Dublinia

For history fans who like to get to the very roots of a city and uncover what led to the bustling metropolis they see before them today, this is right up their cart track. Around 100,000 people a year visit this attraction, which concentrates on the period very early on in Dublin’s life-time, from the 9th century, when there was a series of Viking and Anglo-Norman invasions. It’s a time when very little is documented or known but Dublinia attempts to unravel the mystery.

It’s home to three separate exhibitions – Viking Dublin, Medieval Dublin and the History Hunters Exhibition - but on top of this you also get admission to St Michael’s Tower too. It’s a kind of buy one get one free deal!

The Viking section will put the record straight and explode a few myths. You’ll discover they were actually quite hygienic and never drank out of cups fashioned from the skulls of their enemies. It’s highly unlikely too that they ever went into battle wearing horned helmets. How sad is that?

Unfortunately, the part about the Vikings being ruthless marauders who went looting, raping and pillaging is very much a fact, as the people of Ireland were to discover pretty much throughout the entire 9th century. However, the Vikings did not only raid; they also traded and established towns such as Limerick, Wexford, Waterford, Leixlip and a little place called Dublin. 

At Dublinia, you can also find out what life was like on a longboat, try on Viking clothes, become a slave, stroll in a Viking street and enter one of their smoky houses.

The Medieval Dublin exhibition centres on the time up to the Reformation and includes a medieval market, a bustling street and a rich merchant’s house. You can see a scale model of the town as it was some 700 years ago. There’s information about crimes and punishments, death, diseases and cures, which will make you wince – especially the treatment for toothache!

History Hunters then shows the visitor how we know about Dublin’s past. See artefacts on display like a skeleton found in Dublin and others found at the famous Wood Quay excavation. Discover how science and archaeology have worked together to piece history together. You can also hear how the languages of old Dublin sounded and see the earliest maps of the city.

And if all that’s not enough! You can climb the 96 steps to the top of St Michael’s Tower for a cracking view of the city and, if you buy a combined ticket, you also get entry to the 1,000-year-old Christchurch Cathedral and its medieval crypt. This is thought to be the final resting place of the legendary Norman invader, Strongbow, and the container that reputedly has inside the heart of the patron saint of Dublin, Lawrence O’Toole.

Dublinia is open from 9.30am to 5pm in June and July, 10am to 5pm in April to September and 10am to 4.30pm from October to March. Admission is €7.50 for adults, €6.50 for students and seniors and €5 for children. You’ll find it close to the city centre in St Michael’s Hill at the crossroads of Patrick St and High Street. On the buses, numbers 49, 49A, 54A, 121, 123 and 150 stop near by.