The Irish Times - Saturday, October 22, 2011
'Little Museum of Dublin' has big ambitions
Visitors to the Little Museum of Dublin yesterday listening to Trevor White, museum director, giving one of the first tours of the newly opened museum at 15 St Stephen's Green. Open Thursdays to Mondays with tours at 1pm, 3pm and 5pm, the museum contains an eclectic mix of items donated by Dubliners.Photograph: Alan Betson
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A COLLECTION of Dublin milk bottles through the ages and a model of Wanderly Wagon that was used to shoot flying scenes in the old TV show are among the items on display at Dublin’s newest museum, which opened last night. The Little Museum of Dublin aims to showcase the social, political and cultural history of the city. Some of the items in its collection, including the lectern JFK used to address the Oireachtas in 1963, are politically and historically significant, while others are simply of nostalgic interest.
“We believe that every great city deserves a museum of its own and we felt that there was a gap here,” said director Trevor White. Yesterday, he led the first guided tours of the museum, which is located at 15 St Stephen’s Green, stopping often to test patrons on their knowledge of current and former Dublin residents. More than 400 items in the museum were donated by Dubliners over a sixmonth period. Booker Prize-winning author John Banville offered to donate his brain to the museum so visitors could marvel at how small it was. Museum curator Simon O’Connor said the goal was to create a museum for Dublin that would appeal to both locals and tourists. The museum will also serve as the headquarters for the City of a Thousand Welcomes – a tourism project – as well as for lectures and outreach and education programmes. The museum is open Thursday to Monday, 12pm-6pm, with late opening Friday until 9pm. Admission for adults is €5; senior citizens, students and the unwaged pay €3; while children under 10 go free. See: www.littlemuseum.ie An Irish Times video tour of the museum can be viewed at www.irishtimes.com