Museums in Ireland
80 museums in Ireland. Most visited: Dublin Zoo.
Top museums in Ireland
Dublin Zoo
Zoo or aquarium · 1,276,930 visitors a year
Dublin Zoo is a zoo in Phoenix Park, Dublin, designed by Decimus Burton. It was established in 1830 and opened to the public in 1831. The zoo covers about 28 hectares.
Fota Wildlife Park
Zoo or aquarium · 415,200 visitors a year
Many of the animals at Fota Wildlife Park roam without visible barriers. Kangaroos, wallabies and lemurs share open ground with visitors, giraffes graze across grassland, and ring-tailed lemurs and...
Chester Beatty Library
Art museum
Among the priceless objects at the Chester Beatty (Leabharlann Chester Beatty) are one of the surviving volumes of the first illustrated Life of the Prophet and the Gospel of Mani, one of the last...
Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane
Art museum
Housed in Charlemont House, an eighteenth-century building completed in 1763 on Parnell Square, the Hugh Lane Gallery began life in 1908 as the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art. Hugh Lane and John...
Dublinia
History museum
Costumed actors playing Vikings and medieval Dubliners bring the city's early history to Dublinia, a living history museum that invites visitors to join in rather than simply watch. The exhibition is...
EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum
EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum was voted Europe's Leading Tourist Attraction at the World Travel Awards three years running, in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Its subject is the Irish diaspora and the...
Garda Museum
History museum
From medieval watchmen to the Garda Síochána, Ireland's national police service, the Garda Museum (Músaem an Gharda Síochána) traces the history of law enforcement in the Republic of Ireland. It...
Guinness Storehouse
A glass atrium shaped like a pint of Guinness rises through the centre of the Guinness Storehouse, with seven floors of exhibits arranged around it at St. James's Gate Brewery in Dublin. Since it...
Irish Architectural Archive
Ireland's main collection of material on the country's architecture is held at 45 Merrion Square in Dublin. The Irish Architectural Archive collects and preserves material of every kind relating to...
Irish Film Archive
Music, film or theatre museum
Ireland's moving image heritage, from 1897 to the present day, is kept in the climate-controlled vaults of the Irish Film Archive, part of the Irish Film Institute in Dublin's Temple Bar. The...
Irish Jewish Museum
History museum
A synagogue built in 1917 inside two adjoining terraced houses on Walworth Road now holds the Irish Jewish Museum (Músaem Giúdach na hÉireann), a small museum dedicated to the history of the Irish...
Irish Museum of Modern Art
Art museum
Nestled in the heart of Dublin, the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) is a vibrant cultural hub that invites visitors to explore the dynamic world of contemporary art. Housed in the stunning...
James Joyce Centre
The front door of 7 Eccles Street, the home of Leopold and Molly Bloom in Ulysses, is among the permanent exhibits at the James Joyce Centre. Furniture from Paul Leon's Paris apartment, where Joyce...
Kilmainham Gaol
History museum
The leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, among them Patrick Pearse, James Connolly, Tom Clarke, Seán Mac Diarmada, Joseph Plunkett, Éamonn Ceannt and Thomas MacDonagh, were imprisoned and executed...
Little Museum of Dublin
Art museum
Everyday items donated by members of the public make up the collection of the Little Museum of Dublin, which uses them to present the social and cultural history of the city. The museum occupies an...
Museum of Literature Ireland
Historic house, palace or castle
The permanent collection of the Museum of Literature Ireland includes James Joyce's own Copy No. 1 of Ulysses, alongside other Joyce-related material. The museum is branded MoLI in homage to Molly...
National Gallery of Ireland
Art museum
Ireland's national collection of Irish and European art hangs in the National Gallery of Ireland (Gailearaí Náisiúnta na hÉireann). Its extensive, representative holdings of Irish paintings make it a...
National Leprechaun Museum
Ethnographic or open-air museum
Billing itself as the world's first leprechaun museum, the National Leprechaun Museum on Jervis Street presents Irish folklore and mythology through spoken storytelling. Its director, Tom O'Rahilly,...
National Library of Ireland
Manuscripts, maps, music, newspapers, periodicals and photographs make up the documentary record of Irish life gathered at the National Library of Ireland (Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann). Its...
Museums by city in Ireland
Ireland’s museum landscape is closely tied to place. In Dublin, visitors can move from the restored tenement rooms of 14 Henrietta Street to the collections of Galway City Museum on the western coast, building a picture of urban life, trade, and social change. Across the country, local museums often sit beside the landscapes they interpret, whether that means harbours, former mines, country estates, or historic town centres.
Outside the capital, museums reflect the variety of Irish regional history. County Cork offers sites such as Fota Wildlife Park and the Allihies Copper Mine Museum on the Beara Peninsula, where industrial heritage meets dramatic scenery. In County Roscommon, the Arigna Mining Experience introduces the working history of coal mining in the northwest, while coastal towns like Arklow preserve stories of shipping, fishing, and maritime trade.
