National Leprechaun Museum, Interactive folklore museum in Dublin, Ireland
The National Leprechaun Museum occupies a brown-brick corner building on Jervis Street, with a chamfered entrance bay at ground level and rows of rectangular windows above. Inside, visitors follow a guided tour through themed rooms: a tunnel of optical illusions, a wooden replica of the Giant's Causeway, and a room of oversized furniture that makes visitors feel small.
Tom O'Rahilly began developing the museum in 2003 and designed it with Italian designers Elena Micheli and Walter Scipioni; it opened on Jervis Street on 10 March 2010. O'Rahilly, its director, conceived it as a storytelling attraction rather than a conventional display of objects. The Irish Times called it the "Louvre of leprechauns" that year.
The museum's name comes from the leprechaun, the small figure of Irish folklore compared to fairies and elves. Guides explain what defines a leprechaun and how people tried to catch one, then trace the figure through popular culture, including Walt Disney's trip to Ireland that led to his 1959 film Darby O'Gill and the Little People. The tour also names the púca, fairies and the banshee.
The museum is on Jervis Street in central Dublin, in a brown-brick corner building with a chamfered entrance at ground level. Visits follow a guided tour through the themed rooms; audio guides are available for those who want them. The tour ends at a souvenir shop.
The museum features a detailed replica of the Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland's famous rock formation, connecting different locations in Irish mythology within one space. This recreation lets visitors experience two legendary places through a single visit.
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