Keep it weird, my Gaelic friends

February 2, 2011 7:26 PM

I need some Dublin pointers. I'll be there for a short stay, and since I'm going over on St. Patricks day (as well as my birthday), there will be no historical touring for me. So, I'd love to know about any unique Dublin sites (for instance the torture museum in Amsterdam), including any day trips - bonus points if any of these include drag queens!

Thanks - you're all the best!

posted by Unred to Travel & Transportation around Dublin, Ireland (10 answers total)

One of my favorite, weird things in Dublin is the Natural History Museum of Ireland. It is a Victorian Age museum, and in its day it was among the great museums of the world.

Today, it is a museum of a museum. It is this perfectly preserved museum from 200 years ago. Lots of amazing and creepy taxidermy - a zoo of dead stuffed animals, which was an amazing scientific collection in its day. It is a strange and interesting place.

It is close to Trinity and Grafton St in downtown Dublin. If you want something unique and weird, this place is worth a hour of your time.
posted by Flood at 8:18 PM on February 2, 2011

Flood beat me to it. That's exactly what I was going to recommend. It's popularly known as "The Dead Zoo", and it is truly awesome. One of my favorite Dublin sites.

St. Michan's church might also be worth a visit; they've got mummies.
posted by OolooKitty at 8:54 PM on February 2, 2011

Thirding the Dead Zoo, it's great.

Interesting or weird current stuff will probably be easiest found in Le Cool that week, and the most fun drag nights I've been to have been at Pantibar though you might find more options in the GCN listings.
posted by carbide at 3:35 AM on February 3, 2011

It sounds like you would enjoy a trip to see the bog bodies in the Archaeology museum. It's just on the other side of the block that makes up the Natural History Museum, the National Gallery, the National Library and the Archeology Museum.

I go to see the bog bodies every couple of weeks. A preserved human lying sealed in a glass box in front of you. Old as the Romans. Older than Christ. I can't get over them.

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Did you know that Francis Bacon's London studio has been transported piece-by-piece and is now resident in the Hugh Lane Gallery? Ever scrap of paper, brush and ripped canvas reassembled exactly as it was in his old room. This idea doesn't seem so bizarre until you see what a mess it is.

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Don't get me started on good Dublin pubs. Good pubs are historical artifacts in themselves in themselves. Consider:
The Palace Bar in Temple Bar
The Long Hall on Georges St.
Stags Head off Dame St.
The Gravediggers (Kavanagh's) in Glasnevin
None of these are weird, as such. Unless you think it's weird to be sitting in a pub 200 years old. I mean, I do. And I'm from here.
posted by distorte at 4:02 AM on February 3, 2011

The Natural History Museum was also one of our favorite places to visit when we lived there, too. There are several good suggestions here, such as Stags Head and Palace Bar, also. Oh, and the bog bodies are mind-blowing also. It's interesting the way society then had similar preoccupations as society now, too.

One thing that hasn't been recommended is Collins Barracks. I'm not recommending the military history side of the place (although that was well done), but the decorative arts collections there were really interesting. I seem to recall that they were in a separate building, but we also liked checking in on them periodically.
posted by Slothrop at 4:19 AM on February 3, 2011

I'm remembering now - there are decorative arts exhibits in the main of Collins Barracks, but there was a separate building for "open storage." We actually liked the open storage side to look at what they had in their collection, but that couldn't fit in regular museum-style displays.
posted by Slothrop at 4:22 AM on February 3, 2011

I like the Chester Beatty museum. It's quite small, but has lots of interesting books, and is tucked away in Dublin Castle. It's very near the chaotic Temple Bar, and would probably be a nice break from some of the St. Patrick's day madness (though I imagine it's closed on the 17th, like most other museums). Also, some friends swear by green 19. I haven't been there yet, as it fills up quickly (even for lunch), but I hear it's good food and reasonably priced.
posted by a womble is an active kind of sloth at 5:36 AM on February 3, 2011

Kilmainham Gaol is fascinating - historical but also amazing to explore and just look at.
posted by cadge at 8:04 AM on February 3, 2011

National Wax Museum, perhaps? Last time I was there was a few years ago; they seemed to have moved from their gloomy Northside digs to a new location but when I was there it was certainly campy fun.
posted by Diablevert at 10:42 AM on February 3, 2011

If you want to shop for cute, cheap clothes and are a girl (think the Target of Ireland, but with different stuff) look at Penny's. (No relation to our JC Penny's.) There's one on the main strip of downtown Dublin, near the big silver needle. It's where the locals shop and I liked stuff there.
posted by shortyJBot at 5:56 PM on February 3, 2011