Museum of Science and Art, Dublin

National Museum of Ireland
National Museum of Ireland network
Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann
The current logo in use for the museum
Established	14 August 1877
Location	Dublin and Castlebar, Ireland
Type	National museum
Collection size	Almost 4,000,000 items
Visitors	All branches: 783,278 (2009)
Director	Mr Raghnall Ó Floinn
Website	museum.ie
Archaeology Decorative Arts & History Country Life Natural History

The National Museum of Ireland (Irish: Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) has a strong emphasis on Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has three branches in Dublin and one in County Mayo.

The National Museum of Ireland – Archaeology on Kildare Street has displays on prehistoric Ireland, including early work in gold, church treasures and objects from the Viking and medieval periods. The Kingship and Sacrifice exhibition includes well preserved bog bodies and Ralaghan Man. There are special displays of items from Egypt, Cyprus and the Roman world, and special exhibitions are regularly mounted.

This section includes famous examples of early medieval Celtic metalwork in Ireland such as the Ardagh Chalice, the Tara Brooch, and the Derrynaflan Hoard. Prehistoric pieces include the Iron Age Broighter Gold and over 50 gold lunulas (not all on display), and other Bronze Age jewellery. Many of these pieces were found in the 19th century by poor people or agricultural labourers, when population expansion led to cultivation of land which had not been touched since the Middle Ages. Indeed, without the intervention of George Petrie of the Royal Irish Academy and like-minded individuals from the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, most of the metalwork would have been melted down for the intrinsic value of its materials, as did frequently happen despite their efforts. Contemporary Irish are more tuned to their heritage, as can be seen in the example of the Irish Bog Psalter, which was discovered and reported by an alert machine operator in July 2006.

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Wikipedia