Tucked away in the vaults of the historic CHQ Building in Dublin’s Docklands, EPIC museum continues to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. As a previous winner of Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction over three consecutive years, the museum has proved a major hit among people holidaying in Ireland – but, as Best Of Ireland discovered on a recent visit, EPIC has plenty to offer curious locals too…
Like most Irish people, we’re used to navigating comments about leprechauns, pots of gold, drunken brawls, and other ill-informed stereotypes. Thankfully, the high-tech, interactive exhibitions at EPIC offer a far more rounded and in-depth commentary on what it means – and has meant throughout history – to be Irish.

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

Emigration is undoubtedly a complex, and often painful, subject for many Irish families. But upon setting off on your EPIC journey – armed with your own personal passport to be stamped at various points throughout the museum – the multifaceted nature of the experience immediately opens up around you. Each of the themed galleries tells a different story, crossing centuries and oceans, to celebrate and platform unsung heroes and Irish icons alike.

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

Best Of Ireland readers will be particularly interested in the expansive area dedicated to Music & Dance, which explores the Irish connections to everything from country music to Rihanna. We also learn about Irish-born Chicago police chief Francis O’Neill, who saved hundreds of years of traditional music in the early 20th century with his transcribed collections. Whether you consider yourself a Riverdance fan or not, the stirring projections of the renowned show shouldn’t take long to win you over either.

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

The Creating & Designing gallery, meanwhile, highlights the Irish creatives who have shaped – and continue to shape – the fashion, design and art world, from Francis Bacon to Eileen Gray. Continue on into the Storytelling areas, and you’ll get a chance to salute our heroes of the screen and stage, as well as the writers who have captured the hearts and imaginations of readers all over the world. It’s no secret that the Irish punch above their weight when it comes to creativity – so why not celebrate it?

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum

EPIC is also home to fascinating temporary exhibitions, entry to which is included in your general admission ticket. Don’t miss the landmark ‘Looking East: Ireland & India’ exhibition, running until the end of November, which explores the three-centuries-long connection between our two nations. The exhibition features stories from the likes of Roscommon-born suffragette Margaret Cousins, who fought for female emancipation in India; the friendship between fellow poets and Nobel Prize in Literature winners W.B. Yeats and Rabindranath Tagore; and the shared struggle against colonialism.

“The exhibition features Nobel Prize in Literature winners W.B. Yeats and Rabindranath Tagore; and the shared struggle against colonialism.”

Open seven days a week, and located centrally, with Luas, DART, and Dublin Bus services nearby, EPIC museum should be an essential destination for every visitor to this country, as well as every person who calls it home – stretching beyond hackneyed clichés, to offer a deeper understanding of the Irish experience, in all its brilliantly colourful complexity.

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, located inside the CHQ Building on Custom House Quay, is open seven days a week from 10am to 6.45pm (last entry 5pm). For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit epicchq.com

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