Daniel in Dublin – The Leprechaun Museum

Here at Vintage Tea Trips we are committed to make Dublin the go to destination in Ireland. Of course you know that Ireland is a wonderful country full of diverse attractions, open greenways and waterways and areas of incredible historical and cultural importance, but did you know that Dublin has all of these and more?  There’s a reason why Dublin is called “surprising by nature” – There are mountains, the sea and the most beautiful coastal towns to the north and south all nestled around a wonderfully vibrant city. For the week that’s in it we sent Daniel to the one and only National Leprechaun Museum.

Continuing with my tour of local attractions, this morning I set my sights on The National Leprechaun Museum. With St. Patrick’s Day on the horizon, I thought it only fitting to go and learn about some Irish legends and folklore.

I didn’t really know what to expect from it but it’s safe to say I assumed it would be rather gimmicky and novelty, but I was so pleasantly surprised. Without a doubt this has jumped to one of my favourite attractions in Dublin City.

The tour begins in room filled with leprechaun paraphernalia and of course you can’t have leprechaun paraphernalia without the Americanised representation found on the box of Lucky Charms cereal.

This is probably the most common version of what people think of when you imagine a leprechaun, green clothes, red hair, shamrocks everywhere. In Irish folklore however, they were cobblers who looked more like a Hobbit from Lord of the Rings.

After checking out some of the leprechaun stuff we were met by our host Naoise who told us a little bit about the mythical creatures before showing us not the next room where we would get to see for ourselves what it would be like to be a leprechaun.

Enter the giant furniture!

Can’t imagine it was easy for a little leprechaun to climb up there and relax in front of the fire. Granted, they are magic so I suppose they could just summon a rainbow and ride it to the top of the chair.

Speaking of rainbows, what would a Leprechaun Museum be without a rainbow room and of course the crock of gold at the end of the rainbow, so fear not they have both of these.

Every now and then Naoise would gather us in a room to sit and tell us a story of an Irish legend. As an Irishman myself I was familiar with a lot of these stories, but Naoise was an absolute expert putting my folklore knowledge to shame. He had us enthralled with his story telling prowess and for me he made the whole experience.

Irish people are renowned for their story telling and this was on full display with Naoise. You couldn’t wish for a better host. Story telling is a tradition thousands of years old and as Irish people we’ve gotten pretty good at it over the years. In Ireland story telling was used to give lessons of caution, to pass knowledge and most importantly, as a form of entertainment. And entertained you will be, that much I can guarantee.

I can’t emphasise enough how much I enjoyed my visit to the Leprechaun Museum. The team couldn’t have been nicer and a special shout out to Naoise who once again brought the whole experience to life. Folks, this is a must do in my opinion and I will definitely be recommending it to people from now on.

Daniel