Latest Posts

International Children’s Authors: Literature Lessons from Around the World 

by Edgar Debel Books are influential, no matter what age we read them at. They help us to learn new skills, teach us knowledge previously undiscovered and enable us to dive into hidden literary worlds. Depending on our age and experiences, the same book can have a completely different effect on us. Maybe we discover… Continue reading International Children’s Authors: Literature Lessons from Around the World 

Season’s Greetings!

Fond memories from St Stephen's Day celebrations in my granny's house in Dublin, circa 2002 - now that's a tree!

Christmas at the Museum of Childhood Ireland It’s beginning to look a lot like…… Christmas! Only fifteen days until the big day. Christmas is a wintry holiday celebrated by many in Ireland, and it brings with it fond memories and waves of nostalgia, reminiscing about Christmases past, and indeed the year that has just gone… Continue reading Season’s Greetings!

Community Engagement

Photo by Nils Nedel

Hello! Welcome to the Community Engagement programme at the Museum of Childhood Ireland, we’re thrilled you stopped by. Here you will find stories, memories and interviews shared by our friends and followers about all things childhood, and growing up in Ireland.  We at the Museum feel that the community should be at the heart of… Continue reading Community Engagement

Voices of Children International Gallery Exhibition

“Children can and should influence the world around them.” Visit the online gallery exhibition of the Voices of Children International Project, facilitated by the Bright Start Foundation and extending on a project first established by the University of Wollongong in Australia 14 years ago. This gallery exhibits artwork, photography and written responses created by children… Continue reading Voices of Children International Gallery Exhibition

Community Memories: Growing up in Donnycarney

Aerial image of Donnycarney, undated. Credit: Brian Sweeney FB, via @FMLocalHistory on Twitter.

This week, we’ve had a fantastic story sent in by one of our followers about growing up in Donnycarney in the 1940s and 1950s. Read the full excerpt below! “We were all poor in Donnycarney so there was little competition to wear the latest fashions. It was a wonderful place to be reared, there was… Continue reading Community Memories: Growing up in Donnycarney

Community Memories: Marie Farrell

Miniatures of Marie's school and church in Newtown Carlow made by her nephew, Thomas Murray Miniatures.

Marie Farrell has sent us her stories from her schooldays in Newtown/Dunlecky NS in Carlow, and a miniature of the school that she attended which has been made by her nephew Thomas Murray Miniatures. Thank you Marie, for reaching out! “My schooldays in Newtown/ Dunleckney NS back in the late 1950s and the early 1960s… Continue reading Community Memories: Marie Farrell

Halloween at the Museum of Childhood Ireland

A Tale as Old as Time! Snap-Apple Night, painted by Irish artist Daniel Maclise in 1833. It was inspired by a Halloween party he attended in Blarney, Ireland, in 1832.

Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble… It is October, and that can mean only one thing – Halloween is right around the corner. It is a time that holds great memories for so many of us – an excuse to dress up in costume, and knock on stranger’s doors only to… Continue reading Halloween at the Museum of Childhood Ireland