National Print Museum

We visited the National Print Museum during the Easter break with my daughter, and it turned out to be one of our most memorable family experiences in Dublin. From the moment we stepped inside, we felt like we had travelled back in time. The atmosphere is special — calm, creative, and full of history. What truly impressed us was that this is not just a “look and walk away” museum. Many of the machines actually work, and seeing real printing demonstrations was absolutely fascinating for both of us. My daughter was especially excited to touch the tools, learn how letters were set by hand, and even print her own little poster — her first “real” print! Her eyes were shining with excitement. The staff were incredibly kind, patient, and passionate. They explained everything in such an engaging way that even complex processes became easy to understand. It felt like learning through story, not through dry facts. The museum is educational, interactive, peaceful, and inspiring all at once. A perfect place for families, curious minds, and anyone who loves history with a human touch. And the cherry on top — free entry and a cosy café for a little treat after exploring. We left with warm hearts, new knowledge, and beautiful memories. This is definitely one of those places we will return to again. Highly, highly recommended .

The staff is warm, cheerful and eager to educate. I could nerd out happily and learn about Irish printing history as well as get a demonstration of one of their more manual machines. The staff was also kind enough to show me some of the upper and lower case molds as well as print my wanted poster! I could also nerd out about ampersands with my wonderful guide. Please, visit this small but wonderful museum!

Came here almost accidentally and now it's my #1 museum in Dublin. It isn't big but I spent here over an hour, looking and listening and feeling the unique vibe. All printing machines presented are in working condition which is awesome itself, but the best thing about museum is it's staff, so committed to their role, so friendly, so knowledgeable and obviously in love with printing history. They make the place feel absolutely great. Would definitely go there again, next time on Thursday when they do a live demonstration of the whole printing process on old machines.

Very lovely museum, loads of fascinating letter printing machines, and a great exhibition on Abbey Theatre posters upstairs! Ciarán (hope I’m spelling that right!) was amazing and kind, gave great explanations and had me help out in some printing! Very cosy café as well. So glad I went!

Absolutely loved our visit!! We did the guided tour with Ciarán who was incredibly knowledgeable, engaging and friendly. We were lucky enough to be in a small group so could ask lots of questions and making our own print was a fun touch. There’s also a lovely café tucked at the back so perfect Sunday activity / date

Guaranteed three stars for free entry. Customer service was awesome. Loved learning more about the printing process. It was an absolutely joy watching the engineers working to keep the printers working. The poster exhibit was a delight to see. Only wished there was more interactive components. Still, not a bad way to spend an hour.

Lively museum with a long history. All the machines are still here and all in working order. The guide was excellent and brought us through the history and progression of printing over the ages. The whole process was something we don't have attachment to anymore and was a really great experience. Would highly recommend for an hour and the cafe serves really good food.

Really worth the visit. A very informative talk by John and great to get hands on with our own little manually printed sheet. As a former Graphic Designer it was great to see the machines and equipment that set the stage for modern day typography.

Entrance is free the whole week and on Sundays they offer a free guided tour at 3pm, so I decided to go along for that. After visiting, I think the guided tour is the best both for a normal visitor as for anyone with an interest and some knowledge about printing. This museum is tucked away inside the Beggars Bush Barracks site (the signage outside was pointing on the wrong direction when I visited, so be sure to read the blue boards that list the buildings if you need reassurance you're going in the right gate). After the big stone gate, if you keep to the right you'll eventually find a small chapel, and once there it's easy to find the entrance and other info. It's a very small, cramped space, which disappointed me a bit at first. However, they have plenty of machines and printing material and a couple of memorabilia there, so you definitely have a lot to see. The staff is very knowledgeable too, not in the sense that they've learnt a lot about the exhibition itself, but more like they are actually dedicated to printing and treat it as a living thing. So, what's so interesting about a bunch of heavy old machines stored together under the same roof? I think they're fascinating as works of engineering, they revolutionised communications and society, and besides, even on this day and age, there's something alluring about the physicality of their outputs. To get you involved, during the tour you'll have the chance to try some typesetting and use a couple of the finishing machines. If you really want to get your hands dirty with ink, visit the museum during one of their Open Days. The website is well maintained and the events calendar is kept up to date with several workshops, lectures and family activities around the year. The mezzanine holds temporary exhibitions from time to time. Don't forget to stop by Café Press for a nice treat.

I went to this place expecting not much. I was delighted to be wrong. My idea was initially to check an exhibition about printed ads for women magazines from the early decades, full of machismo and nonsense - and I was curious indeed. First of all, getting in can be a bit confusing as they have a big sign which says the name of the museum but when you walk in the garden, you realize it is a different building and probably there are so many lost people that another sign says "This is not the National Print Museum. Please go to the back passing the church". Ok, as soon as you follow these directions you find a small box-like van with colorful designs. The place seems closed as t is usually fairly quiet being off center and kind of "hidden", but if you persist and open the door you will see it is actually open and running. As soon as you step inside, you are greeted by the tour guide - nice, friendly and knowledgeable fella that will give you as much information as you are willing to take! My main interest in the visit as being the mentioned exhibition (probably they change every couple of months and are all located upstairs), had shifted to the front section you lay your eyes on as you get in. It might seem like a mixture of old machinery but as soon as the guide helps you out, there is so much to learn and it is actually quite interesting - so I was very surprised. Several different very old types of printing machines, a prototype of the first printer owned/created by Gutenberg when the Bible was printed as the very first book in the history of civilization, letters arranged in sizes and fonts and a place to watch a short documentary related to all that. You can even pretend you are in the past and get a couple of letters arranged together in a process called "letterpress printing" and get yourself a memento of your visit. What made me think the most is the development of the publishing industry to what is nowadays and what men went through to make it possible for you to have so many books in your shelves today - and you might not even read them! As I am big books lover I was impressed with the level of detail and effort that factory workers had to endure to print anything at all: from the arranging of letters to the inspection of the correct spelling, the ever cutting, folding, pressing and the amount of chemicals that probably damaged many of the worker's health at the time. Very engaging visit and I recommend paying a visit!

