National Maritime Museum of Ireland
Ireland’s National Maritime Museum is housed in Dun Laoghaire’s 180-year-old Mariners Church, directly opposite the new DLR Lexicon library and easily accessible by DART suburban train and several bus services.
The museum’s greatest artefact is probably the building itself as it is one of a few custom built places of worship for seafarers remaining intact in the world today.
Introduction
Welcome To National Maritime Museum of Ireland
Walking
Only a five minute walk from the Dun Laoghaire Dart Station
Dart
Get the DART to Dun Laoghaire, they run every 15 minutes peak
Bus
Dun Laoghaire is serviced by a variety of bus routes
Book Ticket
Online Booking - Entrance
Tickets
You can buy your entrance tickets here and they will be emailed to you. Tickets will be delivered as email and a PDF. It’s important that you keep these.
When you receive the email, please either print out your ticket and make sure you bring it with you or you can keep the PDF on your phone so that we can scan the QR Code on the ticket when you arrive.
Important: While the ticketing system requires you to choose a specific date, your ticket will be valid for seven days days after that date for one visit.
Book Ticket
Online Booking - Entrance
Tickets
You can buy your entrance tickets here and they will be emailed to you. Tickets will be delivered as email and a PDF. It’s important that you keep these.
When you receive the email, please either print out your ticket and make sure you bring it with you or you can keep the PDF on your phone so that we can scan the QR Code on the ticket when you arrive.
Important: While the ticketing system requires you to choose a specific date, your ticket will be valid for seven days days after that date for one visit.
Plan Your Visit
Get Visitor Information
The museum can be easily accessed by public transport. It is less than 5 minutes’ walk from Dun Laoghaire DART station or any of the buses serving Dun Laoghaire (7, 7a, 8, 45a, 46a, 59, 75, and 111). You can use an online travel planner to find the best route for you.
Walking: You can access the museum either off Georges Street Upper (People’s Park end) or if you are on the sea front you can now access the Museum from the pier side via the steps at the side of the new municipal library (East Pier Side). For the tech savvy, our GPS location is 53.2928639,-6.1315167.
Facilities: Our museum shop carries a nice selection of maritime related gifts, postcards and much more. We have wheelchair access (except for the gallery)
Exhibits
Exhibitis
Model Railway Exhibition
We have a fantastic model railway exhibition. It is based on an Irish docks scene with (naturally) CIE locomotives,
The Prisoners’ Dock
It will give you a first-hand impression of the Museum as it used to be, a church of worship, a Mariners Church
The Baily Optic
Come and view the actual optic as depicted by James Joyce in ‘Ulysses’ (and weighing in at almost 10 tonnes!)
Radio Room
We have created a radio room complete with vintage Marconi radio stations. Come in and send a message in Morse Code
The Titanic Artefact
A great story of how we have (seemingly) an artefact from the RMS Titanic. Plenty of twists and turns..
Captain Halpin Exhibition
The Halpin exhibition has three strands, the man himself and his uniform, the ship he commanded.
RMS Leinster
In memory of those who lost their lives in Irelands greatest maritime disaster
School Tours
Workshops and
hands-on activities
- Maritime History
- Maritime technology
- Irish geography
- Town development as exemplified by Dun Laoghaire
- The Irish Navy
- Halpin and the laying of the transatlantic cable
Our educational mission is to use the evidence from Ireland’s maritime heritage to excite the imagination and encourage appreciation, understanding and enjoyment by people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities.
Some of the many areas covered by our exhibits and focussed on during guided tours are:
Plan Your Visit
Tour the Museum
You'll explore are ship models, instruments, engines and all the paraphernalia necessary to cross the seas. See the 10-tonne revolving Baily Lighthouse Optic (mentioned by James Joyce). How did they put the ships into all the bottles? View the Titanic exhibit, the re-created Radio Room, the Royal Navy Prisoners' Docks and the War Memorial. Come try out the electrified steam engine, learn how to lift heavy weights, tie sailors' knots & even take a selfie with a Pirate! The heroes and villains at sea all have a place in the gallery.
Testimonials
What people say about us
We had our wedding ceremony at the Maritime Museum and it is the most wonderful venue. A big thank you to Siobhan and Declan who were so kind and helpful throughout the whole process. Planning a wedding in the middle of a pandemic is no easy task and they made everything as straightforward as they possibly could. This is such a stunning and unique venue for a wedding ceremony – the photographs are absolutely stunning particularly with the Baily Optic in the background.
We had our wedding ceremony at the Maritime Museum and it is the most wonderful venue. A big thank you to Siobhan and Declan who were so kind and helpful throughout the whole process. Planning a wedding in the middle of a pandemic is no easy task and they made everything as straightforward as they possibly could. This is such a stunning and unique venue for a wedding ceremony – the photographs are absolutely stunning particularly with the Baily Optic in the background.
News & Events
Find out the latest news
Interim accreditation Museum Standards Programme for Ireland (MSPI)
Childers Stamp First Day Cover
Model Railway Exhibition
The Chilean Ambassador Visits
There have been many points of contact in history between Chile and Ireland.
Tour the Museum
Ireland’s National Maritime Museum is housed in Dun Laoghaire’s 180-year-old Mariners Church, directly opposite the new DLR Lexicon library and easily accessible by DART suburban train and several bus services.
The museum’s greatest artefact is probably the building itself as it is one of a few custom built places of worship for seafarers remaining intact in the world today.
Our Partners
Our Partners
