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CulturalHeritageOnline: National Leprechaun Museum

National Leprechaun Museum


Take a break from your serious self and enter the Otherworld.

Come on a journey back to your childhood, bring back the memories and immerse yourself in a world of myths and legends.

The National Leprechaun Museum is a privately owned museum dedicated to Irish folklore and mythology, through the oral tradition of storytelling. It has been located on Jervis Street in Dublin, Ireland since 10th March 2010. It claims to be the first leprechaun museum in the world. The Irish Times called it the "Louvre of the elves".

Tom O'Rahilly designed the museum (with the collaboration of two Italian designers, Elena Micheli and Walter Scipioni) and is its director. O'Rahilly began work on his museum in 2003. He sees it as a "narrative" tourist attraction designed to offer visitors the "goblin experience" and introduce visitors to Ireland's rich storytelling.

Visitors to the museum follow a guided tour that involves several rooms; each serving as a set for stories and information. The basics of leprechaun folklore are explained, including what defines a leprechaun. Included is a story of references to leprechauns in popular culture, such as Walt Disney's visit to Ireland which led to his 1959 film Darby O'Gill and the Little People.

There is a tunnel full of optical illusions, a wooden replica of the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and a room where objects such as furniture become unusually large to give the impression that the visitor has become larger in size small.

References to other creatures are included on the tour such as the púca, fairies, banshees and many more. At the end of the tour, visitors arrive at a shop where they can purchase souvenirs and wares.



National Leprechaun Museum
Address: Twilfit House, Jervis St
Phone: +353 1 873 3899
Site: http://www.leprechaunmuseum.ie/

Location inserted by giulia

National Leprechaun Museum Map


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