Tag: Irish History

Dublinia

Dublinia

by leeandpea ♥ 2 Comments

Dublinia is a heritage centre located in Christchurch Dublin. Visitors can learn all about Dublin’s Viking and Medieval past through interactive exhibits.

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Our visit

I’ve been meaning to visit Dublinia ever since I can remember and certainly long before Pea’s arrival in the world. Somehow, despite my numerous visits to Dublin before we moved to the city I’d never gotten around to it. I’d earmarked this one as something to do with Pea on a rainy Autumnal day, but in the end, after weeks of baking hot weather I just wanted to do something indoors and relatively cool.

There are four exhibitions to explore – Viking Dublin, Medieval Dublin, History Hunters and St Michael’s Tower. Viking Dublin provides some context into the Viking way of life. You can step inside a poky Viking house, learn the runic alphabet (we didn’t) or wield some Viking weaponry (we tried). This part of the experience was the least successful for us, it was difficult to engage Pea with many of the exhibits and I couldn’t read any of the information because I was too busy trying to prevent him from getting trampled by other visitors.

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Medieval Dublin was much more successful for us. Here, you can explore Dublin’s docklands, call into a merchant’s home for dinner, play games from the time and, best of all, do some shopping at the market. The highlight of this was the spice trader’s stall with its selection of spices stored in drawers within Pea’s reach.

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History Hunters focuses on archaeological techniques and the process of piecing together the city’s past. This exhibition included more information to read than the others and I mostly had to skim these as Pea isn’t capable of remaining still for long enough for me to read anything. Still, there were some nice hands-on features that Pea loved. Namely, trying on hard hats and attempting to get his little bubba feet into an adult sized pair of wellies. This section also included some archaeological finds for handling, an opportunity to create a trace drawing and interactive quizzes at the end.

At the end of the History Hunters exhibition is the gift shop, coffee shop and an exit and I nearly missed the final part of the Dublinia package – St. Michael’s Tower. This recently renovated medieval tower offers stunning views over the city. I wasn’t sure how Pea’s little legs would cope with the 96 steps to the top, but to his credit, he got almost all the way up before he threw up his arms to be carried. The views from the top really are gorgeous and it was very quiet and peaceful there. The best bit? All that climbing tired Pea out and he slept for nearly two hours afterwards.

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Essential info

Dublinia is at St. Michael’s Hill, Christchurch, Dublin 8. Facilities include baby changing, step-free access, cafe and gift shop. There’s no designated buggy park but the front of house team let me store the Pea-mobile by the entrance.  Admission is EUR 9.50 per adult, EUR 6 for children and under 3’s go free.

Richmond Barracks

Richmond Barracks

by leeandpea ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

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A former British Army barracks built in 1810 amid fears of a Napoleonic invasion, Richmond Barracks is significant for its connection with the events of the 1916 Easter Rebellion. Following Irish Independence in 1922, the barracks took on various uses but was eventually reopened as a Museum in 2016. The Museum also incorporates the historic Goldenbridge Cemetary. I was keen to visit the Barracks for my own interest not because there was anything that seemed especially enticing for Pea. But you know, you can’t book a babysitter for everything, so this was a case of dragging him along and hoping for the best.

Our visit

Visitors to the Barracks can either take a guided or self-guided tour. The guided tour includes to Goldenbridge Cemetary so we chose the guided option. The Museum closes for lunch between 12.45 and 13.45 and we arrived at around 13.40. The next guided tour was due to begin at 14.00, so we headed towards the cafe to kill time before then.

As we walked down the corridor, I had a peek through the window of one of the locked rooms which is set up to resemble a school classroom. I involuntarily shuddered – the colour of the walls, the heavy wooden desks with the inkwells – it took me straight back to primary school. Irish classrooms haven’t really changed much over the years.

We gathered for our tour with our guide Niall. The tour began in the gymnasium – a nice open space for Pea to run around in with minimal risk of injury to himself or disturbance of others. We learned that every person in the country arrested for involvement in the 1916 rebellion – more than 3,000 – was brought to this very gymnasium where they learned of their fate. It was either prison in England or Wales or execution. The gymnasium is used as an exhibition space and the current exhibition, 77 Women, focuses on the women who were detained at Richmond barracks for their involvement in 1916. You can read more about them here, and the background to the centrepiece of the exhibition, a commemorative quilt celebrating the lives of all 77 women. I would have liked to have spent a bit more time looking at the quilt and reading about the women but Pea was being…well, just Pea.

img_7343Pea tearing around the gymnasium

The tour then moved into the main part of the barracks, or at least what remains of the original barracks building. There’s the classroom, which we didn’t access as it was being used for filming purposes the following day. One room is a re-creation of a soldier’s quarters and the remaining two rooms are re-creations of the residential dwellings that became of the site during two different periods.

The final part of the tour was of Goldenbridge Cemetary. The cemetery is only accessed through these tours or pre-booked appointments so it felt very special to gain access. Pea just wanted to play with the gravel on the ground so he stayed with his Dad near the entrance to the cemetery while I did my best to catch up with Niall’s tour.

Goldenbridge was the first Catholic Cemetary in Ireland since the Reformation. The most notable burials are W.T Cosgrave, the first president of the Irish Free State, and his son, Liam Cosgrave, a former Taoiseach. The thing that struck me most about seeing the grave (Liam is buried in the same plot as his father) is how modest it is.

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The story that will stay with me the longest though is that of 8-year-old Eugene Lynch. Eugene was killed while playing outside the Barracks. His death wasn’t instantaneous. He was taken to his grandmother’s pub and laid on a table where he bled out. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Goldenbridge, only recently discovered and given a headstone after more than 100 years.

I really enjoyed our visit to Richmond Barracks but most likely wouldn’t go back here with Pea until he is a few years older. The museum cafe, The Mess, is very child-friendly and has outdoor seating and a garden which Pea loved running around in so we would definitely come back for that.

Essential info

Richmond Barracks, off Bulfin Road, Inchicore Dublin 8. Open Monday – Friday, 10.00 – 16.00, access on Saturdays and Bank Holidays is only by pre-booked tours for minimum 6 people. Guided tours take place at 11.00 and 14.00 daily and cost EUR8. Self-guided tours cost EUR6. The museum closes for lunch between 12.45 – 13.45 daily, but the cafe is open then. It’s free to access the cafe and garden.