Top 5 Places to Visit While at DrupalCon Dublin

4 minutes read

Coming to DrupalCon Dublin? Planning to take some extra time to explore the city? Here's a list of our recommended things to do and see while here - other than Drupal of course!

1. Guinness Storehouse

Photo of Guinness Storehouse gate — *Source: Beatrice Tiberi*

Home to the black-stuff, the Guinness Storehouse is a must-see in the Dublin tourism scene, and was recently recognised as the best tourist attraction in Europe in the World Travel Awards. A former Guinness fermentation plant, it was renovated and redesigned in the shape of a giant pint! On each of the seven floors you get to see how Guinness is made, before stopping off at the Gravity Bar on the top floor for 360 views of the city and a pint of Guinness.

2. Kilmainham Gaol

Photo of inside of Kilmainham Gaol — *Source: Sean Munson*

If you're in any way interested in Irish history, particularly the story behind our independence, then you have to visit Kilmainham Gaol. The leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising were executed here, while many other Irish nationalists were imprisoned here too. With this year being the 100 year anniversary of the Rising, there is a special "1916 Portraits and Lives" exhibition being held.

3. Trinity College Dublin & the Book of Kells

Photo of script from the Book of Kells — *Source: manuscript_nerd*

Located in the heart of Dublin city, is the beautiful campus of Trinity College Dublin. The college was founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth and contains many historic buildings. The Book of Kells is also located here, and it and the Long Room library are both well worth a visit.

The Book of Kells is a beautifully illustrated manuscript dating back to around 800 AD and contains the Latin texts of the four Gospels, painstakingly written and illustrated by Irish monks. After visiting the Book of Kells, you can then visit the Long Room, the magnificent library housing all of Trinity's oldest books. The library was actually the inspiration for the Jedi Archives featured in the “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones” movie.

4. Little Museum of Dublin

Photo of the Little Museum of Dublin sign — *Source: William Murphy*

The Little Museum of Dublin is another cool place to visit. One of the newer museums in Dublin, it occupies a Georgian townhouse on St. Stephen's Green. Did you know that the DrupalCon Dublin logo features a Georgian door?

The Little Museum has over 400 artefacts comprising art, photography, letters and advertising from the 20th century, offering a unique insight into Dublin over the last century. It's a small museum and won't take too long to wander around, but well worth the visit all the same.

5. National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks

Photo from Collin's Barracks — *Source: William Murphy*

Collins Barracks was an army base for nearly 300 years before being renovated and is now part of the National Museum of Ireland - Decorative Arts & History. It showcases Ireland's economic, social, political and military progress through the ages and is itself a historical place of interest. It also played a role in the 1916 Easter Rising, as a base for British troops tackling rebel positions in the GPO and other locations around Dublin.

Other places of interest

If none of those take your interest, why not check out some of the following:

St. Patrick's Cathedral
Christ Church Cathedral
Dublinia
National Leprechaun Museum (yes, it does exist, and isn't as bad as it sounds!)
National Gallery of Ireland
Irish Museum of Modern Art
Dublin Castle