National Museum Of Ireland - Decorative Arts & History

Lonely Planet review

No wonder the British army were so reluctant to pull out of Ireland, when they were occupying this magnificent space, the oldest army barracks in Europe. The building - the museum bit can wait - was completed in 1704 according to the design of Thomas Burgh, whose CV also includes the Old Library in Trinity College and St Michan's Church. Its central square held six entire regiments and is a truly awesome space, surrounded by arcaded colonnades and blocks linked by walking bridges.

Following the handover to the new Irish government in 1922, the barracks was renamed to honour Michael Collins, a hero of the struggle for independence, who was killed that year in the Civil War; to this day most Dubliners refer to the museum as the Collins Barracks.

Any city would be hard pressed to come up with a museum to match these surroundings, and the decorative arts don't exactly get the heart pumping. That said, the museum has done an exceptional job of presenting an impressive, if hardly remarkable, collection, featuring fashion, furniture, weaponry, folk life, silver, ceramics and glassware. Some of the best pieces are gathered in the Curator's Choice exhibition, a collection of 25 objects hand-picked by different curators, displayed with an account of why they were chosen.