Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Cost and Hours:
€3; includes guided tour any time upon request—ask for the one-
hour version, which adds a historic walk around the block to French Church; daily Easter-
Oct 10:00-18:00, Nov-Easter 10:00-17:30, last entry 30 minutes before closing, tel. 051/
304-220,
www.heritageireland.ie
Visiting the Museum:
Before you enter, look for the
cannonball
embedded high
above the entrance, courtesy of Cromwell's siege cannons.
Once inside, you'll find an interesting Viking town
model
opposite the ticket counter.
Upstairs a display of early coins explains how the Vikings introduced the concept of coin-
age to the Irish after they eventually settled down and set up trade posts. Look for the
tiny
Kite Brooch
that delicately blends both Scandinavian and Irish styles. In their day,
brooches were considered badges of status, and this one's owner must have been at the
top of the heap. As you climb the narrow stone stairways, watch your head (people were
shorter 800 years ago). And be sure to go all the way to the top floor, where an informat-
ive 10-minute animated
video
traces the evolution of the town from muddy fort to modern
city.
The
statue
outside (inthemiddle ofthestreet) isofThomas Francis Meagher (seeside-
bar), whose short, hell-bent-for-leather life took him on precarious adventures from Water-
ford to Tasmania to Nicaragua to Montana and, finally, to an unknown watery grave.
