Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [64]
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND – NATURAL HISTORY
The wonderful and slightly creepy ‘dead zoo’ that is the Victorian natural history museum (Map; 677 7444; www.museum.ie; Merrion St; closed until 2011) had scarcely changed since 1857, when Scottish explorer Dr David Livingstone delivered the opening lecture. But this redoubtable building and its extraordinary collection of two million items (of which only 10,000 were on display) was in need of a makeover, which will keep its doors shut until 2011 at the earliest. We await its reopening with bated breath.
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS
Dublin’s domed Government Buildings (Map; 662 4888; www.taoiseach.gov.ie; Upper Merrion St; admission free; tours 10.30am-1.30pm Sat) were opened for business in 1911. Architecturally, they are a rather heavy-handed Edwardian interpretation of the Georgian style. Each free, 40-minute tour accommodates about 15 people, so you may have to wait a while for a big enough group to assemble. Tours can’t be booked in advance, but if you go in on Saturday morning you can put your name down for one later in the day. You get to see the office of the taoiseach (prime minister), the cabinet room, the ceremonial staircase – with a stunning stained-glass window designed by Evie Hone (1894–1955) for the 1939 New York Trade Fair – and innumerable fine examples of modern Irish arts and crafts. Tickets for the tours are available from the ticket office of the National Gallery (Map; 661 5133; www.nationalgallery.ie; West Merrion Sq; 9.30am-5.30pm Mon-Wed, Fri & Sat, 9.30am-8.30pm Thu, noon-5.30pm Sun).
NATIONAL LIBRARY
Flanking the Kildare St entrance to Leinster House is the National Library (Map; 603 0200; www.nli.ie; Kildare St; admission free; 10am-9pm Mon-Wed, 10am-5pm Thu & Fri, 10am-1pm Sat), which was built between 1884 and 1890 by Sir Thomas Newenham Deane and his son Sir Thomas Manly Deane, at the same time and to a similar design as the National Museum. Leinster House, the library and museum were all part of the Royal Dublin Society (formed in 1731), which aimed to improve conditions for the poor and to promote the arts and sciences. The library’s extensive collection has many valuable early manuscripts, 1st editions, maps and other items; its reading room was featured in James Joyce’s Ulysses. Temporary displays are often held in the entrance area.
On the 2nd floor is the Genealogical Office (Map; 603 0200; 2nd fl, National Library, Kildare St; 10am-4.30pm Mon-Fri, 10am-12.30pm Sat), where you can obtain information on how best to trace your Irish roots. A genealogist can do the trace for you (at a fee dependent on research) or simply point you in the right direction (for free).
ST STEPHEN’S GREEN & AROUND
While enjoying the nine gorgeous, landscaped hectares of Dublin’s most popular square, consider that once upon a time St Stephen’s Green (Map; admission free; dawn-dusk) was an open common used for public whippings, beatings and hangings. Activities in the green have quieted since then and are generally confined to the lunchtime picnic-and-stroll variety. Still, on a summer’s day it is the favourite retreat of office workers, lovers and visitors alike, who come to breathe a little fresh air, feed the ducks and cuddle on the grass.
Although a stone wall was erected in the 17th century when Dublin Corporation sold off the surrounding land to property developers, railings and locked gates were added only in 1814, when an annual fee of one guinea was charged to use the green – a great way to keep the poor out. In 1877 Arthur Edward Guinness pushed an act through Parliament that opened the green to the public once again. He also paid for the green’s lakes and ponds, which were added in 1880.
The fine Georgian buildings around the square date mainly from Dublin’s mid- to late 18th-century Georgian prime. At that time the northern side was known as the Beaux Walk and it’s still a pretty fancy stretch of real estate; drop