While walking down St Stephen’s Green, you are bombarded with shop after shop and you could easily miss the small historical building that is the Little Museum of Dublin. As you walk up the steps you instantly get a feeling of grandeur. What was once a large three story Georgian house is now a place where Dublin historical artefacts are stored and preserved.
The Little Museum of Dublin was founded by Trevor White in 2011, when he began a public appeal for any form of historic objects ranging from documents to birth-certificates, school reports, posters and letters from and to Ireland’s historic figures. My favourite poster was a portrait photograph of Michael Collins, which sits beside a large Union Jack flag preserved in a photo frame. The museum has over 5,000 artefacts that have all been generously donated.
Slideshow by Defné Cetin
As you walk through the front door, you are greeted by the museum’s receptionist, and then by a large domineering staircase that seems to be never ending. As you come to the first floor, you are greeted by a manikin wearing a signed Ireland jersey accompanied by a small plaque on the wall with information on when and who had signed the jersey.
Entering through a large set of doors, you feel like you have travelled back over a hundred years. The grand room is lightly decorated. Two arm chairs are facing a welcoming leather sofa, which is set in the middle of the room. The arrangement made with the different pieces of furniture is creating a nice cocoon. Between the sofa and the arm chairs, a small table has been placed with a jar of sweets, which was warmly received by its visitors.
The grand room is filled with pictures, documents and flags from early 20th century Ireland, from 1900 to the 1930s. In the adjoining room, you can barely make out the colour of the room as there is a large array of artefacts filling the place, from photographs of Ireland’s political leaders to postcards and handwritten letters.
It is truly a walk back in time throughout Dublin’s history: you get a real sense of how Ireland was throughout the 20th century.
By Hannan Raisuni