EPIC - The Irish Emigration Museum

EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum occupies the vaults of the former Custom House Quay bonded warehouse in Dublin's Docklands, a fitting setting since these vaults once stored goods, including tea and wine, brought in and out through the port from which many emigrants departed. Opened in 2016, the museum tells the story of Irish emigration from the medieval period through the Great Famine of the 1840s to contemporary emigration, tracing how an estimated ten million people left Ireland over the centuries and shaped the roughly 70 million people worldwide who claim Irish descent. The museum is organised into 20 themed galleries covering subjects such as the Famine exodus, Irish contributions to music, literature, sport, science, and politics abroad, and the experiences of Irish communities in the United States, Britain, Australia, and beyond. Its approach is heavily interactive and digital rather than object-based, using touchscreens, projections, and audiovisual displays instead of physical artefacts, which makes it distinct from Ireland's more traditional history museums and particularly suited to visitors researching family heritage. A dedicated genealogy area within the museum, run in partnership with Irish genealogical researchers, helps visitors of Irish descent begin tracing their ancestry. The museum was named Europe's Leading Tourist Attraction at the World Travel Awards in multiple years since opening, reflecting its popularity with the Irish diaspora visiting Dublin. EPIC sits within the wider CHQ Building, Dublin's oldest cast-iron and glass structure, built in 1820 as a bonded warehouse for the East India Company trade.