Dublin: Irish Famine & Emigration Exhibition with Artifacts

A Soup Pot and a Letter: What the Irish Famine Left Behind

You walk through illustrated panels and watch a 15-minute film documenting Ireland's deadliest crisis, handling original artifacts including a famine soup pot and a father's letter. The exhibition takes around an hour and is fully accessible, with multilingual guides and a book available for purchase as a keepsake.

Step-by-step itinerary

Explore Irish Famine Exhibition

• Walk through illustrated wall panels
• Learn about mass emigration
• Watch 15-minute documentary film
• View historic artefacts and letters
• Purchase a book on the famine

The experience

You'll stand in front of a pot. Not a museum piece behind glass, but something people actually used to feed their families when there was almost nothing left to feed them with. That's the first thing that hits you at this exhibition in Dublin, not the scale of the tragedy, though that comes too, but the smallness of what survival looked like. The Great Irish Famine killed a million people and sent millions more across the Atlantic, but this space doesn't try to contain all of that at once. Instead, it walks you through illustrated panels and 19th-century photographs, letting the story build as you move through the room.

The exhibition focuses on one of the most defining events in Irish history without the noise of a larger general history museum. You see historic newspaper reports from the time, a personal letter from a father to his son, and the kind of details that make the numbers real: what people actually wrote, what they actually owned, what they actually ate when the potatoes failed. There's a 15-minute documentary you can watch if you want the broader context, or you can just read the panels and sit with it. Most people spend around an hour here, moving at their own pace.

The Irish Famine & Emigration Exhibition traces how millions left Ireland for Canada, America, Britain and Australia, reshaping entire continents and creating the global Irish diaspora that still matters today. It's the kind of story you might find scattered across other Dublin attractions like EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum or the Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship, but here it's concentrated and intimate. Translation guides are available in French, German, Italian and Spanish if you need them, and the space is fully wheelchair accessible with room for prams and strollers. A high-quality book about the famine is available to buy if you want to take something deeper home with you.

What’s included

Entry to the exhibition, illustrated wall panels with 19th-century photographs and narrative text, access to a 15-minute documentary film, viewing of original artifacts including newspaper reports, a personal letter and a famine soup pot, and translation guides in French, German, Italian and Spanish. A book about the Irish Famine is available to purchase separately.

Before you book

Days and timesNext departure: 1 Apr 2027

AgesAdult (18 to 64 years) · Senior (65 and older) · Youth (12 to 17 years) · Child (4 to 11 years) · Infant (under 4): free

GroupUp to 90

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.

Prices and times updated 13 days ago

Good to know

Low physical effortWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller-friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Irish Famine Museum / Exhibition

Is this one for you?Right for anyone wanting to understand a pivotal moment in Irish and global history without spending hours in a sprawling museum: the focused scope and one-hour timeframe fit easily into a Dublin day while the original artifacts and personal documents make the human cost impossible to miss.

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Top questions

Can children come?

Yes. Ticket types: Youth (12 to 17 years); Child (4 to 11 years); Infant (under 4): free.

How long does the Irish Famine exhibition take to visit?

Around one hour to walk through the illustrated panels and watch the optional 15-minute documentary.

What artifacts are on display?

Historic newspaper reports from the era, a personal letter from a father to his son, and a famine soup pot that was used to feed starving families.

Are there language options available?

Translation guides are available in French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Is the exhibition wheelchair accessible?

Yes, all areas and surfaces are wheelchair accessible, and transportation options nearby are also wheelchair accessible.

Can I buy something to take home?

Yes, a high-quality book about the Irish Famine is available for purchase.

How does this exhibition differ from other Dublin history museums?

Unlike larger general history museums, this exhibition offers a more intimate and focused exploration of the Great Irish Famine and Irish emigration.

Is there a documentary included?

Yes, a 15-minute documentary overview explaining the causes, events and global impact of the famine is available to watch.