Mooseum helps visitors explore these museums with digital tours and indoor maps, making it easier to plan a route through major cities and smaller heritage stops alike. Whether you are looking for contemporary art at Butler Gallery in Kilkenny, family-friendly animal experiences at Dublin Zoo, or local history collections in market towns and ports, Ireland offers a museum network that is grounded in community, landscape, and lived experience.
Ireland.com
Tourism Ireland (overseas marketing) & Fáilte Ireland (domestic)
Tourism Ireland runs the international consumer site.
Map of museums in Ireland
Museums in Ireland: questions
- How many museums are there in Ireland?
- Mooseum lists 80 museums in Ireland. Dublin has the most, with 34.
- What are the most visited museums in Ireland?
- By annual visitors reported on Wikipedia: Dublin Zoo (1,276,930), Fota Wildlife Park (415,200) and Galway City Museum (161,558).
- What kinds of museums are in Ireland?
- Of the 51 whose type we know, the most common are art museums (17), history museums (6), transport museums (5) and ethnographic and open-air museums (4).
- Which museums in Ireland are free to visit?
- One museum lists free general admission on its website: National Museum of Ireland. Special exhibitions can still charge.
- Dublin museums often focus on social history, Georgian architecture, literature, and the changing life of the capital
- Regional museums in counties such as Cork, Roscommon, and Wicklow preserve mining, maritime, and industrial heritage in the places where it happened
- Art spaces including Butler Gallery in Kilkenny connect historic buildings with modern and contemporary Irish art
- Wildlife attractions such as Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park add a strong family-friendly dimension to Ireland’s wider museum and heritage offer
- Many Irish museums are rooted in local communities, with collections shaped by town history, archaeology, folklore, religion, and emigration
- Check opening days carefully, especially outside Dublin. Smaller regional museums may close one or two days a week or operate shorter winter hours.
- Book ahead for guided visits where required, particularly at places like 14 Henrietta Street or former industrial sites where tours run at set times.
- Public transport works well in Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Kilkenny, but rural museums are often easier to reach by car, especially on peninsulas and in inland counties.
- Summer brings longer opening hours and more frequent tours, but spring and autumn are often more comfortable for combining museums with walking historic towns and coastal sites.
All museums in Ireland
Every museum in Ireland listed on Mooseum. Search by name or type.
| Name | Type | Website | Links | Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
— | 14Henriettastreet.ie |  | — | |
— | www.acmm.ie | | — | |
— | www.arignaminingexperience.ie | | — | |
Maritime museum | www.arklowmaritimeheritage.ie | | — | |
Art museum | www.butlergallery.ie | | — | |
Transport museum | www.modelrailwaymuseum.ie | | — | |
— | www.cavanmuseum.ie | | — | |
Chester Beatty LibraryAmong the priceless objects at the Chester Beatty (Leabharlann Chester Beatty) are one of the surviving volumes of the first illustrated Life of the Prophet and the Gospel of Mani, one of the last... | Art museum | chesterbeatty.ie | | — |
— | www.clarelibrary.ie/eolas/claremuseum | | — | |
— | ccmireland.com | | — | |
Ethnographic or open-air museum | connemaraheritage.com | | — | |
— | www.corkbutter.museum | | — | |
— | corkcitygaol.com | | — | |
— | dundalkmuseum.ie | | — | |
Ethnographic or open-air museum | www.shannonheritage.com/Craggaunowen | | — | |
Art museum | crawfordartgallery.ie | | — | |
Transport museum | donegalrailway.com | | — | |
Dublin City Gallery The Hugh LaneHoused in Charlemont House, an eighteenth-century building completed in 1763 on Parnell Square, the Hugh Lane Gallery began life in 1908 as the Municipal Gallery of Modern Art. Hugh Lane and John... | Art museum | www.hughlane.ie | | — |
Art museum | www.visitdublin.com/see-do/details/dublin-writers-museum | | — | |
Dublin ZooDublin Zoo is a zoo in Phoenix Park, Dublin, designed by Decimus Burton. It was established in 1830 and opened to the public in 1831. The zoo covers about 28 hectares. | Zoo or aquarium | www.dublinzoo.ie | | — |
DubliniaCostumed actors playing Vikings and medieval Dubliners bring the city's early history to Dublinia, a living history museum that invites visitors to join in rather than simply watch. The exhibition is... | History museum | dublinia.ie | | — |
Maritime museum | www.dunbrody.com | | — | |
EPIC The Irish Emigration MuseumEPIC The Irish Emigration Museum was voted Europe's Leading Tourist Attraction at the World Travel Awards three years running, in 2019, 2020 and 2021. Its subject is the Irish diaspora and the... | — | epicchq.com | | — |
Fota Wildlife ParkMany of the animals at Fota Wildlife Park roam without visible barriers. Kangaroos, wallabies and lemurs share open ground with visitors, giraffes graze across grassland, and ring-tailed lemurs and... | Zoo or aquarium | www.fotawildlife.ie | | — |
History museum | galwaycitymuseum.ie | | — |