The National Print Museum is a former soildiers chapel. The Museum is all about printing, it charts the history of printing in Ireland. You will see over 10,000 artefacts. Also in the museum you will see newspaper front pages, that show great moments in world wide history. I paid as little as €3.50 for admission. The museum also does work shops including: 1. Linocutting. 2. Japanese Woodblock Printmaking. 3. Batik. 4. Calligraphy. 5. Calligraphy Celtic. 6. Calligraphy Gothic. 7. Drawing. 8. Printing. 9. Bookmaking. 10. Paper Making. 11. Print Making. 12. Childrens Workshops. 13. Origami. I had a go at Origami, it was fun and interesting making animals and flowers out of paper.

Another museum I'd been meaning to go to for a long time. In the Beggar's Bush compound, my husband and I got a little lost due to lack of signage (not just an issue on our roads apparently). Follow the road to the right and the National Print Museum is in a small stone stable-like building. The set-up is rustic to say the least. The bottom floor has all the printing machines, the permanent exhibition, and upstairs on a split-level is where the temporary exhibitions are held. Until the 24th November it's the Veritas Vintage Values exhibition of old Catholic Church pamphlets, surprisingly beautiful and boldly designed, offering guidance on such matters as 'Shall my daughter become a nun?' and 'What not to do on a date'. We overheard a member of staff telling some other visitors that the 'Don't marry a Catholic' poster was used to try and discourage Protestants in Ireland from encouraging Catholics into a mixed union. The social commentary is fascinating but my husband got a big kick out of the graphics used, which were very modern for the time. Downstairs, the machinery is fascinating as are the pillars printed on all sides with information about the processes involved. The original 1916 Proclamation of Independence and how it was put together the night before Padraig Pearse read it out was more moving than I expected. There is a canteen-like cafe in a room at the back, a tiny corner gift store with lovely cards, a small children's corner upstairs, and a cloakroom that consists of a metal rail. The museum also offer workshops, family events and are putting on a Christmas Fair. At first glance, this place doesn't look like much but it is one of the most fascinating (and free!) places to spend a brief hour.

"I mean I dont mean to be rude...but is it a real chicken sandwich?" The lady behind the counter looked at me quisicaly before her face lightened and said "ohh, as opposed to plastic rubber chicken!?" "Yes, its real"... I took her word for it, I was starving. She was right, it was real, and bloody good. After the much needed food I wandered around watching demos of all the old print machines (it was culture night so everything was on/open/demonstrated... utterly facinating, I think the Hot Type machine was my fav, very complicated and violent sounding and delicate (it kept breaking down but was nursed back to health each time) upstairs is a kids area with all sorts of paper related activities... all free and open to the public every week day. well worth a visit.

Happened to visit the National Print Museum on a day when they were offering free guided tours and was really impressed. Although I had no previous knowledge surrounding the subject of print making, I found the tour to be really interesting and informative. You also get to make your own sign :) *Note: Regular Admission: Self-guided tour=Free, Guided Tour = €3.50.

Good, but could do with a bit of TLC. Hidden away at the back of the Haddington Road compound is the tiny National Print Museum. Typography nerds seem to be everywhere these days, so if you want to sate their font-lust for a while this is the place to bring them. That said, there's not a lot here for more casual visitors. The machinery is interesting to look at (the Victorians really knew how to make an urchin-squashing pile of metal look pretty), but there's not a lot of variety. If you're in the area, pop in but I wouldn't be too worried about giving this a miss for one of Dublin's bigger museums.

I love this place. Already being basically in the middle of town but in an oasis of peace is great and then the atmosphere in the chapel with all the old machines and letters and typewriter - just something special. And you know it was put together by people that love this as well. I actually thought you have to pay to get in but that is only when you get a tour (that was the case when I went there the first time). So it's actually free to walk around and you get to see the little introduction video. I haven't managed yet to try one of their workshops but they sound very good.

Great little museum not far from the Aviva Stadium. Its well hidden but with the directions provided here by a previous poster I found it. They have some amazing printing presses on display, some of which still work even though they are quite old. The staff working here appear to be very knowledgeable and eager to share their interest and inform visitors. Special thanks to the gentleman that showed me around.

Truthfully, visiting a museum of printing didn't seem like a very exciting thing to do, even if it is just around the corner from me. But a museum, in which you get to press buttons and mess around with stuff? Now that's what I like. The National Print Museum not only shows famous prints but also explains the printing process and the history of printing from Gutenberg to today. They also hold workshops for everything to do with printing including calligraphy, which I might go to because I've been told my handwriting is nearly as illegible as a doctor's...anyways, this is a fun and informative way to spend a day when you're in the area.