National Leprechaun Museum

The name is misleading and the museum knows it. There are no leprechaun exhibits, no artefacts and very little about leprechauns in the commercial green-hat sense; what it actually does is put a storyteller in front of a small group and walk them through Irish mythology and folklore for about forty-five minutes - the Tuatha De Danann, the Children of Lir, changelings, the banshee, fairy belief and the origins of the leprechaun figure itself, including how it was commercialised. The rooms are set pieces rather than displays: a corridor of optical illusion, an oversized furniture room built at giant scale so visitors feel the size a small person would, a tunnel, a wishing well. There is an evening adults-only session covering darker material. It divides opinion sharply between people who came for a storytelling experience and got one, and people who expected a museum with objects.

Highlights

• The storyteller - a live guided telling of Irish myth and folklore.
• The giant room - oversized furniture reversing the scale of the visitor.
• The optical corridor - the illusion passage at the start.
• The leprechaun's actual history - including how the figure was commercialised.

When to go

Any season; indoors. Tours run at set times through the day with limited numbers - book ahead in summer. Adults-only evening sessions run on selected nights.

Things to know

There are no exhibits and no objects - it is a guided storytelling experience, which disappoints anyone expecting a museum. Tour only, at fixed times. An hour, and priced as a full attraction.

Nearby

Jervis and Henry Street shopping are alongside; the Ha'penny Bridge and Temple Bar are south.

Key facts