some idea of how big it is. As you can see from my photos the building is well maintained and very quiet at the time I was there.
Admission is free but there is a box for donations. The guided tour is at 3pm and only costs €2 though it wasn’t very good and didn’t cover much of the museum, the guide focused more on the history of the building and the general theme of some display areas rather than on individual items of interest.
In the lobby are cannons and information on the Spanish Armada as well as a cabinet with Michael Collins memorabilia. The display areas then cover clothing, furniture, money, silver, and science with lots of items on display, though nothing really caught my attention. It is a little annoying that Irish museums forbid photography, especially when other museums like the British Museum allow people to take photographs and they have lots of items as delicate and in many cases of more world heritage value (e.g. the Rosetta Stone).
Downstairs is the 1916 exhibition and that was what I went to see. It’s small, but there are lots of interesting items like a copy of the proclamation, the surrender notes, a video display and personal items that belonged to the leaders. The best news was this is not, as I feared, a temporary exhibition but a permanent one that they hope will grow over time.
Even better news, another wing is under development and will open in July. This will contain military history with artifacts ranging from 17th century equipment to armored cars and 2 planes including a vampire jet which was delivered over the bank holiday weekend.
Collins Barracks is well worth a visit, especially this July, and now with the Luas it couldn’t be easier to get to, just take the red line from O’Connell St to Museum and walk through the gates (assuming you don’t want to walk the whole way). For tourists seeking to optimize their visit, the Guinness Brewery is straight across the river so you could visit both in one trip.
Does anyone know how long the 1916 exhibition runs for?
It’s a permanent exhibit. The items will stay there and they hope to get more as time goes by.
Hi, I was doing some research for a book – my character visits Ireland. I was there myself in 2005 – so obviously have much information to use in my book. One of the things that I cannot recall exactly is whether there is a restaurant at Collins Barracks. I think there is and I’ve noticed a link on the right so will check up. I’ll bookmark this – I guess there is a lot of reading here that will help me. Can’t wait until I get back to Dublin. I loved it.
Hmm, I’m not sure, but I should visit it again so I’ll try to wander up there and have a look at the weekend.
Thanks. It is a wonderful building and I enjoyed my short visit there. Cheers,
D
Hi Di,
I went over to the barracks today and there is a cafe, it’s in the corner of the parade ground on the 100 paces marker. It’s not very big and just seems to serve light snacks and coffee.
Declan
Thanks Declin. I thought I’d remembered something like that from visit, and I thank you for going to the trouble of checking it for me, as it fits into the story in my novel. Many thanks.
Declan (sorry I miss spelled earlier), but thought you might like to read this. http://www.blogfeast.net/tottie/research_on_the_internet
If your readers like blogging, they might find this Blog a bit of fun – we don’t have any Bloggers from Ireland yet.
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Cool, thanks for the praise, happy to be of service.
Visited Collins Barracks a couple of weeks ago and thought that it was a fantastic example of Irish History! So many interesting things to see! Well infact too many, we tried to see it all in one day and to be honest it was far to much! Much better if you break it up into 1.5 days.
Museum is free which is great, guided tour is a bit lame, didn’t really go into the history of the building, would really liked to have learned more!
Coffee shop has beautiful food but is very expensive!
Really easy to get to as the luas stops right outside!
A great day out!
I visited the barracks a few years ago and loved everything about it; the building was awesome, as in awe-inspiring; the clothing exhibit was riveting; and seeing the artifacts from the fight for independence gave me goosebumps. From America
I am a regular reader of your blog and would just like to say thank you! I am due to start my own blog an would like to know how to go about doing so. I hear a lot about WordPress is this a good site to use? Thanks. Tommy M
Can you pls check the links in your post, the first one. it does not lead anywhere
Thanks, links work now. The photos are gone unfortunately. Something about our wordpress install. Which brings me to TommyMs post
sorry for the delay in replying, yes WordPress is good, apart from when you loose your photos, but thats probably more down to problems on our hosting than WordPress, we’ve changed to hosting our pics on flickr and other sites. I personally use WordPress on two other blogs and highly recommend it.