Epic Museum Wins World Travel Award

Irish museum crowned Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction

EPIC, the stunning Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin’s Docklands, has been crowned Europe’s Leading Tourist Attraction 2019.

Beating other world-famous attractions such as Spike Island, the Cliffs of Moher, Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower and the Roman Colosseum, this unique museum experience scooped the coveted accolade at the prestigious World Travel Awards in Madeira, Portugal, on June 8th.

As the world’s first, fully-digital museum, EPIC encompasses 1,500 years of Irish history in a slick, interactive, visually entertaining presentation on how, where and why the Irish emigrated.

EPIC is not your typical museum experience. Spread over 20 interactive galleries, it reveals the far-reaching influence of Irish history and the impact the 10-million Irish men and women who have left Ireland, have had on the world.

Each gallery tells a fascinating story of Irish people, past and present, reliving some of the greatest Irish achievements and accomplishments in the world of sport, music, art, culture, politics, food, fashion and science.

The strong link between the United States and Ireland is well represented, with an impressive array of Irish-American luminaries featured. They include US Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, White House architect James Hoban, writer F. Scott Fitzgerald, singer John McCormack, dancers Gene Kelly and Michael Flatley, actors John Wayne, James Cagney and Grace Kelly plus the film director John Ford, among many others.

With some 70-million people around the world claiming Irish heritage and ancestry, there are also tales from Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Continental Europe, Latin America and more.

The museum’s location, on the banks of the River Liffey, was the departure point for many Irish emigrants, when they left their homeland during the Great Famine of the 1800s. Nearby, there are haunting Famine memorial sculptures as well as the Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship to explore, both representing that tragic chapter of Irish history.

EPIC is located in the vaults of the beautifully restored CHQ building, originally a Georgian wine and tobacco warehouse but now an attractive recreation, retail, food and events hub, in Dublin’s city centre.

The Irish Emigration Museum also houses a state-ofthe-art genealogy centre, which offers consultations with experts, access to Irish family history records and information to help anyone explore their Irish ancestry.